The sustainable rural enterprise economy: Conclusions and implications

This book contributes to the contemporary discussions as follows: Firstly, sustainability is an important factor that rural enterprises have high on their agenda as a strategic issue; it is associated with their resource scarcity as typically smaller or newer enterprises and a lack of positioning by means of economies of scale. Incorporating sustainability in, e.g., entrepreneurial strategies and business models, but also concrete HR recruitment practices may provide rural enterprises with a competitive advantage through differentiation. Secondly, the chapters point to concrete ideas and even concepts about how to support and implement structural change and economic development in rural economies by incorporating sustainability in, e.g., business models, interaction with change agents from public policy, employee relations and HR recruitment practices, or concrete project management tools – not only on the level of the individual enterprises but also for the regional economy. Thirdly, entrepreneurs and enterprises in rural regions may not only impact but also leverage a transition towards sustainability by, e.g., proactively embarking on business model innovation, seeking innovative HR recruitment and retention practices, or working for collaborative project management tools with other actors in the rural economies. Public policy may recognise the important potential residing in the collective of rural entrepreneurs and enterprises when it comes to grand-scale tasks, such as a “green transition”.