Proceedings of the 2025 7th International Conference on Economic Management and Cultural Industry (ICEMCI 2025)

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From Trade-offs to Transformation: How Sustainable Strategic Positioning Drives Competitive Advantage in Start-Ups

Authors
Jue Nan1, *
1School of Management, University College London, London, UK
*Corresponding author. Email: uceijn1@ucl.ac.uk
Corresponding Author
Jue Nan
Available Online 3 December 2025.
DOI
10.2991/978-94-6463-888-2_44How to use a DOI?
Keywords
Sustainability; Entrepreneurial companies; Competitive advantages
Abstract

As sustainability has increasingly become a core issue of concern for both enterprises and society, start-ups are facing greater pressure to adopt sustainable strategic positioning. This article explores whether a sustainability-oriented strategy (often associated with higher short-term costs) can bring about long-term brand value and competitive advantages. The article further examines the characteristics of entrepreneurs who are most inclined to adopt sustainable strategies. This study holds that although sustainability orientation initially requires a large number of resources, it can promote sustained value creation. The article concludes by outlining the challenges in the implementation process and emphasizing the future trends in shaping a sustainable entrepreneurial landscape. In addition to answering the core research questions, this study also delves into how sustainability has transformed from an edge concern to a core strategic asset for start-ups. By bridging the gap between theoretical expectations and practical significance, this article emphasizes that sustainable entrepreneurship is no longer a niche approach but an important way for enterprises to achieve consistency between profits and goals.

Copyright
© 2025 The Author(s)
Open Access
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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Volume Title
Proceedings of the 2025 7th International Conference on Economic Management and Cultural Industry (ICEMCI 2025)
Series
Advances in Economics, Business and Management Research
Publication Date
3 December 2025
ISBN
978-94-6463-888-2
ISSN
2352-5428
DOI
10.2991/978-94-6463-888-2_44How to use a DOI?
Copyright
© 2025 The Author(s)
Open Access
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

Cite this article

risenwbib
TY  - CONF
AU  - Jue Nan
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/12/03
TI  - From Trade-offs to Transformation: How Sustainable Strategic Positioning Drives Competitive Advantage in Start-Ups
BT  - Proceedings of the 2025 7th International Conference on Economic Management and Cultural Industry (ICEMCI 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 452
EP  - 462
SN  - 2352-5428
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6463-888-2_44
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6463-888-2_44
ID  - Nan2025
ER  -