IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/bstrat/v35y2026i3p4189-4209.html

Sustainability Practices in SMEs: An Explorative Study on Ethnic Minority–Owned SMEs in the United Kingdom

Author

Listed:
  • Nurul Islam
  • Faruk Bhuiyan
  • Shamsul Karim

Abstract

The application of firm sustainability practices (FSP) in ethnic minority–owned small and medium–sized enterprises (ESMEs) has received significantly less scholarly focus, making ESME FSP an emerging academic field. This study aims to explore the factors influencing ethnic minority–owned SMEs involved in FSP and identify the factors hindering these SMEs' sustainability practices. Grounded in the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), this qualitative research study interviewed a total of 20 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) owned by British‐Bangladeshi individuals in the United Kingdom. The thematic analysis method was followed to analyse the interview data and extract/explore the research findings. The main influencing factors on SMEs' sustainability practices have been categorised into two broad groups: the influence of owners' personality and religious and cultural influences. The current research has revealed several factors that hinder ESMEs' intentions to engage in sustainability practices, namely, the SMEs' misconceptions of perceived efforts and sustainability practices outcomes, lack of awareness and confusion about the business's social role, lack of institutional support, and barriers to building strong public relations around SMEs and their sustainability‐related activities. The findings of the study contribute to the limited sustainability literature in the niche research context of ESMEs. The results will be useful for various stakeholders, including policymakers, government bodies and other regulators, to devise suitable policies and provide the necessary support for enhancing sustainability practices in SMEs.

Suggested Citation

  • Nurul Islam & Faruk Bhuiyan & Shamsul Karim, 2026. "Sustainability Practices in SMEs: An Explorative Study on Ethnic Minority–Owned SMEs in the United Kingdom," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(3), pages 4189-4209, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:bstrat:v:35:y:2026:i:3:p:4189-4209
    DOI: 10.1002/bse.70378
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.70378
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/bse.70378?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Tiep Le Thanh & Ngo Quang Huan & Tran Thi Thuy Hong, 2021. "Effects of corporate social responsibility on SMEs’ performance in emerging market," Cogent Business & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 8(1), pages 1878978-187, January.
    2. Mojtaba Vaismoradi & Hannele Turunen & Terese Bondas, 2013. "Content analysis and thematic analysis: Implications for conducting a qualitative descriptive study," Nursing & Health Sciences, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 15(3), pages 398-405, September.
    3. Carol Newman & John Rand & Finn Tarp & Neda Trifkovic, 2020. "Corporate Social Responsibility in a Competitive Business Environment," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(8), pages 1455-1472, July.
    4. Maria Santos, 2011. "CSR in SMEs: strategies, practices, motivations and obstacles," Social Responsibility Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 7(3), pages 490-508, August.
    5. Yusuf Sidani & Akram Al Ariss, 2015. "New Conceptual Foundations for Islamic Business Ethics: The Contributions of Abu-Hamid Al-Ghazali," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 129(4), pages 847-857, July.
    6. Paul, Justin & Parthasarathy, Sundar & Gupta, Parul, 2017. "Exporting challenges of SMEs: A review and future research agenda," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 52(3), pages 327-342.
    7. Abagail McWilliams & Donald S. Siegel & Patrick M. Wright, 2006. "Corporate Social Responsibility: Strategic Implications," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(1), pages 1-18, January.
    8. Alexandr Ostrovskiy & Vladimir Garkavenko & Liza Rybina, 2021. "Influence of socio-psychological factors on consumers purchasing behavior in Kazakhstan," The Service Industries Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(7-8), pages 527-552, June.
    9. Maria Santos, 2011. "CSR in SMEs: strategies, practices, motivations and obstacles," Social Responsibility Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 7(3), pages 490-508, August.
    10. Heledd Jenkins, 2006. "Small Business Champions for Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 67(3), pages 241-256, September.
    11. Rakshit, Sandip & Islam, Nazrul & Mondal, Sandeep & Paul, Tripti, 2021. "Mobile apps for SME business sustainability during COVID-19 and onwards," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 28-39.
    12. Francesco Perrini, 2006. "SMEs and CSR Theory: Evidence and Implications from an Italian Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 67(3), pages 305-316, September.
    13. repec:eme:srjpps:v:6:y:2010:i:2:p:490-508 is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Olivier Boiral & Charles Baron & Olen Gunnlaugson, 2014. "Environmental Leadership and Consciousness Development: A Case Study Among Canadian SMEs," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 123(3), pages 363-383, September.
    15. A. Lindgreen & T. Campbell & V. Swaen, 2010. "Benchmarking corporate social responsibility practices in developing and transitional countries : Botswana and Malawi," Post-Print hal-00582462, HAL.
    16. Nuttaneeya Torugsa & Wayne O’Donohue & Rob Hecker, 2012. "Capabilities, Proactive CSR and Financial Performance in SMEs: Empirical Evidence from an Australian Manufacturing Industry Sector," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 109(4), pages 483-500, September.
    17. Jones, Thomas M. & Felps, Will, 2013. "Shareholder Wealth Maximization and Social Welfare: A Utilitarian Critique," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 23(2), pages 207-238, April.
    18. Vivek Soundararajan & Jill A. Brown, 2016. "Voluntary Governance Mechanisms in Global Supply Chains: Beyond CSR to a Stakeholder Utility Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 134(1), pages 83-102, March.
    19. Marie-Laure Djelic & Helen Etchanchu, 2017. "Contextualizing Corporate Political Responsibilities: Neoliberal CSR in Historical Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 142(4), pages 641-661, June.
    20. Ina Freeman & Amir Hasnaoui, 2011. "The Meaning of Corporate Social Responsibility: The Vision of Four Nations," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 100(3), pages 419-443, May.
    21. Alalwan, Ali Abdallah & Dwivedi, Yogesh K. & Rana, Nripendra P., 2017. "Factors influencing adoption of mobile banking by Jordanian bank customers: Extending UTAUT2 with trust," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 99-110.
    22. Ina Freeman & Amir Hasnaoui, 2011. "The Meaning of Corporate Social Responsibility," Post-Print hal-00599320, HAL.
    23. A. Lindgreen & T. Campbell & V. Swaen, 2010. "Corporate social responsibility practices in developing and transitional countries: Botswana and Malawi," Post-Print hal-00572801, HAL.
    24. Byun, Seong K. & Oh, Jong-Min, 2018. "Local corporate social responsibility, media coverage, and shareholder value," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 68-86.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Andrea Stübner & Svenja Jarchow, 2023. "Family oblige: the link between CSR and succession intention in small and medium family firms," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 93(3), pages 389-431, April.
    2. Richik Maity & Khai Loon Lee, 2026. "Understanding corporate social responsibility in small and medium enterprises: a bibliometric analysis of key themes and insights," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 6(5), pages 1-24, May.
    3. Laura Broccardo & Elisa Truant & Lèo‐Paul Dana, 2023. "The sustainability orientation in the wine industry: An analysis based on age as a driver," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(3), pages 1300-1313, May.
    4. Hans-Jörg Schlierer & Andrea Werner & Silvana Signori & Elisabeth Garriga & Heidi Weltzien Hoivik & Annick Rossem & Yves Fassin, 2012. "How Do European SME Owner–Managers Make Sense of ‘Stakeholder Management’?: Insights from a Cross-National Study," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 109(1), pages 39-51, August.
    5. Leon Guillén & Afcha Sergio & Chu Manuel, 2022. "Research on social responsibility of small and medium enterprises: a bibliometric analysis," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 72(3), pages 857-909, September.
    6. Dongsoo Kim & Jongseon Lee & Nami Kim, 2023. "Engaging CSR in SMEs by exporting: The critical factors of CEOs and markets," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(4), pages 1953-1964, July.
    7. Clare D'Souza & Marthin Nanere & Malliga Marimuthu & Mokhamad Arwani & Dung Nguyen & Ninh Nguyen, 2025. "Sustainability Leverage, Customer Orientation and Firm Performance—An Empirical Study of Small Medium Enterprises in Indonesia," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(5), pages 6639-6658, October.
    8. Caterina Lorenzo-Molo & Zenon Udani, 2013. "Bringing Back the Essence of the “S” and “R” to CSR: Understanding the Limitations of the Merchant Trade and the White Man’s Burden," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 117(1), pages 123-136, September.
    9. Gregorio Sánchez-Marín & Gabriel Lozano-Reina & Mané Beglaryan, 2022. "HRM Policies and SMEs Performance: The Moderating Role of CSR Orientation," Central European Business Review, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2022(1), pages 85-110.
    10. Giacomo Boesso & Barbara Fryzel & Marco Ghitti, 2023. "Corporate social responsibility and comparative capitalism frameworks: Evidence from the United States, Poland, and Italy," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(2), pages 531-547, March.
    11. Jun H. Choi & Saerona Kim & Dong-Hoon Yang, 2018. "Small and Medium Enterprises and the Relation between Social Performance and Financial Performance: Empirical Evidence from Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-18, May.
    12. Soliman, Marwa & Ben-Amar, Walid, 2022. "Corporate social responsibility orientation and textual features of financial disclosures," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    13. Manuel Larrán Jorge & Jesús Herrera Madueño & María Paula Lechuga Sancho & Domingo Martínez-Martínez, 2016. "Development of corporate social responsibility in small and medium-sized enterprises and its nexus with quality management," Cogent Business & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 3(1), pages 1228569-122, December.
    14. Ying Wei & Chun‐Yu Lin, 2025. "The effects of perceived corporate social responsibility and Confucian ethics on psychological meaningfulness and employee engagement: A moderated‐mediation study," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 32(1), pages 806-819, January.
    15. Maria Jesus Bonilla‐Priego & Juan‐José Nájera‐Sánchez & Xavier Font, 2022. "Beyond ethics: The transformational power of overlapping motivations in implementing strategic sustainability actions," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(3), pages 685-697, March.
    16. Lin Zhang & Xiaochen Zhang & Jingjing An & Wei Zhang & Jingshen Yao, 2022. "Examining the Role of Stakeholder-Oriented Corporate Governance in Achieving Sustainable Development: Evidence from the SME CSR in the Context of China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-22, July.
    17. Jean-Marie Courrent & Sonia Chassé & Waleed Omri, 2018. "Do Entrepreneurial SMEs Perform Better Because They are More Responsible?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 153(2), pages 317-336, December.
    18. Barbara Tomasella & Elaine Conway, 2025. "Beyond Values: Business Orientation as a Driver of Small Business Social Responsibility," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 32(5), pages 6879-6896, September.
    19. Kamalesh Kumar & Giacomo Boesso & Rishtee Batra & Jun Yao, 2021. "Cross‐national differences in stakeholder management: Applying institutional theory and comparative capitalism framework," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(5), pages 2354-2366, July.
    20. Monowar Mahmood & Ali Uyar & Cemil Kuzey & Abdullah S. Karaman, 2023. "Business strategy, sustainability, and firm value: A test of financial slack and agency theories," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 44(5), pages 2924-2947, July.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:bstrat:v:35:y:2026:i:3:p:4189-4209. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1099-0836 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.