Exploring Sustainability Orientation of MSME-Owners in Tanzania

Abstract

This explorative study examines the performance, socio-demographics and sustainability orientation of owners of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises’ (MSMEs) in Tanzania, a Least Developed Country (LDC). Based on a literature review, a pre-study conducted with experts, and a main study of 168 MSMEs-owners in Morogoro, the analyses show that sustainability orientation is made up of four factors of which clearly one social factor and one environmental factor. Furthermore, in light of the literature, performance and socio-demographic factors are regressed on sustainability orientation and appear not to have a significant influence. However, at a granular level, there are certain effects observed from performance and socio-demographics on sustainability orientation. In contrast to previous research, this study presents fine-grained insights into how performance and sustainability orientation are developed and how the former determines the latter. In doing so, this study sheds light on entrepreneurship in the informal economy of an LDC, refines the understanding of the sustainability orientation of MSME-owners, and endorses the position that “one size does not fit all” regarding the applicability of Western constructs to LDC settings.

Business orientation and sustainable development: A systematic review of sustainability orientation literature and future research avenues

“…(Seidel et al, 2018), self-identity (Meek & Sullivan, 2018), sustainability conceptions (Seidel et al, 2018), social orientation, and altruism (Corral-Verdugo et al, 2009). On the other hand, some studies have reported the insignificant association between the sociodemographic factors (i.e., age, gender, education) and sustainability orientation of owners/entrepreneurs (e.g., Eijdenberg, 2019;Meek & Sullivan, 2018).…”

The role of technological absorption capacity, enviropreneurial orientation, and green marketing in enhancing business' sustainability: evidence from fast-moving consumer goods in Tanzania

“…Apart from green marketing, SMEs in Tanzania have managed to make some improvements in entrepreneurial orientation. A study by Eijdenberg (2019) has suggested that sustainability orientation among small businesses, of which the majority are dealing with fast-consuming goods, must involve social and environmental factors for them to be successful in their operations.…”

“…For instance, a study by Tilt et al (2021) conducted in several sub-Saharan African countries, including Tanzania, identified norms and customs, political and regulatory frameworks, resources, and accountability as the drivers of business sustainability. Furthermore, a study by Eijdenberg (2019) related the age, experience, gender, and level of education of MSME proprietors as indicators of business sustainability orientation. Similarly, when studying financial sustainability, Njiku and Nyamsogoro (2019) only considered owner attributes and firm attributes.…”

Jump for joy: happiness as the route to increased living standards of entrepreneurs in Zambia

“…The first reason was that the '"random" walk procedure' (Frese et al, 2007(Frese et al, , p. 1486) was followed which has been applied more often in developing countries in SSA as a common sampling methodology (cf. Eijdenberg, 2019;Eijdenberg et al, 2020). The second reason was that by aiming for at least 10 fully completed surveys from 16 participants and two students (thus: ideally, 180 fully completed surveys in total), we ensured to have a solid basis for statistical analyses, following the rule of thumb of N > 50 + 8 m, where m represents the number of independent variables in the study (Tabachnick & Fidell, 2007).…”