Abstract
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) constitute an extremely large percentage of most nations’ businesses. These companies are also expressing growing concerns about sustainability and its strategic integration into operations. However, SMEs have been prevented from making investments in sustainability by the absence of a holistic view of this topic, an overemphasis on an economic perspective, and the consequent devaluation of environmental and social perspectives. In this context, greater importance needs to be given to investigating SME sustainability and building a transparent, holistic, and realistic business model. The present study combines cognitive mapping and the best worst method (BWM) to identify determinants of sustainable entrepreneurship in SMEs. These techniques were applied in two meetings with a panel of specialists with knowledge about and experience in this subject matter. The insights obtained during the two panel meetings allowed the proposed process-oriented approach to assist decision-makers in analyzing a sample of SMEs and selecting the ones that best match the following clusters of decision criteria: (1) entrepreneur profile; (2) firm internal characteristics; (3) economic factors; (4) other external factors; and (5) market. The results were validated by four representatives of the Portuguese Institute for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises and Innovation (Instituto de Apoio às Pequenas e Médias Empresas e à Inovação (IAPMEI) in Portuguese). The study's contributions and limitations are also discussed.
| Originalsprog | Engelsk |
|---|---|
| Artikelnummer | 133300 |
| Tidsskrift | Journal of Cleaner Production |
| Vol/bind | 371 |
| ISSN | 0959-6526 |
| DOI | |
| Status | Udgivet - 15. okt. 2022 |
Bibliografisk note
Funding Information:This work was partially funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (Grants UIDB/00315/2020 and UIDB/04630/2020 ). Also, Devika Kannan’s research was partially supported by a Grant from Carlsberg Foundation ( CF21-0679 ). Records from the expert panel meetings, including pictures, software output and non-confidential information of the study, can be obtained from the corresponding author upon request. The authors gratefully acknowledge the outstanding contributions of and knowledge shared by the panel members: Alexandre Almeida, Ana Rita Querido, Belmiro Luís, Pedro Ferreira, Sónia Macedo, Susana Ferreira, and Tiago Rodrigues. The authors also would like to express their gratitude to José Vale, Sandra Alvim, Helena Nunes, and Patrícia Poeiras, board members of the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Department of the Portuguese Institute for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises and Innovation (IAPMEI in Portuguese), for their availability and the important insights they provided during the consolidation of results.
Funding Information:
This study's main objective was, nonetheless, not to construct an optimal model in this research context but rather to create a learning model that can assist decision makers identify which sustainable entrepreneurship behaviors SMEs should adopt. In this regard, one should bear in mind that the recursive, constructivist and process-oriented nature of the proposed framework permits updates and the addition of new information at any time. Thus, the model is versatile and simple, and the proposed methodology has potential for practical applications within the scope of sustainable entrepreneurship in SMEs. The present results facilitate a fuller understanding of the determinants of sustainable entrepreneurship in the real world. The decision-support system developed has the potential as a tool to raise awareness about the need to adopt strategies that integrate not only economic but also environmental and social concerns into SME business activities. Although always subject to adjustment, the methodology applied in this study can be used by any SME aiming to improve its sustainability.This work was partially funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (Grants UIDB/00315/2020 and UIDB/04630/2020). Also, Devika Kannan's research was partially supported by a Grant from Carlsberg Foundation (CF21-0679). Records from the expert panel meetings, including pictures, software output and non-confidential information of the study, can be obtained from the corresponding author upon request. The authors gratefully acknowledge the outstanding contributions of and knowledge shared by the panel members: Alexandre Almeida, Ana Rita Querido, Belmiro Luís, Pedro Ferreira, Sónia Macedo, Susana Ferreira, and Tiago Rodrigues. The authors also would like to express their gratitude to José Vale, Sandra Alvim, Helena Nunes, and Patrícia Poeiras, board members of the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Department of the Portuguese Institute for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises and Innovation (IAPMEI in Portuguese), for their availability and the important insights they provided during the consolidation of results.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022