The Impact Tech Startup: Initial Findings on a New, SDG-Focused Organizational Category^†

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Dear Authors,

This is a strong initial empirical foundational study introducing the concept of an impact start up using data collected from Israel, a world leading start up location and connectivity with the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  

In terms of advice to improve the content,  in Section 1 Background and Rationale, I suggest a sentence or two in the final paragraph to better explain why it is is important to link impact start ups and relation to specific SDGs is helpful or useful for various stakeholders eg investors, regulators, UN etc.

In Section 3 the Israeli context, it would be useful to explain a little historical background as to Israel's leading start up culture/contributions/sectors and where Israel currently sits in terms of global start up rankings.  

In Section 5, Discussion of the Findings on pp19-20 I suggest additional literature and references cited in relation to each of the four key SDGs that the Israeli Impact Start Ups are shown to align with.    Also, in terms of gender of start up founders etc,  suggest an additional paragraph to consider the wider implications of gender mix on connectivity between start ups and SDGs.  

The final conclusion section could include sharper conclusions and consider next steps for this type of start-up and connectivity with SDG research in Israel and beyond. 

Otherwise, a very interesting foundational study which I enjoyed reading. 

Author Response

Reviewer 1

Comment 1: In terms of advice to improve the content, in Section 1 Background and Rationale, I suggest a sentence or two in the final paragraph to better explain why it is important to link impact start ups and relation to specific SDGs is helpful or useful for various stakeholders eg investors, regulators, UN etc. (lines 115-117)

Our response 1: A short paragraph was added see page 4, also 23

Comment 2: In Section 3 the Israeli context, it would be useful to explain a little historical background as to Israel's leading start up culture/contributions/sectors and where Israel currently sits in terms of global start up rankings.  

Our response 2: These ideas were added, see pages 7-8 which were rewritten.

Comment 3: In Section 5, Discussion of the Findings on pp19-20 I suggest additional literature and references cited in relation to each of the four key SDGs that the Israeli Impact Start Ups are shown to align with. Also, in terms of gender of start up founders etc, suggest an additional paragraph to consider the wider implications of gender mix on connectivity between start ups and SDGs.  

Our response 3: A discussion of the gender variable in the discussion on ITS was added, see page 24-25

Comment 4: The final conclusion section could include sharper conclusions and consider next steps for this type of start-up and connectivity with SDG research in Israel and beyond. 

Our response 4: This comment was dealt with, including future research directions and limitations; see pages 25-26

Reviewer 2 Report

The manuscript must be improved:

- try to align your paper with sustainability topic to be suitable for this journal

- try to format the content according to the template

- revise refereneces

Minor revisions.

Author Response

Reviewer 2

Comment 1:  try to align your paper with sustainability topic to be suitable for this journal

Our response 1: A comment to this effect was added, see page 2.

Comment 2:  try to format the content according to the template.

Our response 2: The article will be edited before publication.

Comment 3:  revise references

Our response 3: References were revised.

Reviewer 3 Report

This article focuses on 1657 startups and develops a machine learning algorithm to determine which startups can be classified as influential technology startups, which will help enrich research content in this field. There are still some shortcomings in this article.

1. The first, second, and third chapters of this article all contain background information about the article, which can be integrated into the same chapter to explain why this research is important.

2. At present, the background is mainly based on real-life background, and more theoretical background needs to be added.

3. Is there a basis for measuring the sustainable development impact of a startup company solely based on product sales, and are there any limitations to this method? Please supplement this section.

Minor editing of English language required.

Author Response

Reviewer 3

Comment 1:  The first, second, and third chapters of this article all contain background information about the article, which can be integrated into the same chapter to explain why this research is important.

Our response 1: The first two chapters were merged into one. The third, the Israeli Context, was not merged as another reviewer asked to expand it. In the final paragraph of the (now) first chapter we explain why the study is important and what it contributes. See page 7.

Comment 2: At present, the background is mainly based on real-life background, and more theoretical background needs to be added.

Our response 2: We added theoretical literature on hybridity and on new organizational entities. See Page 6.

Comment 3:  Is there a basis for measuring the sustainable development impact of a startup company solely based on product sales, and are there any limitations to this method? Please supplement this section.

Our response 3: We are not measuring impact. This is made clear throughout the paper; we introduce a new way to classify impact-creating organizations; see our clarifications pages 6 and 12.

Reviewer 4 Report

After carefully reviewing your paper, my view is that it has a potential to contribute to the literature. It can, however, be improved further as follows:

1-Introduction: You should better point out your contributions to literature

2-You should improve the discussion linking it to the papers you cited. I suggest relying also on these papers:

Mansouri, S., & Momtaz, P. P. (2022). Financing sustainable entrepreneurship: ESG measurement, valuation, and performance. Journal of Business Venturing, 37(6), 106258.

Fenwick, M., Joubert, T., Van Wyk, S., & Vermeulen, E. P. (2022). ESG as a Business Model for SMEs. Available at SSRN. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4098644

3- I suggest outlining a summary of findings, contributions, implications, and better discussing limitations and avenues for future research. Especially, expand the discussions relating to implications, limitations and avenues for future research. I suggest discussing the implications of your results for investors as well by relying on the literature that demonstrates a relationship between ESG commitment and earnings level and quality (Gavana, G., Gottardo, P., & Moisello, A. M. (2022). Related party transactions and earnings management: The moderating effect of ESG performance. Sustainability, 14(10), 5823; Velte, P. (2017). Does ESG performance have an impact on financial performance? Evidence from Germany. Journal of Global Responsibility, 80, (2), 169-178; Chouaibi, Y., & Zouari, G. (2021). The effect of corporate social responsibility practices on real earnings management: evidence from a European ESG data. International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, 1-20.

I hope the authors will positively embrace these constructive suggestions as a way of taking this research forward

Author Response

Reviewer 4

Comment 1:  Introduction: You should better point out your contributions to literature

 

Our response 1: We are dealing with this issue in the additions we introduced in Chapter 1 – pages 6-7, as well as in our expanded Discussion section, pages 23-26

 

Comment 2:  You should improve the discussion linking it to the papers you cited. I suggest relying also on these papers:

Mansouri, S., & Momtaz, P. P. (2022). Financing sustainable entrepreneurship: ESG measurement, valuation, and performance. Journal of Business Venturing, 37(6), 106258.

Fenwick, M., Joubert, T., Van Wyk, S., & Vermeulen, E. P. (2022). ESG as a Business Model for SMEs. Available at SSRN. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4098644

 

Our response 2: This comment was dealt with; see page 24

Comment 3:  I suggest outlining a summary of findings, contributions, implications, and better discussing limitations and avenues for future research. Especially, expand the discussions relating to implications, limitations and avenues for future research. I suggest discussing the implications of your results for investors as well by relying on the literature that demonstrates a relationship between ESG commitment and earnings level and quality (Gavana, G., Gottardo, P., & Moisello, A. M. (2022). Related party transactions and earnings management: The moderating effect of ESG performance. Sustainability, 14(10), 5823; Velte, P. (2017). Does ESG performance have an impact on financial performance? Evidence from Germany. Journal of Global Responsibility, 80, (2), 169-178; Chouaibi, Y., & Zouari, G. (2021). The effect of corporate social responsibility practices on real earnings management: evidence from a European ESG data. International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, 1-20.

Our response 3: We have expanded the Discussion chapter to include these issues, see page 24. We are hesitant to use the ESG concept as a base for our study, as we were focusing on SDGs.

Reviewer 5 Report

The paper addresses an interesting topic and is well structured. However, I consider that the authors should highlight the theoretical and practical implications of their research and relate the results to similar studies. The limitations of the research should also be highlighted.

Author Response

Comment 1:  The paper addresses an interesting topic and is well structured. However, I consider that the authors should highlight the theoretical and practical implications of their research and relate the results to similar studies. The limitations of the research should also be highlighted.

Our response 1: A section to this effect was added in the Discussion chapter, including the limitations of the study, see pages 25-26

Round 2

Reviewer 2 Report

Ok! Good work!