Exploring the characteristics of sustainable business practice in small and medium-sized enterprises: Experiences from the Australian manufacturing industry

JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION

卷:177

Article

Caldera, H. T. S.¹  Desha, C.¹  Dawes, L.² 

[1] Queensland Univ Technol, Fac Sci & Engn, Sch Earth Environm & Biol Sci, 2 George St, Brisbane, Qld 4001, Australia

[2] Queensland Univ Technol, Fac Sci & Engn, Sch Civil Engn & Built Environm, 2 George St, Brisbane, Qld 4001, Australia

关键词: Sustainable business practice;    Characteristics;    Small and medium-sized enterprises;    Lean and green;    Natural-resource-based view theory;    Regenerative development;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.12.265

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

With small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) being responsible for a significant proportion of global pollution, there are increasing calls for this type of businesses to engage in 'sustainable business practice'. However it is still unclear what this term actually means in day to day operations. This study identifies key characteristics of sustainable business practice for SMEs through evaluating the experiences of senior decision makers from 13 companies engaged in lean and green practices in Queensland, Australia. Through a systematic literature review and an exploratory study, nine characteristics emanating from the three themes of environmental stewardship, process excellence, and sustainability oriented-culture were established. Furthermore, this study build on natural-resource-based view (NRBV) theory to present a 'Natural Resources Based View Plus' ('NRBV+') model that includes an additional strategy of 'regenerative development'. These findings can immediately assist SMEs to evaluate their practices, and in doing so, identify sustainability performance improvement opportunities. It is proposed that these findings also have implications for addressing the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal of responsible consumption and production. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

【 授权许可】

Free