BUSINESSES OF THE GREEN ECONOMY ARE THEY COMPANIES OF THE TRANSITION SOCIOECOLOGICAL?

Abstract

This paper sketches the profile of “socioecological transition enterprises” and examines the potential of “green economy” enterprises in Quebec to contribute to this transition. Based on a literature review bringing together theories of transitions, sustainable entrepreneurship, and the green economy, we propose a framework to define socioecological transition enterprises. The framework was applied to a survey that was completed by thirty-eight Quebec SMEs identifying with the green economy, which led to a data analysis and the construction of a typology consisting of two groups of enterprises. The first includes enterprises that fit in with the reproduction of sociotechnical regimes and favor a more incremental type of change. The second group includes enterprises that pursue a socioecological transition strategy, aiming at the transformation of sociotechnical regimes in order to meet the challenges to humanity posed by climate change and the ecological crisis. These analyses lead us to conclude that various transition trajectories are hidden behind the green economy discourse.