Pro-Ecological Activities and Shaping the Competitive Advantage of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in the Aspect of Sustainable Energy Management

Abstract

Small and medium-sized enterprises around the world play a key role in building economic growth and maintaining environmental sustainability. This strategic role in the economy depends on the possessed competitive advantage, which will increasingly depend on the ecological behavior of SMEs. Therefore, it is justified to undertake research the main goal of which is to identify the pro-ecological activities of SMEs conducive to achieving a competitive advantage. The original empirical research was conducted in 2021 on a sample of 452 small and medium-sized enterprises in Poland. The research was based on a questionnaire. The research allowed for the assessment of sustainable energy management by assessing the awareness of entrepreneurs, assessing the pro-ecological activities undertaken, and assessing the impact of pro-ecological activities on shaping the competitive advantages of enterprises in 2015–2020. The surveyed entrepreneurs considered the most important components of the company’s competitive advantage and sustainable energy management to be those investments aimed at achieving a high input–result ratio in a short time. In order to review the pro-ecological activities in Poland against the background of international data, other research results in this area are presented. The cited data confirm the results of the conducted extensive survey research. In the case of many countries and SMEs, environmental awareness is relatively low. Where it occurs, it is not translated into real activities in the field of sustainable energy management in the absence of economic efficiency.