Spatiotemporal evolution and improvement pathways of sustainable entrepreneurship efficiency: Alleviating environmental and employment pressures.

Under the global sustainable development framework, China urgently needs to achieve a green transition and entrepreneurial development under the "dual carbon" goals. This study aims to explore the spatiotemporal dynamic characteristics and improvement pathways of sustainable entrepreneurship efficiency (SEE) in China. Using entrepreneurship and environment data from 30 provinces between 2007 and 2022, a dynamic DEA model was constructed to measure SEE based on multiple input-output indicators comprehensively. Furthermore, methods such as kernel density functions, Dagum Gini coefficients, and spatial Markov chains were employed to analyze the spatiotemporal evolution characteristics of efficiency. A dynamic panel fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis(fsQCA) model was adopted to identify the key factors and configurational pathways affecting SEE from six dimensions: education level, Research and development(R&D) capability, industrial structure, urbanization level, government support, and financial support. The results indicate significant regional disparities in China's sustainable entrepreneurship efficiency. Further analysis identifies five tailored efficiency improvement pathways to meet the differentiated development needs of central, coastal, and western regions. The findings reveal that while China leads in the quantity of sustainable entrepreneurship, quality, and regional balance gaps exist. Therefore, recommendations such as promoting green technology innovation, improving policy support systems, and optimizing regional resource allocation and industrial structures are proposed. These measures provide theoretical insights and practical guidance for achieving coordinated economic and environmental development.