Greening regions: the effect of social entrepreneurship, co-decision and co-creation on the embrace of good sustainable development practices

Adoption of Local Agenda 21 (LA21) in Europe has been very uneven. However, the embrace (or eager adoption) of LA21-like tools by local governments is usually considered as a requisite to achieve the sustainable development (SD) global aims. This research analyses a successful networking practice in the Basque Country (BC) over an 8-year period in order to identify the main dimensions that explain the embrace of LA21 by Local Governments (LGs). The Basque experience is studied using a qualitative and a quantitative approach. Results show that the factors of entrepreneurial presence (at the regional and local levels), co-decision and co-creation have an effect on local government embrace of the LA21. We also study the motivational mechanisms underlying co-decision and co-creation.