Abstract
Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have inherent characteristics, which require specific solutions for improving the sustainability performance of their operations. The purpose of this paper is to increase the knowledge on barriers and enablers for the adoption of sustainable manufacturing by manufacturing SMEs and to provide insights into what enablers can be used to overcome existing barriers. Taking, as a starting point, a systematic literature review, this paper presents a categorization of barriers and enablers for the adoption of sustainable manufacturing by manufacturing SMEs. In total, seven categories for classifying the barriers and enablers for the adoption of sustainable manufacturing within SMEs were identified: organizational, managerial and attitudinal; informational; governmental; financial; training and skills development; market and business context; and technological. Additionally, this study elaborates on what barriers could be mitigated through the enablers. This study found specific enablers with the potential to mitigate a significantly higher number of barriers and referred to them as ‘critical enablers’. SMEs aiming to adopt sustainable manufacturing practices or improve their sustainability performance are encouraged to focus on the enablers in these categories. This paper synthesizes and facilitates interpretation of the existing body of evidence on barriers and enablers for adopting sustainable manufacturing in SMEs.
Highlights
Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have received little attention in the ongoing global debate regarding sustainability developments [1]
Barriers and enablers faced by SMEs have mainly been studied in the literature considering the environmental perspective of sustainability, Figure 2c, with 69% of the papers considering barriers and enablers associated with the adoption of environmental sustainability practices, whereas only 16% of papers in the sample presented barriers and enablers from a triple bottom line perspective
This paper fills the gaps in current literature regarding the identification of barriers and enablers faced by manufacturing SMEs related to the adoption of sustainable manufacturing practices
Summary
Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have received little attention in the ongoing global debate regarding sustainability developments [1]. While the contributions of large organizations to the global anthropogenic impact on the environment and their effect on sustainability are obvious, the pivotal role of SMEs requires urgent recognition. Statistics indicate that more than 95% of enterprises in the world are SMEs, accounting for approximately 60% of private sector employment [2]. An often quoted estimate on the environmental impact of SMEs indicates that SMEs generate up to 70% of all global pollution [4]. The large number of SMEs means that, collectively, they have a substantial collective impact on the environment [4,5,6]
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