Crossley, RM orcid.org/0000-0003-2772-3682, Elmagrhi, MH and Ntim, CG (2021) Sustainability and legitimacy theory: The case of sustainable social and environmental practices of small and medium-sized enterprises. Business Strategy and the Environment, 30 (8). pp. 3425-4296. ISSN 0964-4733
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to identify and gain insights into small and medium-sized enterprises' (SMEs) rationales (why) for engaging in sustainable social and environmental practices (SEPs) that influence social and environmental policy and sustainability changes. Specifically, we depart from the predominately quantitative-orientated SEPs literature by conducting in-depth interviews and analysis of owners and managers of SMEs in the United Kingdom within a legitimacy theoretical framework. Our findings from a comprehensive number of interviewees show that SMEs employ a complex mix of both symbolic and substantive SEPs with the aim of enhancing the legitimacy and sustainability of their operations. The results emphasise the strengths of social engagement, reputation and image, environmental embeddedness, industry differentiation and education facilitators. In particular, the paper shows that legitimating strategies can have a dual purpose of being symbolic in nature but also inferring a substantive legitimacy claim. Evidence of SMEs maintaining their legitimacy position stretches further via either a moral and/or a pragmatic standpoint.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2021 The Authors. Business Strategy and The Environment published by ERP Environment and John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Keywords: | environmental performance; environmental policy and sustainability; legitimacy theory; SMEs; social and environmental practices; substantive and symbolic legitimation; UK |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Business (Leeds) > Accounting & Finance Division (LUBS) (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 20 May 2021 13:58 |
Last Modified: | 14 Nov 2023 16:04 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Wiley |
Identification Number: | 10.1002/bse.2837 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:174365 |