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Sustainable Development of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: Resilience, Creativity and Learning

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Economic and Business Aspects of Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 11 June 2024 | Viewed by 3273

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Ching-Hsin Wang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Leisure Industry Management, National Chin-Yi University of Technology, Taichung, Taiwan
Interests: statistical methods and applications; quality engineering and management; production and operation research
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Kuo-Ping Lin

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Industrial Engineering and Enterprise Information, Tunghai University, Taichung, Taiwan
Interests: heuristic algorithm; artificial intelligence; system dynamics; reliability engineering; intelligent decision system
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Small and medium-sized enterprises play a key role in the national economic development. Facing the tests given by the environment and society, the resources and funds which small and medium-sized enterprises can make use of are limited. Therefore, the focus of resource utilization seems more significant. It is necessary to employ an efficient learning ability and innovative models to enhance their competitive advantages as well as business sustainability.

In recent years, small and medium-sized enterprises have embraced the Industry 4.0 strategy and direction, as well as developed the trends of customization and quick response manufacturing with relatively flexible production. In addition, through digital technology methods such as digitization and digital optimization, digital transformation is carried out to change business models and corporate cultures.

In terms of environmental friendliness, waste reduction, carbon reduction issues, green design of R&D, and good corporate ESG (environment, society, and governance) are all areas that have drawn a lot of attention. Small and medium-sized enterprises not only concentrate on the advancement of production technology, but they also combine big data to grasp consumer needs. Then, the end consumers’ ideas are given as feedback to help with management decision making. These ideas are the topics that small and medium-sized enterprises need to discuss to increase their competitive advantages and business sustainability. For this Special Issue, we encourage authors to explore the sustainable development of small and medium-sized enterprises in consideration of technological innovation, resilience, creativity, and learning. Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Sustainability;
  • Creativity;
  • Innovative model;
  • Industry 4.0 strategy;
  • Digital transformation;
  • Corporate ESG;
  • Waste reduction;
  • Carbon reduction;
  • Green design;
  • Big data analysis.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Ching-Hsin Wang
Prof. Dr. Kuo-Ping Lin
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • sustainability
  • creativity
  • innovative model
  • Industry 4.0 strategy
  • digital transformation
  • corporate esg
  • waste reduction
  • carbon reduction
  • green design
  • big data analysis

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 660 KiB  
Article
Using a Circular Economy and Supply Chain as a Framework for Remanufactured Products in the Rubber Recycling Industry
by Hsi-Huang Hsieh, Kai-Chao Yao, Ching-Hsin Wang, Chih-Han Chen and Shu-Hua Huang
Sustainability 2024, 16(7), 2824; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16072824 - 28 Mar 2024
Viewed by 484
Abstract
The use of a circular economy (CE) in a supply chain is conducive to remanufacturing. It can not only make the supply chain innovative but can also further ease resource consumption and lower pollution, thereby reducing carbon emissions. However, most current research remains [...] Read more.
The use of a circular economy (CE) in a supply chain is conducive to remanufacturing. It can not only make the supply chain innovative but can also further ease resource consumption and lower pollution, thereby reducing carbon emissions. However, most current research remains focused on the concept of integrating circular economy supply chains (CESCs); few studies have carried out practical research in industry, and research addressing issues regarding the rubber recycling industry is even rarer. Therefore, this study refined the existing framework by screening out key factors that a CESC applies to remanufacturing products. This study conducted an expert questionnaire survey using the FDM to select key factors. Since the 30 respondents selected for this study are all experts in related fields, the reliability and stability of the method and results can be ensured. Meanwhile, this study adopted the fuzzy DEMATEL method to rank the importance of the five selected aspects and nineteen criteria and clarified cause-and-effect relationships between the criteria. The results show that important aspects, including “the circular business model” and “enhancing the resource value in the supply chain”, are both classified as cause groups; there are four main criteria that need to be highlighted, namely, “optimizing the production process”, “effectively tracking and recycling products”, “redesigning remanufactured rubber products”, and “improving resource efficiency”. Therefore, when related industries build CESCs to manufacture remanufactured products, these criteria need to be considered first. This study combined a CESC with remanufactured products, constructed a new framework to expand the related literature, and further analyzed the rubber industry and the underlying rubber recycling industry. Accordingly, related industries can refer to the new framework and key factors to develop production strategies for remanufactured products when implementing a CESC. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Development of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: Resilience, Creativity and Learning)
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18 pages, 593 KiB  
Article
Relationships between Sustainable Operations and the Resilience of SMEs
by Kinga Nagyné Pércsi and Zsolt Fülöp
Sustainability 2024, 16(2), 741; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16020741 - 15 Jan 2024
Viewed by 643
Abstract
In the 21st century, the primary concerns within our society and economic framework revolve around securing a sustainable future and ensuring our future prospects. The crises witnessed in recent years have both introduced new challenges and revived existing difficulties. The crucial question emerges: [...] Read more.
In the 21st century, the primary concerns within our society and economic framework revolve around securing a sustainable future and ensuring our future prospects. The crises witnessed in recent years have both introduced new challenges and revived existing difficulties. The crucial question emerges: can societies and economies demonstrate the resilience necessary to avert impending dangers during such circumstances? This consideration holds particular significance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in the global economy. SMEs play a vital role in national economies, and their importance is even more pronounced within our national societies. Addressing threats and challenges in the SME sector proves to be more challenging due to their compact size, which lacks the protective shield against various environmental impacts enjoyed by larger enterprises with their greater size and capabilities. On the other hand, due to their smaller size, SMEs may be able to overcome these obstacles more successfully than large enterprises by using the appropriate tools and investing in opportunities. The aim of this article is to investigate to what extent environmental protection investments and other sustainability-related developments increase the resilience of SMEs. In connection with the above mentioned, it was investigated how the combination of marketing communication and sustainability goals, and how appropriate communication of sustainability, contributes to increasing the resilience of Hungarian SMEs. The analysis is based on a grouping of 266 small and medium-sized enterprises using the variables created based on the literature review and expert interviews. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Development of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: Resilience, Creativity and Learning)
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23 pages, 1764 KiB  
Article
Multiple Driving Paths of High-Tech SME Resilience from a “Resource–Capability–Environment” Perspective: An fsQCA Approach
by Teng Ma, Ya Liu and Rongyan Jia
Sustainability 2023, 15(10), 8215; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15108215 - 18 May 2023
Viewed by 1349
Abstract
High-tech SMEs are the new drivers of economic growth and innovation development. The complex and turbulent operating environment of the volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA) era poses a serious threat to high-tech SME sustainability. Although studies have explored the factors influencing high-tech [...] Read more.
High-tech SMEs are the new drivers of economic growth and innovation development. The complex and turbulent operating environment of the volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA) era poses a serious threat to high-tech SME sustainability. Although studies have explored the factors influencing high-tech SME resilience, the equivalent effects of different combinations of factors on organizational resilience have yet to be considered. Based on the resources–capabilities–environment perspective, this study uses fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to analyze the driving paths of high-tech SME resilience. The configuration effects of financial and relationship resources, managerial abilities, innovation capabilities, the market environment, and government interventions on the organizational resilience of high-tech SMEs are examined, and a robustness test is passed. The results show the following: (1) high-tech SME resilience is affected by multiple factors; (2) high-tech SMEs have three high-resilience driving paths—resource–capability, resource–capability–environment, and resource–environment—and two non-high-resilience driving paths—resource–capability inhibition and resource–environment inhibition; and (3) the high and non-high resilience paths are asymmetric. Theoretically, the formation of organizational resilience is a complex nonlinear process with limited single condition effects on outcomes. This study explores the impact of the interaction of multiple factors on organizational resilience, reveals the multiple driving paths of high-tech SME resilience, and enriches the theoretical study of organizational resilience. Practically, this study helps managers identify the combined effects of “resource–capability–environment” perspectives on high-tech SMEs’ resilience and provides intellectual support for them to achieve sustainable development and enhance resilience. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Development of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: Resilience, Creativity and Learning)
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