Sustainability Strategies for Developing SMEs and Entrepreneurship

Introduction

SMEs play an important role in economic development of any countries. They provide wide employment opportunities and promoting equitable development. They facilitate industrial development in backward areas thereby reducing the regional imbalances and promote equitable distribution of income and wealth. Now many companies much focused on environmental challenges. Sustainability has become a major problem today for the better life of future generations. Many large companies are adopting green manufacturing practices in their business. SMEs in India face various challenges in the post globalisation era, because of tight competition, lack of innovation and market challenges.

The present study tries to fill the gap by identifying green manufacturing strategies, analysing the relationship between green activities and firms green performance and providing recommendations for the stakeholders of SMEs. The researcher formulated following objectives of the study.

• 1.

  To understand the importance of sustainability strategies for the development of SMEs and entrepreneurship

• 2.

  To find out various green strategies used by SMEs

• 3.

  To analyse the relationship between green activities in various stages of product life cycle on firms green performance

• 4.

  To measure the impact of green activities in various stages of product life cycle on firms green performance

• 5.

  Provide recommendations to the stakeholders of SMEs for the betterment of environmental activities

On the basis of these objectives the researcher formulated following hypothesises

• 1.

  H01: There is no significant relationship between green activities in various stages of product life cycle and firms green performance

• 2.

  H02: There is no significant impact between green activities in various stages of product life cycle and firms green performance

Background

In India, the growth and development of the SMEs sector first took place due to the vision of the late Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who intended to develop a strategic industry and a supporting sector for industrial development. SME sector characterised as low capital requirements, high risk and large manpower requirements. This sector is one of the major export contributors also. In India the SME sector is much diverse and it comprises both modern and traditional industries.

Many researchers are conducted studies in the area of sustainability business practices of SMEs. Researchers either focus narrowly on industry pollution or on sustainability challenges. To analyse the current state of environmental strategies, much more studies are needed in this area. Such studies should increase awareness levels among owners, and employees and provide recommendations for various stakeholders of the business. SMEs in India are highly diverse in nature. A small family owned unit in the bricks manufacturing business is an SME, and a manufacturing unit produces electronic equipment’s is another SME unit. Thus, it is impossible to generalize.

Reinhardt (1999) founded five approaches that a firm can adopt to improve their green strategic management. These includes product differentiation based on green positioning, shape industry laws and regulations, effective management of competition, managing environmental risk, cost reduction through environmental programs and redefining markets.

A technologically innovative and internationally competitive SME sector should be encouraged to emerge, to make a sustainable contribution to national income, employment and international trade (Subrahmanya, 2005). There are many drivers related with implementing sustainability strategies .these drivers can be categorized into cause group and effect group. Society pressure, government policies, involvement of top management are considered as drivers in cause group and supplier participation, sustainable culture and corporate image are considered as effect group (Garg et al., 2014).