IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v11y2019i5p1221-d209026.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Research on the Survival and Sustainable Development of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in China under the Background of Low-Carbon Economy

Author

Listed:
  • Peng Tong

    (School of Management, China University of Mining and Technology, Jiangsu 221116, China)

  • Chao Zhao

    (School of Management, China University of Mining and Technology, Jiangsu 221116, China)

  • Huaqing Wang

    (School of Management, China University of Mining and Technology, Jiangsu 221116, China)

Abstract

Given the increase in energy consumption and pollution emissions, China has formulated a low-carbon economic development strategy. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are mostly at the bottom of the industrial chain and face problems of high energy consumption and low output. The problems of survival and sustainable development of SMEs are serious under the background of low-carbon economy. SMEs play an important role in optimizing economic structure and social stability. Thus, studying the survival and sustainable development strategies of SMEs in China is necessary. This study adopts the method of market survey to perform the questionnaire design, sample selection, questionnaire issuance, and data analysis from three perspectives of policy, social, and internal environments of SMEs. This study summarizes seven factors, including financing and operation management, which restrict the survival and sustainable development of SMEs in China under the background of low-carbon economy. Moreover, this study proposes specific suggestions from internal and external environments.

Suggested Citation

  • Peng Tong & Chao Zhao & Huaqing Wang, 2019. "Research on the Survival and Sustainable Development of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in China under the Background of Low-Carbon Economy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-17, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:5:p:1221-:d:209026
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/5/1221/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/5/1221/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Rufin Baghana & Pierre Mohnen, 2009. "Effectiveness of R&D Tax Incentives in Small and Large Enterprises in Québec," CIRANO Working Papers 2009s-01, CIRANO.
    2. Liu, Hengwei & Gallagher, Kelly Sims, 2010. "Catalyzing strategic transformation to a low-carbon economy: A CCS roadmap for China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 59-74, January.
    3. ZhongXiang Zhang, 2016. "Making the Transition to a Low-Carbon Economy: The Key Challenges for China," Asia and the Pacific Policy Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 3(2), pages 187-202, May.
    4. Klaus Hubacek & Kuishuang Feng & Bin Chen, 2011. "Changing Lifestyles Towards a Low Carbon Economy: An IPAT Analysis for China," Energies, MDPI, vol. 5(1), pages 1-10, December.
    5. Dou, Xiangsheng, 2013. "Low Carbon-Economy Development: China's Pattern and Policy Selection," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 1013-1020.
    6. Rufin Baghana & Pierre Mohnen, 2009. "Effectiveness of R&D tax incentives in small and large enterprises in Québec," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 33(1), pages 91-107, June.
    7. Jones, Jane & Corral de Zubielqui, Graciela, 2017. "Doing well by doing good: A study of university-industry interactions, innovationess and firm performance in sustainability-oriented Australian SMEs," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 262-270.
    8. Jiang, He & Wang, Jianzhou & Dong, Yao & Lu, Haiyan, 2015. "Comprehensive assessment of wind resources and the low-carbon economy: An empirical study in the Alxa and Xilin Gol Leagues of inner Mongolia, China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 1304-1319.
    9. Susanna Falle & Romana Rauter & Sabrina Engert & Rupert J. Baumgartner, 2016. "Sustainability Management with the Sustainability Balanced Scorecard in SMEs: Findings from an Austrian Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(6), pages 1-16, June.
    10. Song, Zhuo-lin & Zhang, Xiao-mei, 2018. "Lending technology and credit risk under different types of loans to SMEs: Evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 43-69.
    11. Hualiang Lu & Shuyi Feng & Jacques H. Trienekens & S.W.F. Omta, 2012. "Network strength, transaction‐specific investments, inter‐personal trust, and relationship satisfaction in Chinese agri‐food SMEs," China Agricultural Economic Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 4(3), pages 363-378, August.
    12. Rui Jiang & Yulin Zhou & Rongrong Li, 2018. "Moving to a Low-Carbon Economy in China: Decoupling and Decomposition Analysis of Emission and Economy from a Sector Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-12, March.
    13. S. Ramakrishna Velamuri & Wilson Liu, 2017. "Ownership structure, insider behavior, and IPO performance of SMEs in China," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 48(3), pages 771-793, March.
    14. Gary J. Castrogiovanni & David Urbano & Joaquín Loras, 2011. "Linking corporate entrepreneurship and human resource management in SMEs," International Journal of Manpower, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 32(1), pages 34-47, March.
    15. Xiaobin Dong & Yufang Zhang & Weijia Cui & Bin Xun & Baohua Yu & Sergio Ulgiati & Xinshi Zhang, 2011. "Emergy-Based Adjustment of the Agricultural Structure in a Low-Carbon Economy in Manas County of China," Energies, MDPI, vol. 4(9), pages 1-15, September.
    16. Jiang, Bing & Sun, Zhenqing & Liu, Meiqin, 2010. "China's energy development strategy under the low-carbon economy," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(11), pages 4257-4264.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Yutong Wu & Bin Xin & Hongyu Zhu & Zifei Ye, 2022. "Energy-Saving Operation Strategy for Hotels Considering the Impact of COVID-19 in the Context of Carbon Neutrality," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-15, November.
    2. Wunhong Su & Liuzhen Zhang & Chao Ge & Shuai Chen, 2022. "Association between Internal Control and Sustainability: A Literature Review Based on the SOX Act Framework," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-30, August.
    3. Jiang, Yihuo & Ni, Hongliang & Guo, Xiaomei & Ni, Yihan, 2023. "Integrating ESG practices and natural resources management for sustainable economic development in SMEs under the double-carbon target of China," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 87(PA).
    4. Thomas Wu & Bo Wang & Dongdong Zhang & Ziwei Zhao & Hongyu Zhu, 2023. "Benchmarking Evaluation of Building Energy Consumption Based on Data Mining," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-16, March.
    5. Mihai Dragomir & Diana Alina Blagu & Sorin Popescu & Mircea Fulea & Călin Neamțu, 2022. "How Well Are Manufacturing Companies in Transylvania, Romania Adapting to the Low-Carbon Economy in Order to Become Sustainable?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(4), pages 1-18, February.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Garfield Wayne Hunter & Gideon Sagoe & Daniele Vettorato & Ding Jiayu, 2019. "Sustainability of Low Carbon City Initiatives in China: A Comprehensive Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(16), pages 1-37, August.
    2. Jürgen Janger & Michael Böheim & Martin Falk & Rahel Falk & Werner Hölzl & Daniela Kletzan-Slamanig & Michael Peneder & Andreas Reinstaller & Fabian Unterlass & Gunther Tichy, 2010. "Research and Innovation Policy after the Crisis," Austrian Economic Quarterly, WIFO, vol. 15(4), pages 321-335, December.
    3. Dimos, Christos & Pugh, Geoff & Hisarciklilar, Mehtap & Talam, Ema & Jackson, Ian, 2022. "The relative effectiveness of R&D tax credits and R&D subsidies: A comparative meta-regression analysis," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    4. Engel, Nora, 2009. "Innovation Dynamics in Tuberculosis Control in India: The Shift to New Partnerships," MERIT Working Papers 2009-040, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    5. Vincent Dortet-Bernadet & Michaël Sicsic, 2017. "The effect of R&D subsidies and tax incentives on employment: an evaluation for small firms in France," Economie et Statistique / Economics and Statistics, Institut National de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques (INSEE), issue 493, pages 5-22.
    6. Ugur, Mehmet & Trushin, Eshref, 2018. "Asymmetric information and heterogeneous effects of R&D subsidies: evidence on R&D investment and employment of R&D personel," Greenwich Papers in Political Economy 21943, University of Greenwich, Greenwich Political Economy Research Centre.
    7. Tea Petrin & Dragana Radicic, 2023. "Instrument policy mix and firm size: is there complementarity between R&D subsidies and R&D tax credits?," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 48(1), pages 181-215, February.
    8. Andy Hall & Norman Clark, 2010. "What do complex adaptive systems look like and what are the implications for innovation policy?," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 22(3), pages 308-324.
    9. Ajay Agrawal & Carlos Rosell & Timothy S. Simcoe, 2014. "Tax Credits and Small Firm R&D Spending," NBER Working Papers 20615, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Lota D. Tamini & Aristide B. Valéa, 2021. "Investment in research and development and export performances of Canadian small and medium‐sized agri‐food firms," Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie, Canadian Agricultural Economics Society/Societe canadienne d'agroeconomie, vol. 69(3), pages 311-336, September.
    11. Théophile T. Azomahou & Micheline Goedhuys & Phu Nguyen Van, 2016. "A Structural Nonparametric Reappraisal of the co 2 Emissions–Income Relationship," Revue économique, Presses de Sciences-Po, vol. 67(1), pages 167-174.
    12. Arvid Raknerud & Diana-Cristina Iancu & Øivind A. Nilsen, 2018. "Public R&D Support and Firms’ Performance. A Panel Data Study," Discussion Papers 878, Statistics Norway, Research Department.
    13. Emmanuel Chavez, 2020. "The Effects of R&D Tax Credits and Subsidies onPrivate R&D in Mexico (Chapter 2)," PSE Working Papers halshs-02652063, HAL.
    14. Diego d’Andria & Dimitrios Pontikakis & Agnieszka Skonieczna, 2018. "Towards a European R&D incentive? An assessment of R&D provisions under a common corporate tax base," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(5-6), pages 531-550, August.
    15. Elina Ladinska & Marielle Non & Bas Straathof, 2015. "More R&D with tax incentives? A meta-analysis," CPB Discussion Paper 309.rdf, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    16. Chen Fang & Pierre Mohnen, 2010. "FDI, R&D and Innovation Output in the Chinese Automobile Industry," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Xiaolan Fu & Luc Soete (ed.), The Rise of Technological Power in the South, chapter 10, pages 203-220, Palgrave Macmillan.
    17. Laurens Klerkx & Andy Hall & Cees Leeuwis, 2009. "Strengthening agricultural innovation capacity: are innovation brokers the answer?," International Journal of Agricultural Resources, Governance and Ecology, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 8(5/6), pages 409-438.
    18. Christina Elschner & Christof Ernst & Christoph Spengel, 2011. "Fiskalische Kosten einer steuerlichen Förderung von Forschung und Entwicklung in Deutschland — Eine empirische Analyse verschiedener Gestaltungsoptionen," Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research, Springer, vol. 63(4), pages 344-370, June.
    19. Joel A. C. Baum & Robin Cowan & Nicolas Jonard, 2010. "Network-Independent Partner Selection and the Evolution of Innovation Networks," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 56(11), pages 2094-2110, November.
    20. Xiaobao Song & Chun Guo & Wunhong Su, 2020. "Preferential Income Tax Rate and Research and Development Investment: Evidence from Small and Medium-Sized Listed Firms in China," Accounting and Finance Research, Sciedu Press, vol. 9(1), pages 1-1, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:5:p:1221-:d:209026. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.