Factors influencing the engagement in sustainable practices amongst Pietermaritzburg small, medium and micro enterprises.

Abstract

Studies undertaken by various authors have explained what sustainability is and how big businesses engage in it. However, there is a limited body of literature on the factors that influence SMMEs to engage in sustainable practices. Therefore, this study investigated factors that influence SMMEs to engage in sustainable practices to address this research gap. The specific research questions in this study asked to what extent do coercive pressure, normative pressure, mimetic pressure, and entrepreneurial values influence SMMEs owners in Pietermaritzburg to adopt sustainable practices; and what impact they have on entrepreneurs when applying sustainable practices. The primary data was gathered using online questionnaires distributed to 235 entrepreneurs, descriptive and inferential statistics were produced. The empirical data revealed that normative pressures had more influence when it comes to leading entrepreneurs to engage in sustainable practices, with 83% of the respondents revealing consumers as the most influential. The study clarifies and presents how there is a consistency in how SMMEs are influenced by isomorphic forces similar to large corporations in the adoption of sustainable practices. Since there’s increasing demand for firms to become active in sustainable development aspects, this study calls for the SMME sector to place a stronger emphasis on knowledge sharing. Entrepreneurs must also become more proactive in driving internal innovation toward sustainable practices while also being realistic about what can be accomplished. The findings of this study offer a significant perspective as to what influences entrepreneurs to adopt sustainable practices in their businesses and therefore should not be generalised.