Going green: the evolution of micro‐business environmental practices

Abstract

This paper examines the process through which micro-businesses 'go green'. It builds upon previous studies that have identified the different drivers of this greening process. However, rather than a static focus on specific drivers, the study articulates the evolution of environmental practices over time. The paper uses comparative case studies of six micro-businesses to build a composite sequence analysis that plots the greening process from its roots through to large-scale and ambitious ecological projects. The study identifies three distinct stages that businesses pass through during this greening process. This has important implications for policy-makers and advisors as it was found that the support needed by the businesses changed as they passed through these different stages. In particular, it was found that appropriate support is currently lacking at certain key points of the businesses' greening development. The paper therefore adds to current understanding of small business ecological responsibility by showing how activities and drivers change with the level of engagement. Pointers are provided as to how support can be improved.

Understanding the drivers of sustainable entrepreneurial practices in Pakistan’s leather industry

“…These findings reinforce previous work that highlights a key role for effective networks that can exchange environmental knowledge and support SMEs through a successful transformation process to become more eco-friendly businesses (Bruijn and Lulofs, 2001;Halme and Korpela, 2014;Parry, 2012;Shearlock et al, 2000;Wassmer et al, 2014). While acknowledging the heterogeneity of SME populations (Parker et al, 2009, pp.…”

“…Such firms are seen to be innovative and opportunistic (Parker et al, 2009) as well as pro-active in obtaining the resources and capabilities they need to exploit environmentally relevant market opportunities (Collins et al, 2007;Roy and Thérin, 2008;Simpson et al, 2004). Parker et al (2009) consider businesses of this type as "advantage-driven SMEs" because they take environmental measures mainly to gain economic benefits such as reduced costs, increased revenues and enhanced reputation (Thorpe and Prakash-Mani, 2003), which can also enhance their competitiveness (Castka et al, 2004;Parry, 2012;Simpson et al, 2004;Studer et al, 2006). In contrast, some SMEs regard environmental improvement as a drain from their profits 384 IJEBR 24,2 (Revell and Blackburn, 2007;Simpson et al, 2004), which does not generate competitive advantage (Dahlmann et al, 2008).…”

Lessons for Responsible Innovation in the Business Context: A Systematic Literature Review of Responsible, Social and Sustainable Innovation Practices

“…That is why it is worrying that drivers such as profit or legislation are still the primary motivations when innovating for sustainability [44,52,58,[73][74][75]. Personal ethics appear to be critical for achieving truly sustainable or social innovations when they are compatible with business sensibilities [52,76,77]. This is especially true of the personal ethics of the owner/manager, as their values and motivations affect leadership, organisational culture and ultimately the management of the innovation project.…”

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“…Given that network members decide what competence is, attention must be paid to legitimizing 'expert identities' across the wider community (Wenger, 1998); this is particularly important where network members are geographically distant from each other (Parry, 2012). Considering micro-firms' preference to learn from experience and from one another and acknowledging their propensity for immediately applicable information, 'real world' case examples and study tours offer knowledge exchange value.…”