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Maintaining Sustainable Practices in SMEs: Insights from Sweden

Author

Listed:
  • Desislava Tsvetkova

    (Independent Researcher, 2300 Copenhagen, Denmark)

  • Emma Bengtsson

    (Independent Researcher, 30578 Kvibille, Sweden)

  • Susanne Durst

    (Department of Business Administration, Tallinn University of Technology, 19086 Tallinn, Estonia)

Abstract

By addressing the scarce knowledge of sustainability practices in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the purpose of the paper is to identify drivers for the maintenance of such practices and their extent. Based on a series of semi-structured interviews conducted with small Swedish firms, our findings reveal certain external (i.e., suppliers and customers) and internal (i.e., employees, organizational culture, and competitive advantage) factors that are strongly linked to the maintenance of sustainability practices. Apart from these, the longevity of the business was identified as an additional sustainability maintenance factor. This factor has not been discussed previously in the literature, so given its strength, we suggest to have it stand separately. The findings further indicate that Swedish SMEs are not limited by size concerning their sustainability practices but they are consciously working on progressing in their efforts. Furthermore, drawing on our findings we provide practical implications that will help business owners’, managers, and policymakers to better enable sustainability practices.

Suggested Citation

  • Desislava Tsvetkova & Emma Bengtsson & Susanne Durst, 2020. "Maintaining Sustainable Practices in SMEs: Insights from Sweden," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-26, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:24:p:10242-:d:458607
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