Partner selection strategies of SMEs for achieving the
Sustainable Development Goals
Abstract
The paper ambitions to analyze the characteristics of SMEs’
companions that may better make contributions to the success of the SDGs. Given
the explorative nature of this research, a qualitative method is adopted, with
a longitudinal case study employed because the studies technique. The Wråd case
observe confirmed that SMEs can make contributions to the success of the SDGs
through developing partnerships with more than one stakeholders. In addition,
this research revealed that the characteristics of the SMEs’ partners may be
mentioned the four following dimensions: financial, environmental, social and motive.
Furthermore, it proposed that first-rate application cost, technique level,
profitability are the subdimensions of the economic dimension and that aid
intake efficiency, pollution production, power performance, surroundings
management gadget and surroundings gadget and facilities are the subdimensions
of the environmental dimension. This research expressed additionally that
public health, worker engagement, brand popularity and neighborhood groups’
affect are the subdimensions of the social size. Finally, it underlined that
sustainability-oriented consciousness improvement, sustainable orientation,
sustainable collective subculture, proactive managerial abilities,
organisational mastering and proactive and progressive leadership are the
subdimensions of the purpose measurement. In line with previous research
underlining the importance of growing the TBL dimensions, this examine shows a
further extension of this theory with the ‘reason’ measurement. This take a
look at highlights the significance of growing a imaginative and prescient
supported by a social consciousness of the problems that want to be addressed
and that transcend the style sector. Further researches could explore a bigger
pattern of SMEs running in exceptional groups and the point of view of the
SME’s partners. @ Read More modernfashdesigner thetechcertified
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1 Introduction
Rising social inequality and the innovative degradation of
the natural surroundings render sustainable trade of the economic system an
pressing priority (Geissdoerfer et al. 2018). Continuing on the journey closer
to sustainable development—particularly, ‘improvement that meets the needs of
the prevailing with out cooperating the potential of future generations to meet
their desires’ (World Commission on Environment and Development 1987, p. 43)—isn't
smooth however increasingly more fundamental. As in step with Robert Solow
(1992, p. 15), ‘the obligation imposed by means of sustainability is to
bequeath to posterity not any specific element […] however instead to endow a
general of dwelling at least as properly as our own and to look after their
next technology similarly’.
Not just countrywide governments and global establishments
(Bebbington and Unerman 2018) however all companies are known as to combine
sustainability into their control practices (e.G. Schulz et al 2011; Bocken and
Short 2021; de Villiers et al. 2021), that is especially applicable in mild in
their unique sources and abilties consisting of revolutionary functionality
(Porter and Kramer 2011; Di Vaio et al. 2020; Rubio‑Andrés et al. 2022). Given that they make contributions to
financial boom, the technology of employment and minimisation of damage to the
surroundings (e.G. Schaltegger and Wagner 2011; Bocken and Short 2021),
enterprise activities have consequences now not only on the financial system
however on societal development and the generation of environmental blessings.
As sustainable development retailers—namely, gamers capable of make
contributions to resolving current socio-environmental issues (e.G. Schaltegger
et al. 2016; Youssef et al. 2018) and, as a consequence, to accomplishing
better stages of sustainability—increasingly groups is strategically adopting
and operationally implementing in their procedures (e.G. Ordonez-Ponce et al.
2021; Pizzi et al. 2021; Agrawal et al. 2022; Bonfanti et al. 2022; Dana et al.
2022) the guidelines covered within the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
proposed through the 2030 Agenda of the United Nations in 2015 (e.G. United
Nations 2020; Horne et al. 2020; van Zanten and van Tulder 2021). The
SDGs—which build at the Millennium Development Goals—are meant to manual
sustainability decisions and, on this sense, to cope with demanding situations
common to all countries by using inviting renewed international partnerships to
foster transformative adjustments in favour of the future of the planet and its
people (Chopra et al. 2022).
This topic is attracting both educational and practitioner
interest worldwide, no matter stage of country development. Previous studies
have focused particularly on large (e.G. Mio et al. 2020) and multinational
(e.G. ElAlfy et al. 2020; Ordonez-Ponce and Talbot 2022) organizations, and
feature paid little attention to small and medium organisations (SMEs).
However, SMEs constitute the majority of organizations international and their
mixed effect can create disruptive effects in economic, social and
environmental terms. As argued by way of Smith et al. (2022, p. 113), ‘this
relevance opens up the want for a closer have a look at SMEs’. Past research has
discovered that SMEs do no longer have the resources or capacity to pursue the
SDGs on my own (e.G. Stoian et al. 2017); the SDGs cover more than one sports
internationally and no person region ought to obtain these goals appearing on
my own. Rather, SMEs act together by means of activating multistakeholder
partnerships (e.G. Whittaker et al. 2016; Russo and Schena 2021Journeault
2021)—taken into consideration one of drivers for enforcing sustainable
practices (e.G. Cantele and Zardini 2020). Previous research have additionally
highlighted the strategic and social reasons that power the formation of
partnerships (Ordonez-Ponce et al. 2021), however have not noted to study how
SMEs pick out their companions with the intention of higher achieving the SDGs.
In this regard, beyond studies has already identified unique evaluation
criteria via which to choose unique deliver chain partners (Ho et al. 2010;
Kannan 2018; Zhou et al. 2018), but without highlighting their characteristics.
In addition, no preceding studies, to the exceptional of our information, have
mentioned the traits of further SMEs’ partners, consisting of nearby
authorities, schooling establishments and non-profit firms, that allow an SME
itself to greater successfully pursue sustainable development. Thus, the
subsequent studies question emerges: What need to SMEs’ partners have to make a
contribution to the success of the SDGs?
In in search of answers to this query, this studies
investigates the characteristics of SMEs’ partners that better allow them to
make contributions to the fulfillment of the SDGs. Given the explorative nature
of this studies, a qualitative technique is adopted, with a longitudinal case
look at hired because the research method.
2 Theoretical historical past
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development proposed with
the aid of the United Nations in 2015 recognises the precise relevance of
personal firms in contributing to global development and sustainability
demanding situations thru the achievement of the SDGs (United Nations 2015).
Indeed, the private zone can convey to endure specific know-how and
understanding, managerial capacities, financial sources and high hazard
appetite to contribute to this global intention (Berrone et al. 2019; Stewart
et al. 2018). In this context, the SDGs framework is an expression of the
social, environmental and financial affects of commercial enterprise activities
(de Villiers et al. 2021), even as the triple bottom line (TBL) concept
(Elkington 1994) explains how corporations compare their overall performance
from a sustainability angle. More specially, enterprise management have to pay
equal attention to the pursuit of earnings (monetary measurement), the
development of people’s lives (social measurement), and the safety of the
planet (environmental measurement) to became sustainable entrepreneurship
(Fellnhofer et al. 2014). Some students, deepening the TBL theory, have
additionally proposed changes or extensions of its original factors. In
precise, a few academics have replaced ‘earnings’ with ‘prosperity’ to signify
the monetary advantages for the firm and the socioeconomic wellbeing of workers
and communities (Stahl et al. 2020; Wheeler and Elkington 2001), even as others
propose a quadruple backside line theory, by adding ‘ideas/values’ (Larner et
al. 2017; Raiborn et al. 2013), ‘era’ (Arukala and Pancharathi 2020) or maybe
‘prosperity’ (e.G. Hamidi and Worthington 2021) as similarly dimensions of the
TBL.
Previous research have investigated the role of businesses
in attaining the SDGs by focusing, on the one hand, on multinational companies
or massive businesses for their high-quality contribution to global sustainable
improvement (e.G. Kolk et al. 2017; Topple et al. 2017; Burritt et al. 2018;
van Zanten and van Tulder 2018; Ordonez-Ponce and Talbot 2022; Ordonez-Ponce
and Weber 2022), and, then again, on SMEs, despite the fact that their
contribution may additionally before everything appear inferior (Schulz et al
2011). In fact, SMEs are mainly interesting to have a look at from the perspective
of SDG achievement, for 2 foremost motives: (1) they shape the foundation of
maximum national economies (Crick and Crick 2021), accounting for ninety% of
all groups and 60% to 70% of employment international (United Nations 2020),
and are consequently huge in phrases of amount; and (2) they've limited
economic, social and environmental effect as singular entities, however their
mixed impact may also exceed that of huge firms while they're considered in
aggregate (Smith et al. 2022). Accordingly, specializing in how SMEs are
engaged in achieving the SDGs is a topic of much modern hobby. @ Read More greenitc1403 robotstechnologyies
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