Estratègies empresarials sostenibles a les pymes: els seus antecedents i conseqüències organitzatives

• Autores: Francisco Javier Villegas Pinuer
• Directores de la Tesis: María Pilar López Belbeze (dir. tes.), Joan Llonch Andreu (codir. tes.)
• Lectura: En la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona ( España ) en 2021
• Idioma: catalán
• Tribunal Calificador de la Tesis: Josep Rialp Criado (presid.), Daniel Arenas Vives (secret.), Joana Machado (voc.)
• Programa de doctorado: Programa de Doctorado en Creación y Gestión de Empresas / IDEM, Doctorate in Entrepreneurship and Management por la Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona
• Materias:
  • Ciencia política
    • Opinión publica
      • Información
• Enlaces
  • Tesis en acceso abierto en: TDX
• Resumen

  • This doctoral investigation addresses Environmental Sustainability (ES) in the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), the principal business entities that generate most of the employment in a nation’s economy. The research examines the antecedents and consequences of ES business strategies in the SME context, focusing on the reality experienced by Spanish and Chilean SMEs in a period affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Principally, this is to understand their reality, thus approaching their factors, conditions, and obstacles that influence ES application in their business activity through in-depth interviews with SME managers -18 in Spain and 29 in Chile-. The qualitative research findings show that SMEs possess limited knowledge on the Circular Economy (CE) practices, where companies have a reactive and non-risk-taking perspective on environmental activities. Furthermore, the lack of client pressure in these topics reinforces this behavior. Another aspect is that the environmental regulation and waste management systems do not adapt to the reality of SMEs. The principal differences between Spain and Chile are: 1) The SMEs level of knowledge of the Circular Economy is higher in Spain and centered in lower circularity CE practices, 2) Spanish SMEs tend to be more environmentally sustainable compared to the more conservative Chilean SMEs, and 3) In Spain, SMEs are limited to comply with environmental regulations; the traceability is the bigger problem (while in Chile, environmental regulation is in the gradual implementation phase). Yet, SMEs do not feel afraid of these regulations due to the historical lack of inspections. Henceforth, this research proposes a model to analyze the relationship between the CE and the learning processes, their organizational consequences during the pandemic context. The model was tested using a Structural Equation Model (SEM) from a data sample of 205 surveyed Chilean SME managers. The results show that Learning Orientation and Organizational Learning positively affect CE adoption, where their age has a moderating effect that requires further research. Additionally, CE has a positive effect on competitive advantages and market performance. However, the results show that CE practices are anchored in the low levels of circularity. This thesis contributes to the literature with a concrete vision about ES adoption factors and consequences in SMEs. This research generates insights for policy-makers and practitioners for their implementation.