Corporate Sustainability as a Business Strategy in SMEs - A Literature Review in the Emerging Market Context

Corporate Sustainability is well practiced and communicated in big corporate houses. Also among SMEs in developed European market socially and environmentally responsible behaviour is to some extent evident. However in case of SMEs in emerging markets of Asia, Africa and Latin America the sustainability practices of the companies are totally unorganised and informal. This paper does a comparative literature review on how SMEs in the emerging market are placed in the corporate sustainability realm and lagging behind the developed market of the west in terms of their perception and practices of sustainability, drivers and challenges faced by them in implementing the same. SMEs are the biggest contributors to the economic development for most of the countries. In emerging market context apart from their economic contribution, the level of environment pollution caused by them and also violation of labour practices is significant. It is important for them to take up environment and social practices in a more formal and organised way with a strategic approach. The paper also collates the recommendations given by researchers in order to strengthen and strategise the current mode of informal sustainable practices so as to drive their overall business performance through enhanced sustainability. At the end, the paper theoretically discusses the viability of these suggestions in the Indian scenario.