Sustainability Management with the Sustainability Balanced Scorecard in SMEs: Findings from an Austrian Case Study

Abstract

Abstract:Given the economic importance of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and their need for strategic sustainability management, this paper examines the concept of Sustainability Balanced Scorecard (SBSC) with respect to SMEs. This case study describes the development of an SBSC in a middle-sized Austrian brewery. The existing methods used in SBSC creation were adapted to suit the company's specific needs. The findings show that when developing an SBSC it is important to take specific SME characteristics into account and apply methods that allow for adaptation to the prevailing conditions, such as strategic management, organizational structure and resources. In the case study special attention was paid to strategy analysis and thereby the creation of a solid basis for the SBSC. Furthermore, the results show SBSC development is not a process of distinct consecutive steps, as it is often suggested in the literature, but rather that it is a complex process marked by iterative steps. Moreover, the paper highlights the supporting factors and challenges experienced. Whereas top management support, the presence of a project team and high employee involvement were identified as key supporting factors, a lack of specific resources and blurry strategy formulation exert negative influence on the development process. The results presented here should help other SMEs in their development of an SBSC. The paper stimulates scientific discourse on sustainability and strategic management by highlighting the relevant supporting factors and challenges.

An analysis of environmental sustainability in small & medium‐sized enterprises: Patterns and trends

“…Another main issue observed during this research study was the lack of research that explored China and the United States, even though the United States and China contribute more greenhouse gases than the other countries. Our research, consistent with previous meta‐analyses, shows studies in Europe make up the majority of the articles (e.g., Falle, Rauter, Engert, & Baumgartner, ; Galdeano‐Gómez, Pérez‐Mesa, & Godoy‐Durán, ; Lynch‐Wood & Williamson, ; Rahbauer, Menapace, Menrad, & Lang, ; Starčević, Zrnić, & Mijoč, ), followed by Asian studies (e.g., Alziady & Enayah, ; Dhillon, Bentley, & Bukoye, ; Nejati, Quazi, Amran, & Ahmad, ) and North American studies (e.g., Westman et al, ).…”

Who Takes More Sustainability-Oriented Entrepreneurial Actions? The Role of Entrepreneurs’ Values, Beliefs and Orientations

“…Even though there is a lot of ongoing research in this context [33,86,108,113,116], our understanding of individual reasons is rather incomplete. This approach provides a much more detailed picture of sustainability-oriented entrepreneurial actions within firms.…”

Sustainability in SMEs: Top Management Teams Behavioral Integration as Source of Innovativeness

“…Another goal of our research paper was to determine why some of top-level managers are more willing to pursue opportunities and strategies that have environmental, social, and intergenerational components (i.e., sustainable outcomes) [24,[43][44][45][46][47]. Specifically, in this paper, we attempted to shed light on the role of TMT behavioral integration in SMEs' decisions to take sustainability-oriented actions.…”

“…Sustainability-oriented actions (acquiring ISO14001 certification, for example) enhance a company's reputation via product quality and image [40,41] and help in achieving environmental action-based competitive advantage [42]. There is remarkable agreement among environmental management scholars regarding the critical role of top executive support in firms' engagement in sustainability-oriented actions and practices [24,[43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52]. The specific types of top executives that tend to take advantage of opportunities and strategies that have environmental, social, and intergenerational components (i.e., sustainable outcomes) is less clear [47].…”