Abstract
At present, business strategies in SMEs (Small and medium enterprises) are crucial for consolidation in highly competitive markets, in achieving a better image and in business profitability. One of the strategies that are currently being used and that have a high level of success are the practices focused on sustainability and social responsibility, through standardized standards such as: ISO 14001 and ISO 26001. The literature related to sustainable business is based mainly on the theory of resources and capabilities, and in theory based on Stakeholders. These currents state that companies should focus on profitable strategies to ensure significant and long-term results, in order to achieve organizational and financial results for stakeholders. In this work, the sample consists of 215 companies from the commerce, services and industry sectors, located in the southern region of the State of Sonora in Mexico.The objective of the work is to analyze the influence of ISO 14001 and 26001 standards on the image and profitability of SMEs. The statistical analysis of the data has been carried out through the linear regression technique by OLS (Ordinary Least Squares). The findings prove that the ISO 14001 standard is the one that most influences the improvement of the business image and the level of profitability of the SME. In addition, we discovered that ISO 26001 has a partial influence on the image and profitability of the SME.
Highlights
Since the appearance of the industrial revolution and with the changes in economic systems, companies have been in constant movement towards learning, standardization of their processes and the ongoing struggle for competitiveness (Drucker, 2012; Nelson, 2009)
To validate the hypotheses presented in the research and verify the effect that environmental and social responsibility standards have on the corporate image and profitability, the linear regression model by OLS was used
In the last structured equation represented in model 4, we observe the influence that business profitability receives from ISO26001 (β1), the size of the company (β2) and the age of the company (β3) + £
Summary
Since the appearance of the industrial revolution and with the changes in economic systems, companies have been in constant movement towards learning, standardization of their processes and the ongoing struggle for competitiveness (Drucker, 2012; Nelson, 2009). Due to strong international regulations on the subject of process improvement, the quality of products and services, and the control of natural resources, companies are becoming more aware and rational (Finkbeiner et al, 2010; Rajeev, Pati, Padhi, & Govindan, 2017) Theories such as resources and capabilities (RBV-Resource Based View) have considered these business practices as a trigger for growth, improvement of corporate image, increased innovation and significant financial returns for their stakeholders (Barney, 2012; Sharma & Vredenburg, 1998). Stakeholders theory (interest groups) has been one of the main axioms taken as reference by specialists in the subject to support that sustainable businesses with social and environmental actions achieve significant organizational and financial benefits (Freeman, 2010) These benefits usually focus on investors, internal customers, external customers, suppliers and the inhabitants of the communities. This is achieved through collaborative work between the different actors involved in the social economy
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