The challenge of sustainable development has become one of the most important
strategic, economic and social concerns facing global society today. Although
literature on environmental management theory and sustainable development
philosophy has increased apace throughout the 1980s and 1990s, very few of these
writings have documented the case of the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME).
The objectives of this research are: i) to determine the level of awareness and
perception of environmental issues within the SME sector and to assess prevailing
attitudes of owner/managers to the importance they attach to managing this aspect of
their business operations; ii) to gain an understanding of the scale and nature of
response to environmental issues across a broad section of SMEs; iii) to utilise the
knowledge gained about awareness, attitude and organisational response to assess the
relevance of the environmental management systems so far developed to and to link
this to achieving sustainable development; iv) to draw upon the expertise of
owner/managers and appropriate institutions to validate and, if appropriate, further
refine the new and/or revised systems as necessary; v) to assess the possibilities for
sustainable development within the SME sector.
The first phase of the research involves a mail survey which identifies: what the SME
sector is doing to improve its environmental performance; what the general attitudes
to organisational change are: and levels of awareness of various environmental issues.
Phase two of the research considers in more depth the issue of practical response to
environmental issues through a series of in-depth interviews concentrating particularly
on reasons why companies do not have detailed strategic management plans to deal
with the environment. Phase two tests the results from the in-depth interviews on a
larger sample frame providing the empirical foundations for testing existing models of
environmental management. Phase three of the research analyses the need for an
alternative strategy for the SME sector to manage environmental concerns. Material
for a new model is obtained from case study material of best practice, alternative
literature and primary source information.
Results show that existing models are inappropriate for the majority of SMEs and that
environmental practices are limited within the sector. Awareness of environmental
issues and attitudes towards change are more positive from larger secondary sector
companies. To this end the research proposes an alternative Bioregional Regeneration
Model which could be tested and applied to induce local community regeneration
and the development of a sustainable community based SME sector.
Date of Award | 1994 |
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Original language | English |
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Awarding Institution | |
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ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT IN DEVON AND CORNWALL'S SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISE SECTOR
Hutchinson, M. A. (Author). 1994
Student thesis: PhD