IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0327165.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Navigating climate change: Climate change awareness and strategies in micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises in a developing economy

Author

Listed:
  • Julián Andrés Díaz Tautiva
  • Sebastian Barros-Celume
  • Antonio Lecuna
  • Camila Barragan-Rodriguez

Abstract

Given the limited research on climate change (CC) awareness and strategies among micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), this study aims to address three key questions: To what extent are MSMEs aware of CC and decarbonization? How do MSMEs strategize to address CC and achieve carbon neutrality? What factors shape MSMEs’ attention to CC and decarbonization? Drawing on theoretical insights from the Attention-Based View, we analyze CC awareness and strategies among 1,453 Colombian ventures to identify common patterns and traits between them. Our findings reveal a significant gap in MSMEs’ understanding of essential concepts such as carbon neutrality, decarbonization, and the overall impacts of CC on their businesses. Moreover, the results indicate that most MSMEs exhibit greater awareness of CC-related strategies at the corporate practice level than those aimed at operational processes. On average, respondents estimate that achieving carbon-neutral emissions will take between five to twenty years. Based on our findings, we propose scholarly, managerial, and policy recommendations to enhance CC awareness and promote effective CC-related strategies across MSMEs from different economic sectors.

Suggested Citation

  • Julián Andrés Díaz Tautiva & Sebastian Barros-Celume & Antonio Lecuna & Camila Barragan-Rodriguez, 2025. "Navigating climate change: Climate change awareness and strategies in micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises in a developing economy," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 20(7), pages 1-27, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0327165
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0327165
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0327165
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0327165&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0327165?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. Chamila H. Dasanayaka & Nuwan Gunarathne & David F. Murphy & Padmi Nagirikandalage, 2022. "Triggers for and barriers to the adoption of environmental management practices by small and medium‐sized enterprises: A critical review," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(4), pages 749-764, July.
    2. Monika Winn & Manfred Kirchgeorg & Andrew Griffiths & Martina K. Linnenluecke & Elmar Günther, 2011. "Impacts from climate change on organizations: a conceptual foundation," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(3), pages 157-173, March.
    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. Martina Linnenluecke & Andrew Griffiths & Peter Mumby, 2015. "Executives’ engagement with climate science and perceived need for business adaptation to climate change," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 131(2), pages 321-333, July.
    2. Marcos Carchano & Inmaculada Carrasco & Angela González, 2025. "Examining environmental proactivity in the Spanish wine industry: The moderating role of size," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 41(1), pages 127-157, January.
    3. Laura M. Canevari‐Luzardo & Frans Berkhout & Mark Pelling, 2020. "A relational view of climate adaptation in the private sector: How do value chain interactions shape business perceptions of climate risk and adaptive behaviours?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(2), pages 432-444, February.
    4. Jorge Rivera & Viviane Clement, 2019. "Business adaptation to climate change: American ski resorts and warmer temperatures," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(7), pages 1285-1301, November.
    5. George Halkos & Antonis Skouloudis & Chrisovaladis Malesios & Konstantinos Evangelinos, 2018. "Bouncing Back from Extreme Weather Events: Some Preliminary Findings on Resilience Barriers Facing Small and Medium‐Sized Enterprises," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(4), pages 547-559, May.
    6. Liyuan Zheng & Ling Ye & Mengjiao Wang & Yingdi Wang & Haiwei Zhou, 2022. "Does Water Matter? The Impact of Water Vulnerability on Corporate Financial Performance," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(18), pages 1-19, September.
    7. Andrew S. Mitchell & Mark Lemon & Wim Lambrechts, 2020. "Learning from the Anthropocene: Adaptive Epistemology and Complexity in Strategic Managerial Thinking," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-16, May.
    8. Timo Busch, 2020. "Industrial ecology, climate adaptation, and financial risk," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 24(2), pages 285-290, April.
    9. Pedro Cisterna-Osorio & Sergio Quijada-Vera & Daniela Ruiz-Duran & Rodrigo Peirano-Cuevas & Pamela Ortiz-Briones, 2020. "First Results: Innovative Solar Disinfection Technology for Treated Wastewater that Integrates Materiality, Geometry, and Reflective Panels," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(18), pages 1-15, September.
    10. Pii‐Tuulia Nikula, 2022. "Beyond compliance – Voluntary climate mitigation by New Zealand firms," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(5), pages 1456-1464, September.
    11. Thomas A. Tsalis & Ioannis E. Nikolaou, 2017. "Assessing the Effects of Climate Change Regulations on the Business Community: A System Dynamic Approach," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(6), pages 826-843, September.
    12. Horbach, Jens & Rammer, Christian, 2022. "Climate change affectedness and innovation in German firms," ZEW Discussion Papers 22-008, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    13. Horbach, Jens & Rammer, Christian, 2025. "Climate change affectedness and innovation in firms," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 54(1).
    14. Jennifer DeBoer & Rajat Panwar & Jorge Rivera, 2017. "Toward A Place‐Based Understanding of Business Sustainability: The Role of Green Competitors and Green Locales in Firms' Voluntary Environmental Engagement," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(7), pages 940-955, November.
    15. Fabien Martinez & Ken Peattie & Diego Vazquez‐brust & Diego Vazquez-Brust, 2019. "Beyond win–win: A syncretic theory on corporate stakeholder engagement in sustainable development," Post-Print hal-02887685, HAL.
    16. Andrea Karin Barrueto & Juerg Merz & Nicole Clot & Thomas Hammer, 2017. "Climate Changes and Their Impact on Agricultural Market Systems: Examples from Nepal," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(12), pages 1-16, November.
    17. Ashrafee Hossain & Samir Saadi & Abu S. Amin, 2023. "Does CEO Risk-Aversion Affect Carbon Emission?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 182(4), pages 1171-1198, February.
    18. Akvan Gajanayake & Oanh Thi‐Kieu Ho & Usha Iyer‐Raniga, 2024. "Motivations and drivers for adopting sustainability and circular business strategies in businesses in Victoria," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(1), pages 169-179, January.
    19. David Littlewood & Rachel Decelis & Carola Hillenbrand & Diane Holt, 2018. "Examining the drivers and outcomes of corporate commitment to climate change action in European high emitting industry," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(8), pages 1437-1449, December.
    20. Michael Dobler & Kaouthar Lajili & Daniel Zéghal, 2014. "Environmental Performance, Environmental Risk and Risk Management," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(1), pages 1-17, January.

    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:plo:pone00:0327165. 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: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    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.