Sustainable Manufacturing Practices among SMEs in Malaysia

Abstract

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) play a significant role in the economic development of Malaysia, accounting for approximately 97.3% of businesses in the country. While there is a plethora of studies which examine the commitments of large and multinational firms towards business sustainability, little is known about the efforts of SMEs to translate their strategic orientation towards environmental and social sustainability into action. It is important to examine the extent of SMEs' response to the imperatives of becoming sustainable businesses through the implementation of sustainable manufacturing practice (SMP) in their business operations. The purpose of this paper is to determine the extent of the implementation of SMP among SMEs in Malaysia. Analysing survey data from 127 SMEs, the results show that the extent of the implementation of SMP among them is low to moderate. This implies that although environmental initiatives are becoming important nowadays, there is still a lack of implementation of SMP in the operational and business activities of SMEs in Malaysia. As well as offering some insights into SMP, particularly in the context of SMEs, this study provides a useful reference for salient stakeholders, such as the government and industrial practitioners, for making decisions and taking further action related to the strategies of nurturing, implementing and enforcing environmental protection and social well-being.

Classifications of Sustainable Manufacturing Practices in ASEAN Region: A Systematic Review and Bibliometric Analysis of the Past Decade of Research

“…When such advanced techniques adopt environmental sustainability, the benefits increase manufacturing capacity, improve the industry's image in regard to environmentally friendly products, and enhance business profile, consumer perceptions, and corporate reputation [85]. Nevertheless, many manufacturing industries are still unable to correctly implement sustainable manufacturing practices [86,87]. For environmental sustainability, there is a need to improve social and ecological sustainability.…”

Sustainable business practices in manufacturing SMEs: The mediating effect of dynamic capabilities

“…Therefore, it is crucial to determine how well they respond to the imperatives of becoming sustainable businesses. Many firms remain confused about whether and how they should internalise natural environmental and social considerations into their core business operations (Hami et al., 2018). Therefore, to maintain a balance between economic, environmental, and social sustainability, SMEs need to implement sustainable business practices and change their manufacturing approaches for sustainable business practices.…”

Developing a framework for adopting environmental manufacturing practices: learning from breweries

“…This mirrors the categorisation from Sarkis (2001) of technology, management and people. Firms reduce environmental impact through the introduction of programmes to implement new practices (Hami et al 2019), including changing technology (Kissock & Eger, 2008), better management of technology (Garetti & Taisch, 2012), and better management of wastes (Kleindorfer et al, 2005).…”

“…Despeisse et al, 2012). Work by Hami et al (2019) is typical of work on practices making clear links between environmental practices and environmental performance.…”

“…There is advice on adopting more environmental practices with much of this knowledge is drawn from documenting practices in successful firms. Wiesner et al (2018) asserted this has mostly focused on large organisations with little known about SMEs (Hami et al, 2019). Potentially there are similarities with lean studies where few manufacturers achieve the considerable improvements of the leading firms (Garza-Reyes et al, 2018).…”