Barriers and drivers for the adoption of industrial sustainability measures in European SMEs: Empirical evidence from chemical and metalworking sectors

Neri, A; Cagno, E; Trianni, A

Barriers and drivers for the adoption of industrial sustainability measures in European SMEs: Empirical evidence from chemical and metalworking sectors

Neri, A Cagno, E Trianni, A

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Publisher:: Elsevier BV
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Sustainable Production and Consumption, 2021, 28, pp. 1433-1464
Issue Date:: 2021-10-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Neri, A
dc.contributor.author	Cagno, E
dc.contributor.author	Trianni, A https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1699-7787
dc.date.accessioned	2022-01-27T06:25:29Z
dc.date.available	2022-01-27T06:25:29Z
dc.date.issued	2021-10-01
dc.identifier.citation	Sustainable Production and Consumption, 2021, 28, pp. 1433-1464
dc.identifier.issn	2352-5509
dc.identifier.issn	2352-5509
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/153659
dc.description.abstract	As industrial sustainability measures and interventions play a central role in enhancing the sustainability performance in industrial firms, it is of great importance to properly understand the factors that might influence the decision-making process leading to their adoption, namely barriers and drivers. However, there is scarce empirical literature discussing barriers and drivers to industrial sustainability as well as the effect of contextual factors or of the firm's approach towards sustainability issues. For this reason, we conducted an exploratory investigation in 26 small and medium enterprises operating in the chemical and metalworking manufacturing sectors across Germany and Italy. Our preliminary findings show that the sampled firms are mainly hindered by economic barriers and fostered by external drivers. The investigation highlighted the influence of the contextual factors sector, country, and size on the perception of barriers and drivers. Moreover, the presence of a dedicated manager for sustainability, the number of certifications held by a firm, and a holistic definition of sustainability, seem to affect the barriers and drivers perceived by the sampled industrial decision-makers. The paper concludes by offering insights to both theoretical and practical discussion over the adoption of industrial sustainability measures, while also providing additional knowledge to practitioners and policy makers on critical areas for the improvement of industrial sustainability.
dc.language	en
dc.publisher	Elsevier BV
dc.relation.ispartof	Sustainable Production and Consumption
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1016/j.spc.2021.08.018
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/embargoedAccess
dc.subject	0502 Environmental Science and Management, 1402 Applied Economics, 1604 Human Geography
dc.title	Barriers and drivers for the adoption of industrial sustainability measures in European SMEs: Empirical evidence from chemical and metalworking sectors
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	28
utslib.for	0502 Environmental Science and Management
utslib.for	1402 Applied Economics
utslib.for	1604 Human Geography
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Strength - CAMGIS - Centre for Advanced Modelling and Geospatial lnformation Systems
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology/School of Information, Systems and Modelling
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*
utslib.copyright.embargo	2023-10-31T00:00:00+1000Z
dc.date.updated	2022-01-27T06:25:27Z
pubs.publication-status	Published
pubs.volume	28

Abstract:

As industrial sustainability measures and interventions play a central role in enhancing the sustainability performance in industrial firms, it is of great importance to properly understand the factors that might influence the decision-making process leading to their adoption, namely barriers and drivers. However, there is scarce empirical literature discussing barriers and drivers to industrial sustainability as well as the effect of contextual factors or of the firm's approach towards sustainability issues. For this reason, we conducted an exploratory investigation in 26 small and medium enterprises operating in the chemical and metalworking manufacturing sectors across Germany and Italy. Our preliminary findings show that the sampled firms are mainly hindered by economic barriers and fostered by external drivers. The investigation highlighted the influence of the contextual factors sector, country, and size on the perception of barriers and drivers. Moreover, the presence of a dedicated manager for sustainability, the number of certifications held by a firm, and a holistic definition of sustainability, seem to affect the barriers and drivers perceived by the sampled industrial decision-makers. The paper concludes by offering insights to both theoretical and practical discussion over the adoption of industrial sustainability measures, while also providing additional knowledge to practitioners and policy makers on critical areas for the improvement of industrial sustainability.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/153659