Unlocking the social domain in sustainable development

Fatoki

2018

The study sought to examine the role that coercive isomorphic pressures play in the sustainable development practices by small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The survey research approach was utilised in the research through 222 self-administered questionnaires distributed to SME owners and managers. The structural equation modelling (SEM) method was utilised to analyse the data through the Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE) method in Amos Version 24 software. Major findings in this study are that coercive isomorphic pressures have a significant impact on all the three dimensions of sustainable development which are economic, environmental and social. The implications are that government, environmental pressure groups and other stakeholders need to take into consideration the coercive pressures such as laws and regulations in pressuring small businesses to enhance sustainability practices. The research contributes by unearthing the extent to which coercive pressures impact the behaviour and practices of SMEs in sustainability practices. The study indicates that eventually small firms are expected to behave the same when it comes to adopting sustainability practices due to coercive isomorphism. The findings of this study further contribute toward understanding the concept of sustainable development in practice and theory.

Section: Sustainable Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Coercive Pressures on Sustainability Practices of Small Businesses in South Africa

Fatoki

2018

“…The concept of sustainable development has become increasingly inescapable for the business world and continues to affect almost all aspects of business functions. The latest research shows evidence of sustainable development being utilised by business organisations as a competitive strategy [2,3]. Consequently, research demands and orientation are moving towards the delineation of the three dimensions of sustainable development with the intention of gaining precise and focused understanding of these premises within and across disciplines, business management included.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does Environmental Sustainability Impact Innovation, Ecological and Social Measures of Firm Performance of SMEs? Evidence from South Africa

2018

This study investigated the question of whether environmental sustainability influences firm performance. Firm performance, a multidimensional construct, was researched utilizing innovation, ecological and social measures on the premises of SMEs in South Africa. Thus, the study hypothesized that environmental sustainability is positively and significantly related to innovation, ecological and social measures of firm performance. A cross-sectional research design was adopted in this study to test the abovementioned hypotheses. A total of 208 self-administered questionnaires distributed to SME owners and managers were analyzed utilizing structural equation modelling (SEM) and Amos Version 24 software. Primarily, the study established that environmental sustainability was significantly and positively correlated to all three measures of firm performance used in this study. Thus, the inferences from the findings suggest that environmental sustainability practices contribute positively towards firm innovation, ecological and social performances. The findings of this study greatly contribute towards the practice and theory of small businesses and firm performance by providing a more specific and streamlined perspective for approaching firm performance.

“…On the other hand, Thiel [21] indicates that there are four themes that define the social domain in a sustainability context, namely, social-economics, stakeholders, societal-wellbeing and social sustainability. Consistently, social sustainability includes definitions of society, community and culture and is measured in the firm's performance in donations, safety, strategic philanthropy and corporate citizenship [22].…”

Section: Social Sustainabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, social sustainability places a demand upon firms to play an active role and acknowledge more responsibilities toward stakeholders and the social environment they operate in [23]. Human needs include basic needs such as food, shelter, clothing as well as good quality of life, with quality of life including things like healthcare, education and political freedom [21]. Overall, social sustainability is measured through principles, actions and measures implemented [9].…”

Section: Social Sustainabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Social Sustainability Practices on Small Businesses in Developing Economies: A Case of South Africa

2019

This study makes a significant contribution towards theory and knowledge of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) within the social sustainability discourse. The study focused on investigating if SMEs in developing economies directly benefit from practising social sustainability through examining the relationship between social sustainability and financial performance, customer satisfaction as well as employee satisfaction. A total of 238 SMEs from the Limpopo province of South Africa were surveyed through a self-administered questionnaire at the hand of convenience sampling technique. The hypotheses in the study were assessed through structural equation modelling (SEM) through AMOS software version 25. The study results revealed that all three postulated hypotheses were supported. Thus, social sustainability was found to be positively and significantly associated with financial performance, customer satisfaction performance as well as employee satisfaction performance. The findings in this study indicate that by practising social sustainability, SMEs potentially benefit on a broader performance spectrum.