Sustainable business model innovation (SBMI) has gained prominence as an integrative approach by business organizations towards addressing global sustainability challenges. This study explores the underexamined domain of founder-level antecedents driving SBMI, focusing on the traits of venture founders. Adopting a mixed-methods approach, the research draws on stewardship and imprinting theories to explain how founders’ spiritual, psychological, and social capital influence SBMI. The qualitative phase involved interviews with founders of eight Indian startups, revealing shared traits of spirituality, psychological capital, and reliance on social capital in pursuing SBMI. These insights guided the quantitative phase, analyzing survey data from 367 founders in the United States and the United Kingdom using PLS-SEM. Results confirmed that these founder traits significantly influence SBMI. This study advances SBMI scholarship by highlighting the pivotal role of founder-level antecedents and linking them to stewardship and imprinting theories. Practical implications are provided for entrepreneurs, policymakers, educators, and incubators to foster sustainable entrepreneurship. By uncovering the foundational traits that drive SBMI, this research contributes to both theoretical and practical understanding of sustainability-driven innovation.
