The Role of Top Managers in Implementing Corporate Sustainability—A Systematic Literature Review on Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

Abstract

This systematic literature review investigates whether corporate sustainability (CS), according to the tribble bottom line concept (TBL), is implemented in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and further identifies associated drivers. Building on upper echelon theory (UET) and the Schwartz value system (SVS) this study aims to analyze and contextualize extant empirical research. We developed a PRISMA-based framework to select relevant studies systematically. Based on an initial sample of 1249 articles between 2000 and 2020, we provide critical analysis of 31 best practice, peer-reviewed journal articles. Our findings suggest seven specifications of CS in SMEs that are driven by either internal or external motivations. Our review reveals that, overwhelmingly, SMEs engage in CS but fail to report it (“green blushing”). Furthermore, we find that the top managers of SMEs are a huge driver of CS. Oftentimes, they are even pioneers of good social and environmental practices. Finally, we identify four value dimensions (benevolence, achievement, power, and conformity values) according to the dimensions of the SVS that drive SMEs’ top managers’ engagement in CS. We contribute to the current state of research by conducting the first literature review that exclusively investigates how SMEs’ executives influence the enterprise’s commitment towards CS, based on the UET and the SVS. Thereby, we discuss implications and provide valuable recommendations for researchers, practitioners, and regulators alike.

Green Brand Equity—Empirical Experience from a Systematic Literature Review

“…This is a well-known method for conducting a literature review on sustainability issues, as well as economic and social sciences [81][82][83][84]. Systematic reviews [15,74,81,82,[84][85][86][87][88][89][90][91] and meta-analyses [92,93] are essential tools to accurately and reliably summarize the evidence [80].…”

“…The inclusion of only empirical articles is due to the inclusion of statistically validated factors that determine GBE. This approach is used in the literature in the PRISMA method when applying SLR to areas, such as medicine [86,[94][95][96][97], management [88,98], consumer behavior [99], tourism [100], and others [81,85,90]. The SLR search of five databases yielded 3393 publications.…”

Does Government-Led Publicity Enhance Corporate Green Behavior? Empirical Evidence from Green Xuanguan in China

“…The Upper Echelons Theory shows that leadership, especially sustainable leadership, is an essential factor of corporate sustainability (CS, Corporate Sustainability) [66][67][68]. Among CS research, by a comprehensive investigation of 1249 works within the literature from 2000 to 2020, the study [69] concluded that top managers are the great driving force…”

“…The Upper Echelons Theory shows that leadership, especially sustainable leadership, is an essential factor of corporate sustainability (CS, Corporate Sustainability) [66][67][68]. Among CS research, by a comprehensive investigation of 1249 works within the literature from 2000 to 2020, the study [69] concluded that top managers are the great driving force and pioneers of corporations engaged in responsible social and environmental practice. Previous studies have shown that leaders with stronger green perceptions are more likely to promote green behavior change in corporations [69][70][71].…”

The Relationship between CFO Compensation and Corporate Sustainability: An Empirical Examination of German Listed Firms

“…In contrast, CEOs generally do not influence this decision-making process [10]. Accordingly, it is undeniable that the CFO greatly influences a firm's decisions and development [11,12].…”