Sustainability decision-making in small-to-medium enterprises: A study of SME managers' experience of sustainability tensions

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dc.contributor.advisorHamann, Ralphen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorAndrew, Sean Khayaen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2017-10-12T14:00:09Z
dc.date.available2017-10-12T14:00:09Z
dc.date.issued2017en_ZA
dc.description.abstractDue to competing strategic demands and limited resources, small-to-medium sized enterprise (SME) managers struggle to integrate sustainability comprehensively into their firms' strategy, while increasingly being targeted as significant contributors of unsustainable practices that compromise environmental services and societal wellbeing. Studies on why managers struggle to integrate sustainability strategies into their firms suggest managers face interrelated yet competing demands that surface a diversity of sustainability tensions that go beyond the traditional triad of economic, social and environmental agendas. The literature has primarily focused on the conscious cognitive sensemaking processes of managers in larger corporations as they face sustainability tensions. This lens does not surface the range of other inner experiences like emotions, values, and intuition that influence individuals' sensemaking process. The resulting research question for this study asks how SME managers' experience of strategic sustainability tensions influences their sustainability decision-making process. This research aimed to surface the full range of conscious and unconscious inner experiences managers had during their sustainability sensemaking processes. SMEs were a favourable research context in which to delve into the significance of managers' internal experiences because managers have a high degree of decision-making control in their firms, and there is scarce empirical evidence on what leads SME managers to make sustainability decisions. Over a one-year period in an inductive qualitative and exploratory research process, I interviewed twelve SME managers from the Western Cape's metals and manufacturing sector twice through two rounds of interviews. This study finds that SME managers undergo a range of emotions that influence their sustainability sensemaking experience. Conflicting emotional sustainability triggers cause unconscious internal sustainability tensions for managers between their personal values and managerial responsibilities. The SME resource-constrained context causes managers to instinctually prioritise managerial responsibilities to keep their firm afloat and maintain their pride through the legacy of the company. This study contributes to the literature by unearthing and legitimising the range of experiences and tensions that influence SME managers' sustainability sensemaking processes. It prompts further examination into managers' experience of sustainability tensions in the SME context and what experiences lead to integrative sustainability decisionmaking in highly volatile SME environments.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationAndrew, S. K. (2017). <i>Sustainability decision-making in small-to-medium enterprises: A study of SME managers' experience of sustainability tensions</i>. (Thesis). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Commerce ,Research of GSB. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/25644en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationAndrew, Sean Khaya. <i>"Sustainability decision-making in small-to-medium enterprises: A study of SME managers' experience of sustainability tensions."</i> Thesis., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Commerce ,Research of GSB, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/25644en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationAndrew, S. 2017. Sustainability decision-making in small-to-medium enterprises: A study of SME managers' experience of sustainability tensions. University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Andrew, Sean Khaya AB - Due to competing strategic demands and limited resources, small-to-medium sized enterprise (SME) managers struggle to integrate sustainability comprehensively into their firms' strategy, while increasingly being targeted as significant contributors of unsustainable practices that compromise environmental services and societal wellbeing. Studies on why managers struggle to integrate sustainability strategies into their firms suggest managers face interrelated yet competing demands that surface a diversity of sustainability tensions that go beyond the traditional triad of economic, social and environmental agendas. The literature has primarily focused on the conscious cognitive sensemaking processes of managers in larger corporations as they face sustainability tensions. This lens does not surface the range of other inner experiences like emotions, values, and intuition that influence individuals' sensemaking process. The resulting research question for this study asks how SME managers' experience of strategic sustainability tensions influences their sustainability decision-making process. This research aimed to surface the full range of conscious and unconscious inner experiences managers had during their sustainability sensemaking processes. SMEs were a favourable research context in which to delve into the significance of managers' internal experiences because managers have a high degree of decision-making control in their firms, and there is scarce empirical evidence on what leads SME managers to make sustainability decisions. Over a one-year period in an inductive qualitative and exploratory research process, I interviewed twelve SME managers from the Western Cape's metals and manufacturing sector twice through two rounds of interviews. This study finds that SME managers undergo a range of emotions that influence their sustainability sensemaking experience. Conflicting emotional sustainability triggers cause unconscious internal sustainability tensions for managers between their personal values and managerial responsibilities. The SME resource-constrained context causes managers to instinctually prioritise managerial responsibilities to keep their firm afloat and maintain their pride through the legacy of the company. This study contributes to the literature by unearthing and legitimising the range of experiences and tensions that influence SME managers' sustainability sensemaking processes. It prompts further examination into managers' experience of sustainability tensions in the SME context and what experiences lead to integrative sustainability decisionmaking in highly volatile SME environments. DA - 2017 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2017 T1 - Sustainability decision-making in small-to-medium enterprises: A study of SME managers' experience of sustainability tensions TI - Sustainability decision-making in small-to-medium enterprises: A study of SME managers' experience of sustainability tensions UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/25644 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/25644
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationAndrew SK. Sustainability decision-making in small-to-medium enterprises: A study of SME managers' experience of sustainability tensions. [Thesis]. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Commerce ,Research of GSB, 2017 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/25644en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentResearch of GSBen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Commerceen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subject.otherInclusive Innovationen_ZA
dc.titleSustainability decision-making in small-to-medium enterprises: A study of SME managers' experience of sustainability tensionsen_ZA
dc.typeMaster Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationnameMPhilen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceThesisen_ZA
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