Investigating the relationship between gender composition of entrepreneurial teams and sustainable orientation: preliminary insights from the South Italian startup system

Entrepreneurs are increasingly recognized as agents of social change, with entrepreneurial action serving as a pivotal mechanism for promoting sustainable production and consumption patterns. The paper delves into the realm of ecopreneurship and social entrepreneurship, investigating the influence of gender composition within entrepreneurial teams on the development of socially oriented and eco enterprises. Drawing from a dataset of 456 early-stage startups in Puglia (Italy), the study adopts logistic regression to identify the role that the presence of women in the team and the economic sector play in predicting social and environmental orientation. Findings reveal a significant positive influence between the percentage of women in entrepreneurial teams and social enterprises. Conversely, this relationship does not manifest with eco-enterprises. The research contributes theoretically by shedding light on the interplay between gender and sustainable entrepreneurship, providing results from a homogeneous sample by stage of startup development and regional culture.