Main Article Content
Abstract
Purpose: This study aims to investigate how small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can effectively integrate sustainable business ethics, corporate social responsibility (CSR), and corporate governance into their operations. The study explores how these elements contribute to long-term business sustainability despite the resource constraints often faced by SMEs.
Research Design and Methodology: This research utilizes a qualitative systematic literature review, analyzing existing literature on sustainable business ethics, CSR, and governance, focusing on SMEs. The review identifies the interrelationship between ethical principles, stakeholder engagement, and governance structures in driving corporate sustainability.
Findings and Discussion: The study reveals that SMEs can adopt sustainability practices by leveraging innovation, resource efficiency, and strong stakeholder relationships. It supports the hypothesis that ethical business practices are integral to achieving sustainability and competitive advantage. Furthermore, governance structures are essential for maintaining accountability and ensuring the effective implementation of sustainability initiatives.
Implications: The research highlights the importance of governance frameworks and transparent reporting mechanisms for practical applications in strengthening stakeholder trust and enhancing business performance. The findings contribute to academic discussions on the role of SMEs in sustainability, offering actionable strategies for businesses to integrate ethical principles and sustainability practices even with limited resources.
Keywords
Article Details

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
References
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- Ortiz‐de‐Mandojana, N., & Bansal, P. (2016). The long‐term benefits of organizational resilience through sustainable business practices. Strategic Management Journal, 37(8), 1615–1631.
- Sarma, G. D., Choudhury, D. S., Bharadwaj, P., & Sarma, M. (2024). Navigating Corporate Governance And Ethics: The Cornerstones Of Sustainable Business Practices. Educational Administration: Theory and Practice, 30(5), 5442–5454. https://doi.org/10.53555/kuey.v30i5.2889
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- Tiep Le, T., Ngo, H. Q., & Aureliano-Silva, L. (2023). Contribution of corporate social responsibility on SMEs’ performance in an emerging market – the mediating roles of brand trust and brand loyalty. International Journal of Emerging Markets, 18(8), 1868–1891. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOEM-12-2020-1516
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References
Akbari, M., Mehrali, M., SeyyedAmiri, N., Rezaei, N., & Pourjam, A. (2020). Corporate social responsibility, customer loyalty and brand positioning. Social Responsibility Journal, 16(5), 671–689. https://doi.org/10.1108/SRJ-01-2019-0008
Banerjee, S. B., Iyer, E. S., & Kashyap, R. K. (2003). Corporate environmentalism: Antecedents and influence of industry type. Journal of Marketing, 67(2), 106–122. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkg.67.2.106.18604
Barros, R. H., Madrid, U. C. De, Mahmoud, A., Zamil, A., & Arabia, S. (2013). Editorial Board. International Business Research, 6(5). https://doi.org/10.5539/ibr.v6n5p123
Battilana, J., Obloj, T., Pache, A. C., & Sengul, M. (2022). Beyond Shareholder Value Maximization: Accounting for Financial/Social Trade-Offs in Dual-Purpose Companies. Academy of Management Review, 47(2), 237–258. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2019.0386
Benitez, J., Henseler, J., Castillo, A., & Schuberth, F. (2020). How to perform and report an impactful analysis using partial least squares: Guidelines for confirmatory and explanatory IS research. Information & Management, 57(2), 103168. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.im.2019.05.003
Bennett, N. J., Whitty, T. S., Finkbeiner, E., Pittman, J., Bassett, H., Gelcich, S., & Allison, E. H. (2018). Environmental Stewardship: A Conceptual Review and Analytical Framework. Environmental Management, 61(4), 597–614. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-017-0993-2
Carroll, A. B. (2021). Corporate social responsibility: Perspectives on the CSR construct’s development and future. Business & Society, 60(6), 1258–1278. https://doi.org/10.1177/0007650321100176
Chun, E., Joung, H., Lim, Y. J., & Ko, E. (2021). Business transparency and willingness to act environmentally conscious behavior: Applying the sustainable fashion evaluation system “Higg Index.” Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science: Bridging Asia and the World, 31(3), 437–452. https://doi.org/10.1080/21639159.2021.1904784
Crane, A., Matten, D., Glozer, S., & Spence, L. J. (2019). Business ethics: Managing corporate citizenship and sustainability in the age of globalization. Oxford University Press, USA.
Dmuchowski, P., Dmuchowski, W., Baczewska-Dąbrowska, A. H., & Gworek, B. (2023). Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) model; impacts and sustainable investment – Global trends and Poland’s perspective. Journal of Environmental Management, 329, 117023. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.117023
Eccles, R. G., Ioannou, I., & Serafeim, G. (2014). the Impact of Corporate Sustainability on Organizational Processes. Nber Working Paper Series, 1–35. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13398-014-0173-7.2
Filho, W. L., Viera Trevisan, L., Paulino Pires Eustachio, J. H., Simon Rampasso, I., Anholon, R., Platje, J., Will, M., Doni, F., Mazhar, M., Borsatto, J. M. L. S., & Bonato Marcolin, C. (2024). Assessing ethics and sustainability standards in corporate practices. Social Responsibility Journal, 20(5), 880–897. https://doi.org/10.1108/SRJ-03-2023-0116
Fosu, E., Fosu, F., Akyina, N., & Asiedu, D. (2024). Do environmental CSR practices promote corporate social performance? The mediating role of green innovation and corporate image. Cleaner and Responsible Consumption, 12, 100155. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clrc.2023.100155
Freeman, R. E. (2007). Managing for stakeholders: Survival, reputation, and success. Yale University Press.
Freeman, R. E., Harrison, J. S., & Zyglidopoulos, S. (2018). Stakeholder theory: Concepts and strategies. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108539500
Hancock, J. (2004). Investing in corporate social responsibility: a guide to best practice, business planning & the UK’s leading companies. Kogan Page Publishers.
Haski-Leventhal, D. (2021). Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility : A Holistic Approach to Responsible and Sustainable Business. SAGE Publications Ltd. http://digital.casalini.it/9781529766288
Jones, T. M., Harrison, J. S., Felps, W., Jones, T. M., & Harrison, J. S. (2018). HOW APPLYING INSTRUMENTAL STAKEHOLDER THEORY CAN PROVIDE SUSTAINABLE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE Published by : Academy of Management Linked references are available on JSTOR for this article : You may need to log in to JSTOR to access the linked references . H. 43(3), 371–391. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2016.0111
Lee, C., & Fu, M. (2024). Conceptualizing Sustainable Business Models Aligning with Corporate Responsibility. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16125015
Luu, T. T. (2019). Service-oriented high-performance work systems and service-oriented behaviours in public organizations: the mediating role of work engagement. Public Management Review, 21(6), 789–816. https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2018.1526314
Mercure, J.-F., & Salas, P. (2013). On the global economic potentials and marginal costs of non-renewable resources and the price of energy commodities. Energy Policy, 63, 469–483. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2013.08.040
Naidoo, M., & Gasparatos, A. (2018). Corporate environmental sustainability in the retail sector: Drivers, strategies and performance measurement. Journal of Cleaner Production, 203, 125–142. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.08.253
Opschoor, J. B., & Turner, R. K. (1994). Economic incentives and environmental policies: principles and practice (Vol. 1). Springer Science & Business Media.
Ortiz‐de‐Mandojana, N., & Bansal, P. (2016). The long‐term benefits of organizational resilience through sustainable business practices. Strategic Management Journal, 37(8), 1615–1631.
Sarma, G. D., Choudhury, D. S., Bharadwaj, P., & Sarma, M. (2024). Navigating Corporate Governance And Ethics: The Cornerstones Of Sustainable Business Practices. Educational Administration: Theory and Practice, 30(5), 5442–5454. https://doi.org/10.53555/kuey.v30i5.2889
Shayan, N. F., Mohabbati-kalejahi, N., & Alavi, S. (2022). Sustainable Development Goals ( SDGs ) as a Framework for Corporate Social Responsibility ( CSR ). 1–27. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14031222
Stojanovic, A., Milosevic, I., Arsic, S., Urosevic, S., & Mihajlovic, I. (2020). CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AS A DETERMINANT OF EMPLOYEE LOYALTY AND BUSINESS PERFORMANCE. 12, 149–166. https://doi.org/10.7441/joc.2020.02.09
Svendsen, A. (1998). The stakeholder strategy: Profiting from collaborative business relationships. Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
Tiep Le, T., Ngo, H. Q., & Aureliano-Silva, L. (2023). Contribution of corporate social responsibility on SMEs’ performance in an emerging market – the mediating roles of brand trust and brand loyalty. International Journal of Emerging Markets, 18(8), 1868–1891. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOEM-12-2020-1516
Toromade, A. (2024). Driving sustainable business practices in SMEs : Innovative approaches for environmental and economic synergy. August. https://doi.org/10.51594/ijmer.v6i8.1411
Tukker, A. (2015). Product services for a resource-efficient and circular economy – a review. Journal of Cleaner Production, 97, 76–91. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2013.11.049
Vărzaru, A. A., Bocean, C. G., & Nicolescu, M. M. (2021). Rethinking corporate responsibility and sustainability in light of economic performance. Sustainability (Switzerland), 13(5), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13052660
Wang, Z., & Sarkis, J. (2017). Corporate social responsibility governance, outcomes, and financial performance. Journal of Cleaner Production, 162, 1607–1616. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.06.142
Wickert, C. (2021). Corporate Social Responsibility Research in the Centric Focus. https://doi.org/10.1111/joms.12775
Yuan, Y., Lu, L. Y., Tian, G., & Yu, Y. (2020). Business Strategy and Corporate Social Responsibility. Journal of Business Ethics, 162(2), 359–377. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-018-3952-9
Zhang, Y., & Yang, F. (2021). Corporate social responsibility disclosure: Responding to investors’ criticism on social media. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(14). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18147396