Affiliation:
1. Department of Economic and Business Sciences Guglielmo Marconi University Roma Italy
2. Faculty of Economics and Management Free University of Bolzano‐Bozen, UNINT Roma Italy
Abstract
AbstractHow Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) engage with stakeholders on their sustainable practices remains an under‐researched topic in extant business research. This occurs even though SMEs play a tremendous role across all economies, and they often engage stakeholders on sustainability issues to foster their competitive advantage. In this article, drawing on stakeholder and innovation ecosystem theories, we use empirical evidence from multiple case studies of made in Italy firms operating in the fashion, food, and furniture industries to explore the proposed research model in the SME context. Our case studies analysis reveals the specific stakeholder engagement levels activated by SMEs to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for circular value co‐creation. Furthermore, we find that the stakeholder engagement levels revolve chiefly around open dialog with local community and customers, involvement of employees, customers, and community, and cooperation with suppliers, Government, and Academy. Implications of the findings for researchers, managers, and policymakers are discussed.
Subject
Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law,Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management,Economics and Econometrics,Philosophy,Business and International Management