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Around the world, people are confronted by a variety of complex and pervasive environmental, social and economic challenges. In many cases, including anthropogenic climate change, resource depletion, financial system disruption and poverty, there has been an increasing recognition that ‘wicked problems’ require entirely new ways of thinking, and that the solutions are unlikely to be found by governments, businesses or civil society actors operating in isolation. In parallel with these developments, many observers have commented on a growing interest in various forms of social entrepreneurship and in new models of enterprise that seek alternative ways of delivering products and services, while also securing the ‘triple bottom line’ of social, environmental and economic sustainability. This volume draws together a selection of contemporary entrepreneurship research studies that explore different aspects of this phenomenon. Our original call for papers was based around the themes addressed in one of ISBE's longstanding annual conference tracks. It attracted some strong submissions from within and beyond the ISBE research community. The editors reviewed papers relating to social and sustainable entrepreneurship, the environmental impacts of enterprise, and ethics and social responsibility in enterprise.

Sarah Underwood is the Director of Student Education for Enterprise and a Lecturer in Enterprise at the Leeds Enterprise Centre, University of Leeds, UK. Her research interests cover social enterprise and social innovation, with particular focus on the pedagogical development and inclusion of these topics in HEI curricula. Sarah has published several academic papers and was the founding Chair of the Institute for Small Business and Enterprise special interest group, the ‘Social and Sustainable Enterprise Network’ 2010–2012.

The field of entrepreneurship is continuously expanding, and new perspectives on existing theories continue to emerge, challenging established norms and generating exciting avenues of inquiry. The aim of the ISBE-Emerald Book Series is to facilitate such inquiry by providing a platform for leading edge research that reflects the themes of interest to contemporary entrepreneurship scholars. Each volume in the series is designed around a specific theme that is both relevant to the ISBE Conference and of importance to the entrepreneurship and small business community. While volumes will seek to explore and develop theory and practice in the field of entrepreneurship and small business, the emphasis of the research will be on quality, currency and relevance.

As entrepreneurship and market mechanisms are increasingly seen as a central part of public sector reforms to health and education, this chapter examines the entrepreneurial behaviour of public service providers in rural areas of the United Kingdom. Specific questions to be addressed include: How do rural providers (GPs, hospitals, schools) respond to the ‘market’ for provision of public services in rural areas? What are the constraints in acting entrepreneurially in these rural ‘markets’?

This chapter draws on a review of the literature and an empirical study of health care providers and schools with an emphasis on provision in rural areas and non-metropolitan urban areas. The results are based on 130 interviews with public, private and not-for-profit sector providers, and commissioners in health and education. Providers interviewed include schools, primary health care providers (General practitioners) and hospitals.

The challenges facing rural provision are examined. In terms of income generation providers reported the difficulties in having the critical mass required to keep services viable. There was particular attention to finding ways of diversifying income sources to increase turnover. Providers for rural areas are also having to find ways of coping with increased costs compared to urban providers, with limited account taken by the commissioners/buyers of services. The constraints related to introducing entrepreneurial behaviour to individuals who are resistant to risk taking and innovation based on market forces are also examined.

The work is based on a qualitative survey of a number of sectors. Further larger sample work is required to explore the propositions identified in more detail. The policy context has also been changing, with a need to identify how changes in government have affected the nature of entrepreneurship in public services.

The chapter provides policy implications and insights for providers of rural public services. There is a need to encourage diversity of income sources and to encourage collaboration between providers. There is also a need to identify where entrepreneurs in the public, private and social enterprise sectors are unwilling to deliver.

The chapter identifies key theoretical issues related to the role of enterprise in delivering public services. Further insights are provided regarding the role of rurality on both enterprise behaviour and public service delivery.

Purpose – This paper examines the effects that voluntary environmental reporting has on specific environmental practices in micro businesses. In particular, praxis discontinuities between disclosure and behaviour are contrasted between disclosing and non-disclosing micro businesses, ceteris paribus, in a rural region of North West England.

Approach – Six businesses were interviewed and findings were interpreted using a lens derived from the concept of moral proximity (the belief that small businesses are embedded in local communities and therefore are more morally accountable for their actions).

Findings – Findings suggest that environmental reporting is primarily driven by coercive/regulatory forces, whereas environmental practice is driven more by economic/strategic forces. The degree of discontinuity between disclosure and behaviour can be correlated to moral proximity, and this is found to vary significantly by industry sector.

Implications – The study concludes that an increased level of environmental reporting is no guarantee of improved environmental practice due to the dislocation between the drivers of the two elements of praxis.

Value – The study provides empirical evidence of the impact of different external interventions that can help inform future policy development on small business environmental responsibility.