Beyond Profit Maximization: How Beekeeping Entrepreneurs Navigate Multiple Success Logics in Ecosystem-Dependent Ventures

Abstract

Entrepreneurship research has traditionally emphasized profit maximization, yet ecosystem-dependent ventures challenge this assumption. This study investigates how beekeeping entrepreneurs define and pursue success through the lens of Self-Determination Theory (SDT). Using survey data from 383 active beekeepers across the United States and the Balkans, we examine the relationships between work motivation and four success dimensions: financial, environmental, civic, and personal. The findings reveal that autonomous motivation substantially exceeds controlled motivation and is strongly associated with environmental stewardship and personal fulfillment, whereas controlled motivation predicts financial success orientation. Even commercial beekeepers prioritize environmental outcomes over financial returns, demonstrating the dominance of non-economic institutional logics. These results extend SDT to entrepreneurial settings and challenge conventional assumptions that financial performance is the primary indicator of entrepreneurial success. The study introduces beekeeping as a critical case of ecosystem-dependent entrepreneurship and offers theoretical and practical implications for supporting sustainability-oriented entrepreneurial ventures.