Attitudes and actions towards sustainability: A survey of Norwegian SMEs

Abstract

Sustainability is one of the biggest buzzwords and catchphrases of the 21st century, dominating not only management discourse but also the public debate in general. Today, many large organizations have bought into the idea that sustainability is essential and have already taken steps towards implementing more sustainable business practices. While past research indicates that SMEs are typically lagging behind their larger counterparts, our knowledge about the sustainability attitudes and actions of the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is limited. This is also the case in Norway, where there is minimal research on what impact sustainability ideas have had on business practices. More knowledge about sustainability in SMEs is crucial since these firms comprise a large and crucial part of the Norwegian economy. Therefore, this paper aims to examine sustainability attitudes and actions among managers of Norwegian SMEs employing an electronic survey. Drawing on existing research, we propose a typology of managerial responses to sustainability, distinguishing between four groups of managers, which are labeled: 1) skeptics; 2) adaptors; 3) posers and 4) enthusiasts. The findings of the survey suggest that most managers can be characterized as skeptics and that adaptors are the smallest group. While there has been a general increase in sustainability commitment, sustainability initiatives tend to be lagging behind. These findings have several practical and policy related implications.