Sustainability Trajectories of Asian and African Small and Large Enterprises

Abstract

Research on sustainability has grown considerably over the past 25 years. Sustainability science research so far has revolved around four areas: biological research; geophysical research; technological research; and social research, with the last two being the foci of this special edition. The technological research niche focuses on the design of devices and systems to produce more social goods with less environmental harm, whereas social research is interested in how human institutions, economics systems and beliefs shape the interactions between societies and the environment (Kates, 2000). Most of the present efforts in these areas concentrate on multinational enterprises and large organizations, especially those of Western origin. According to Ndubisi (2008), this trend has left a wide gap in our understanding of sustainability trajectories of firms in Asia and Africa. According to Porter and van der Linde (1995), on one side of the ecology–economy trade-off are the social benefits that arise from strict environmental standards, and on the other are industry’s private costs for prevention and clean-up – costs that lead to higher prices and reduced competitiveness. Many developing nations on Asian and African continents are viewed as non-competitive, which makes strict adherence to social environmental standards a remote goal, as it is capable of worsening the existing state of non-competitiveness. Nonetheless, the growing environmentfriendly initiatives by some Asian and African businesses are beginning to challenge this idea. As such, it is timely to report the outcomes of rigorous research on sustainability trajectories, namely the nature, models, initiatives, distinct patterns over time, variability and outcomes of technological and social sustainability by Asian and African enterprises. This special issue of the Journal of Asian and African Studies focuses on technological and social research with the aim of understanding how for-profit and not-for-profit small and mediumsize enterprises (SMEs) and their larger counterparts in Asia and Africa approach the subject of sustainability and contribute towards sustainability of the business and the environment. We solicited cutting-edge research articles in the form of theoretical, empirical or case study research focusing on sustainability of Asian and African SMEs based on the following (but not limited to) topics: Business Sustainability and Succession Planning; Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Governance; Economic Development; Environmental Marketing; Environmental Quality; Ethical Business Practices; Globalization and Environmental Implications; Green Entrepreneurial Orientation; Green Production and Supply Chain; Green Technology and Innovation; Internal Marketing and Productivity Sustainability; Management of Environmental Quality; Resources Acquisition and Utilization; Sustainability of Born Global Firms; Sustainable Performance and Competitive Advantage; and Strategy and Sustainability. 493600 JAS48410.1177/0021909613493600Journal of Asian and African StudiesNdubisi 2013