IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/circec/v5y2025i1d10.1007_s43615-024-00416-z.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Examining the Role of Sustainability Performance in Enhancing Competitive Capability: Insights from a Sample of Indian Manufacturing SMEs

Author

Listed:
  • Debashree De

    (University of Essex)

  • Prasanta Kumar Dey

    (Aston University)

  • Chrisovalantis Malesios

    (Agricultural University of Athens)

  • Pavel Albores

    (Aston University)

Abstract

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have a significant impact on the economy, but their negative effects on the environment and society pose challenges for sustainability. Achieving sustainability is difficult for SMEs, as environmental and social performances do not always lead to cost reduction, and they struggle to balance their performance. This study analyzed 227 Indian manufacturing SMEs using structural equation modeling to investigate the combined impact of sustainability opportunity, operational performance, and competitive capability. The findings suggest that sustainability opportunity has a weak negative effect on operational performance, but it slightly helps achieve social and environmental performance. Environmental performance negatively impacts competitive capability, while economic and social performance enhances it. Motivations to focus on environmental performance are necessary in the present Indian market scenario and regulations that SMEs face. Overall, the study aims to facilitate sustainability in manufacturing SMEs.

Suggested Citation

  • Debashree De & Prasanta Kumar Dey & Chrisovalantis Malesios & Pavel Albores, 2025. "Examining the Role of Sustainability Performance in Enhancing Competitive Capability: Insights from a Sample of Indian Manufacturing SMEs," Circular Economy and Sustainability, Springer, vol. 5(1), pages 367-392, February.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:circec:v:5:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1007_s43615-024-00416-z
    DOI: 10.1007/s43615-024-00416-z
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s43615-024-00416-z
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s43615-024-00416-z?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    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:spr:circec:v:5:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1007_s43615-024-00416-z. 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.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.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.