Sustainable business development through leadership in SMEs

• Autorzy: Szczepańska-Woszczyna K. , Kurowska-Pysz J.

Identyfikatory

DOI

10.1515/emj-2016-0024

• Języki publikacji: EN

Abstrakty

EN

The aim of this paper is to examine the role and scope of the influence of leadership on the sustainable development of SMEs. Research methods included the theoretical analysis of scientific literature and a direct survey. The quantitative sample for analysis contained 138 managers, the representatives of companies (SMEs) located in Poland. The data was collected in November and December 2015. The obtained results show that leadership is one of the key aspects that enable sustainability. It is more important than employee approval, beliefs of employees from individual departments and teams, a long-term strategy for the sustainable development of the company, approval by external stakeholders, and substantial financial resources. There is a statistically significant relationship between taking action related to sustainable business in the company and manager’s conviction (awareness) regarding the concept of sustainable business development as well as the influence of the manager on employees and the stimulation of their behaviour, including their development, decent treatment, communication with the manager, and the system of rewards and promotions. Managers undertake some action aimed at developing their employees. They also establish relationships with external stakeholders. The paper presents theoretical reflections on the relationship between the sustainable business development of SMEs and leadership, also verified by the empirical study conducted among managers of private companies. The findings of the study contribute to the understanding of the connections between these constructs. The relationship between the creation of sustainable business development is analysed in depth with reference to SMEs. Entrepreneurs and managers of SMEs can benefit from the study in order to build an organisation capable of achieving effective and sustainable development.

Słowa kluczowe

EN

sustainable development; sustainable business; corporate sustainability; small and medium-sized enterprises; leadership

PL

rozwój zrównoważony; zrównoważony biznes; zbiorowy zrównoważony rozwój; sektor małych i średnich przedsiębiorstw; przywództwo

• Wydawca: Oficyna Wydawnicza Politechniki Białostockiej
• Czasopismo: Ekonomia i Zarządzanie
• Rocznik: 2016
• Tom: Vol. 8, no. 3
• Strony: 57--69
• Opis fizyczny: Bibliogr. 61 poz., rys., tab.

Twórcy

autor

Szczepańska-Woszczyna K.

• Department of Management, Faculty of Applied Sciences, University of Dąbrowa Górnicza

autor

Kurowska-Pysz J.

• Department of Production Management, Non-local Faculty in Cieszyn, University of Dabrowa Górnicza

Bibliografia

• Augier, M., & Teece, D.J. (2009). Dynamic capabilities and the role of managers in business strategy and economic performance. Organization Science, 20(2), 410-421.
• Baumann-Pauly, D., Wickert, C., Spence, L.J., & Scherer, A.G. (2013). Organizing corporate social responsibility in small and large firms: Size matters. Journal of Business Ethics, 115(4), 693-705.
• Bos‐Brouwers, H.E.J. (2010). Corporate sustainability and innovation in SMEs: evidence of themes and activities in practice. Business Strategy and the Environment, 19(7), 417-435.
• Bradford, J., & Fraser, E.D. (2008). Local authorities, climate change and small and medium enterprises: identifying effective policy instruments to reduce energy use and carbon emissions. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 15(3), 156-172.
• Bratianu, C. (2015). Organizational Knowledge Dynamics: Managing Knowledge Creation, Acquisition, Sharing, and Transformation: Managing Knowledge Creation, Acquisition, Sharing, and Transformation. IGI Global.
• Cardona, P., & Rey, C. (2009). Zarządzanie przez misję [Management by mission]. Kraków, Poland: Wolters Kluwer Polska.
• Ciasullo, M., & Troisi, O. (2011). The creation of sustainable value in SMEs. A case study. Paper presented at the Conference Proceedings 14th Toulon-Verona Conference „Organizational Excellence in Services”, University of Alicante – University of Oviedo.
• Cramer, J. (2006). Corporate Social Responsibility and Globalisation: an action plan for business: Sheffield, Great Britain: Greenleaf Publishing
• De Gobbi, M.S. (2011). Mainstreaming Environmental issues in sustainable enterprises: An exploration of issues, experiences and options. Geneva, Switzerland: International Labour Office.
• Doppelt, R. (2003). The seven sustainability blunders. The Systems Thinker, 14(5), 1-7.
• Drake, F., Purvis, M., & Hunt, J. (2004). Meeting the environmental challenge: a case of win-win or losewin? A study of the UK baking and refrigeration industries. Business Strategy and the Environment, 13(3), 172-186.
• Drucker, P.F. (2004). Menedżer skuteczny [Effective manager]. Konstancin-Jeziorna, Poland: MT Biznes.
• European Commission. (2007). Opportunity and Responsibility – How to help small business to integrate social and environmental issues into what they do. Directorate-general for enterprises and industry.
• Entr, D. (2004). Public Policy Initiative to promote the Uptake of environmental Management Systems in small and medium-sized Enterprises. Final Report of the BEST Project Expert Group.
• Epstein, M.J., & Buhovac, A.R. (2014). Making sustainability work: Best practices in managing and measuring corporate social, environmental, and economic impacts. San Francisco, USA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
• Gadenne, D.L., Kennedy, J., & McKeiver, C. (2009). An empirical study of environmental awareness and practices in SMEs. Journal of Business Ethics, 84(1), 45-63.
• Gerstenfeld, A., Roberts, H. (2000). Size matters: barriers and prospects for environmental management in small and medium-sized enterprises. In R. Hillary (Ed.), Small and medium-sized enterprises and the environment: Business Imperatives (pp. 106-119). Sheffield, Great Britain: Greenleaf Publishing.
• Goehrig, R. (2008). The role of leadership in building high performing, sustainable organizations. Government Finance Review, 24(6), 6-14.
• Grönroos, C. (2007). Service management and marketing: customer management in service competition. John Wiley & Sons.
• Grudzewski, W., Hejduk, I., Sankowska, A., & Wańtuchowicz, M. (2010). Sustainability w biznesie, czyli przedsiębiorstwo przyszłości - zmiany paradygmatów i koncepcji zarządzania [Sustainability in business, enterprise of the future - change management concepts and paradigms]. Warszawa, Poland: Poltext.
• Hall, J.K., Daneke, G.A., & Lenox, M.J. (2010). Sustainable development and entrepreneurship: Past contributions and future directions. Journal of Business Venturing, 25(5), 439-448.
• Hambrick, D.C., & Mason, P.A. (1984). Upper echelons: The organization as a reflection of its top managers. Academy of management review, 9(2), 193-206.
• Hemingway, C.A., & Maclagan, P.W. (2004). Managers' personal values as drivers of corporate social responsibility. Journal of Business Ethics, 50(1), 33-44.
• Hillary, R. (2000). Small and medium-sized enterprises and the environment: business imperatives. Sheffield, Great Britain: Greenleaf Publishing.
• Hind, P., Smit, A., & Page, N. (2013). Enabling sustainability through an action research process of organisational development. Journal of Corporate Citizenship, 49, 137-161.
• Hoag, B., & Cooper, C.L. (2006). Managing value-based organizations: it's not what you think. Northampton, Great Britain: Edward Elgar Publishing.
• Hobbs, J. (2000). Promoting Cleaner Production in SMEs. In R. Hilary (Ed.), SMEs and the Environment (pp. 149-157). Sheffield, Great Britain: Greenleaf Publishing.
• Jabłoński, A. (2010). A sustainable development and sustainable business in creation of value the companies responsible socially. Zeszyty Naukowe Wyższej Szkoły Humanitas. Zarządzanie, 2, 15-30.
• Jabłoński, A. (2015). Network dynamics and business model dynamics in improving a company’s performance. International Journal of Economics, III(1), 1-10.
• Jansen, J.J. (2008). Combining competence building and leveraging: managing paradoxes in ambidextrous organizations. Advances in Applied Business Strategy, 10(10), 99-119.
• Jenkins, H. (2006). Small business champions for corporate social responsibility. Journal of Business Ethics, 67(3), 241-256.
• Koźmiński, A.K. (2008). Koniec świata menedżerów [End of the world of managers]. Warszawa, Poland: Wydawnictwo Akademickie i Profesjonalne.
• Kurowska-Pysz, J. (2014). Development of student’s professional competences within the framework of science-business cooperation. Polish Journal of Management Studies, 9, 115-126.
• Kurowska-Pysz, J., & Gregor, M. (2014). The transfer of knowledge in technological cross‐border industry cluster–case study. Management Systems in Production Engineering, 2(14), 63-67.
• Lacy, P., Cooper, T., Hayward, R., & Neuberger, L. (2010). A new era of sustainability. UN Global Compact, Accenture.
• Laurinkevičiūtė, A., & Stasiškienė, Ž. (2010). Sustainable development decision-making model for small and medium enterprises. Environmental Research, Engineering and Management, 52(2), 14-24.
• Martin, J.D., Petty, J.W., & Wallace, J.S. (2009). Value based management with corporate social responsibility. New York, USA: Oxford University Press.
• Moszoro, B. (2012). Znaczenie misji przedsiębiorstwa i jej wpływ na kompetencje przywódcze [The importance of enterprise mission and its impact on leadership competencies]. Management and Business Administration. Central Europe, 2(115), 53-62.
• Nogalski, B., & Śniadecki, J. (2001). Umiejętności menedżerskie w zarządzaniu przedsiębiorstwem [Managerial skills in business management]. Bydgoszcz, Poland: Oficyna Wydawnicza Ośrodka Postępu Organizacyjnego.
• Nulkar, G. (2014). Does environmental sustainability matter to small and medium enterprises? Empirical evidence from India. International Journal of Environmental Studies, 71(4), 481-489.
• Perrini, F., & Tencati, A. (2006). Sustainability and stakeholder management: the need for new corporate performance evaluation and reporting systems. Business Strategy and the Environment, 15(5), 296-308.
• Porter, M.E., & Kramer, M.R. (2007). Strategy and Society: The Link between Competitive Advantage and Corporate Social Responsibility. Harvard Business Review, 84(12), 78-92.
• Rainey, D.L. (2010). Sustainable business development: inventing the future through strategy, innovation, and leadership. Cambridge, USA: Cambridge University Press.
• Revell, A., & Blackburn, R. (2007). The business case for sustainability? An examination of small firms in the UK's construction and restaurant sectors. Business Strategy and the Environment, 16(6), 404-420.
• Sadecki, B. (2013). Społeczna odpowiedzialność przedsiębiorstw korzystna w biznesie [Corporate social responsibility favorable business]. Wprost, 13, 86-87.
• Skawińska, E. (2002). Konkurencyjność przedsiębiorstw: nowe podejście [Competitiveness: a new approach]. Warszawa–Poznań, Poland: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN.
• Spence, L.J., & Lozano, J.F. (2000). Communicating About Ethics with Small Firms: Experiences From the U.K. and Spain. Journal of Business Ethics, 27(1-2), 43-53.
• Sroka, W., & Gajdzik, B. (2015). Managerial Challenges for Networks and Beyond (pp. 121-134). W. Sroka & Š. Hittmár (Eds.), Management of Network Organizations: Switzerland: Springer International Publishing.
• Stewart, H.J., & Gapp, R. (2011). Situating leadership to develop CSR sustainable practices within an SME context. In T. Clark (Ed.), Presented at the 25th Annual Conference of the British Academy of Management Conference (BAM2011), Birmingham, United Kingdom.
• Subramaniam, M., & Youndt, M. A. (2005). The influence of intellectual capital on the types of innovativeb capabilities. Academy of Management Journal, 48(3), 450-463.
• Szczepańska-Woszczyna, K. (2014). SMEs managers – a need for competence. Acta Technologica Dubnicae, 4(1), 1-16.
• Szczepańska-Woszczyna, K. (2015). Leadership and organizational culture as the normative influence of top management on employee's behaviour in the innovation process. Procedia Economics and Finance, 34, 396-402.
• Szczepańska-Woszczyna, K., Dacko-Pikiewicz, Z., & Lis, M. (2015). Responsible leadership: a real need or transient curiosity. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 213, 546-551.
• Szczepańska-Woszczyna, K., & Lis, M. (2015). Evaluating innovation activities in small and medium enterprises. In J. Kaczmarek, & P. Krzemiński (Eds.), Development, innovation and business potential in view of economic changes. Cracow, Poland: Cracow University of Economics.
• Teece, D.J. (2007). Explicating dynamic capabilities: the nature and microfoundations of (sustainable) enterprise performance. Strategic Management Journal, 28(13), 1319-1350.
• Teece, D.J., Pisano, G., & Shuen, A. (1997). Dynamic capabilities and strategic management. Strategic Management Journal, 18(7), 509-533.
• Ten key elements to sustainable business practices in SMEs. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.cgma.org
• Vasilenko, L., & Arbačiauskas, V. (2012). Obstacles and drivers for sustainable innovation development and implementation in small and medium sized enterprises. Environmental Research, Engineering and Management, 60(2), 58-66.
• Vincenza Ciasullo, M., & Troisi, O. (2013). Sustainable value creation in SMEs: A case study. The TQM Journal, 25(1), 44-61.
• Vyakarnam, S., Bailey, A., Myers, A., & Burnett, D. (1997). Towards an understanding of ethical behaviour in small firms. Journal of Business Ethics, 16(15), 1625-1636.
• Waddock, S., & Bodwell, C. (2004). Managing responsibility: what can be learned from the quality movement? California Management Review, 47(1), 25-37.

Uwagi

Opracowanie ze środków MNiSW w ramach umowy 812/P-DUN/2016 na działalność upowszechniającą naukę.