Factors Motivating Indian Manufacturing SME Employers in Adopting GSCM Practices

Abstract

The growth of manufacturing SMEs is vital as their contribution towards the national economy is significant. In this era of globalisation, SMEs are compelled to ensure sustainable profitability through cost saving while being environmentally conscious at the same time. It has been reported in the past empirical studies that adoption of green supply chain management (GSCM) practices by SMEs could enable such enterprises to improve their performance and succeed in their operations. Hence, to gain and maintain competitive advantage and succeed, SMEs need to change their practices and adapt their strategies to the dynamic environment of today. The factors motivating adoption of GSCM among Indian SMEs have not been thoroughly explored in the past studies. This sets the motivation for the present research. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to explore the factors motivating Indian manufacturing SME employers in adopting GSCM practices in their firms and to develop a GSCM framework based on the literature review and the empirical findings of this study. An interview-based qualitative research methodology is used in order to gather rich and rigorous information from experienced SME employers. The contents of the interviews were analysed using thematic analysis method and the recurring themes were identified and highlighted. The findings presented in this chapter clearly illustrate the low level of involvement of SME employers in adopting GSCM in their firms. The results reveal that financial benefits, saving cost, government pressures and awareness by government are the most important factors that are motivating Indian SME employers to adopt GSCM practices in their firms. The findings can help employers to focus on important factors to facilitate adoption of GSCM practices in SMEs with limited resources.