Abstract

Purpose: Even though sustainable entrepreneurship has increasingly received researchers’ attention
in recent years, the topic remains rather under-researched in natural resources’ rich Arabian gulf
countries such as Oman. Hence, the current paper fills this gap in the literature and is one of the first
attempts to assess the state of sustainable entrepreneurship development in Oman from a multi-stakeholder perspective.
Design/Methodology/Approach: The current paper uses a qualitative research approach where in-depth semi-structured interviews were undertaken with twelve (12) respondents representing relevant
stakeholders of sustainable entrepreneurship development in Oman. Our interviewees included four
(4) sustainable entrepreneurs, four (4) policy makers, and four (4) educationists representing
entrepreneurial skills development institutes in Oman.
Findings: Our findings highlight that despite some positive improvements, several critical challenges
remain, which hinder sustainable entrepreneurship development. We further found the role of
FinTech to be critical in this concern by all stakeholders, though its usage and acceptance remain low.
Also, the costs associated with the post-carbon (sustainable) economy and different profitability
evolution have resulted in a slow change in the policy development in this concern. From educational
(skills development) perspective, a lack of context specific training programmes and culture-based
hesitations appeared to be hindering achieving sustainable entrepreneurship possibilities in Oman.
The premature entrepreneurial ecosystem, bureaucracy, and lack of human capital (attaining as well
as retention) appeared to be significant challenges for entrepreneurs. Finally, our findings highlighted
the need for cross-sector collaboration with clear benchmarks for effective policy development
concerning sustainable entrepreneurship in Oman.
Originality: The current paper is the first academic study explicitly highlighting the state of
sustainable entrepreneurship in Oman by incorporating the development initiatives as well as the
major challenges in the analysis. Secondly, our study is also a pioneering work specifying the
interlinkage between financing (FinTech), policy initiatives and skills development, and the
development of a sustainable entrepreneurship ecosystem in an under-researched context of Oman.
Finally, the transition to a sustainable economy is challenging in natural resources’ dependent
economies like Oman, as it needs to be supported by the mindset change in the larger society
(legitimacy). In this concern, our paper is one of the first academic endeavours to also specify the
role of legitimacy from the perspective of different stakeholders (and larger society) for sustainable
entrepreneurship development in such contexts.