Sustainability as a value: experience from a German entrepreneur starting up a company in Colombia ; Sostenibilidad como valor: experiencia de un emprendedor alemán iniciando una empresa en Colombia

Sustainability has become an imperative value in business management, promoted as a necessary element in the context of global competitiveness and a strategy in new businesses development. In small and medium-sized enterprises, starting up a sustainable business is aligned to personal and cultural experiences of the entrepreneur, which permeate overall decision-making process. This article shows a case study of a bottled juice company started up in Colombia by young German entrepreneurs, seen from a theoretical perspective supported by the Upper echelon’s theory, as a way to analyses the influence of personal values in the implementation of sustainability as a business core. The case study is of a qualitative and exploratory nature and was carried out through a semi-structured interview with company Prost SAS founder. As a result, it was evidenced that the founders to the company transmit indeed the conceptions or personal values. However, there are external factors that can question the value of sustainability as something positive in the development of the business, or even can jeopardize the long-term viability of small businesses. In conclusion, sustainability is a value that corresponds to the vision or intention of the company leader, however, the company implementation processes can be affected by external factors. ; La sostenibilidad es un valor que se ha constituido como imperativo en la gestión empresarial, promovido como un elemento necesario en el contexto de competitividad global y una estrategia en el desarrollo de nuevos negocios. En empresas medianas y pequeñas, se encuentra relacionado con los valores y experiencias personales y culturales del líder o emprendedor, que permean la actividad empresarial y en particular la toma de decisiones. El articulo analiza el caso de Prost S.A.S., -una empresa de jugos que inicia en Colombia por jóvenes emprendedores alemanes-, desde la teoría de los mandos superiores, considerando la influencia de los valores personales en la implementación de la ...