Sustainability-oriented innovations and value creation in SMEs: An illustration in the Colombian context

Drawing on the legitimacy theory framework, this study introduces an alternative means to spot “fuzzy reporting” signals as a way to detect greenwashing at the firm level. Its approach is based on the way the sustainability reporting process can mislead stakeholders after critical incidents take place. In order to do so, a single environmental incident, which took place in Colombia, is analyzed in light of what happened before, during and afterwards, with special emphasis on the corporate disclosure process performed by the company involved. Results obtained give support to the assumption that fuzzy reporting can be objectively detected not only through the analysis of annual sustainability reports, but also by tracking other forms of corporate messages when a specific concern is carefully followed. This study’s contribution is two-fold. First, it builds on the theoretical notions of greenwashing and fuzzy reporting by illustrating a practical and objective way to identify some deceiving corporate practices. Second, it empirically evaluates this approach in a sensitive context in order to obtain better illustration and prepare the groundwork for further studies.

The article considers changes in organizational structure (in the context of a shift in favor of small business), the main factors and long-term prospects of these changes. Enhancing the role of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in many countries of the world is described. The concept of SMEs, as well as the range of indicators measuring organizational structure, is defined. Modern trends that indicate the increasing role of small and medium-sized enterprises are shown. On the basis of dynamics of economic indicators in Europe and the United States, the increasing role of small and medium enterprises is investigated. It is shown that the increase in the share of the service sector is the result of market saturation. The influence of the service sector on the shifts in the organizational structure in the period of global economic changes, as well as the influence on the increasing share of more flexible and innovative small and medium-sized enterprises in total employment and income, is argued. Increased competition in the process of saturation of the market is shown as one of the factors of the development of personal needs that promote individual entrepreneurs, inventors and innovators, for whom a complex and rigid structure of large organizations is the factor which limits the growth and interferes with their becoming the engines of scientific and technological progress. It is proved that in conditions when large corporations find themselves unable to identify a new micro niche quickly, small and medium enterprises are becoming the most convenient form for the realization and promotion of innovation. The transition from the dominance of large corporations to the dominance of SMEs in the process of substitution of technological modes is investigated. The increasing role of small and medium firms in the context of long-term trends of economic development is considered.

Small business failure is one of the biggest challenges faced by developing countries, and business incubators have been touted as a solution to reducing the failure rate of these small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Thus, the number of business incubators has escalated worldwide, including South Africa. Consequently, significant time has been devoted to researching business incubators and their role in SME success. However, the effectiveness of these incubators is still in question, thus a study is being conducted to determine how effective business incubators are in reducing the failure rate of SMEs.
The findings show that there are some improvements in SMEs that have been incubated or supported, but not enough to make a dent on the failure rate at the country level, as the failure rate has stubbornly remained the same. One of the concerning key findings is that there is a misalignment between the goals of business incubators (BIs) and the SMEs’ needs. SMEs are looking for access to finance and access to markets, while BIs are offering office space and other support services.
BI and SME goals need to be more aligned if we are to effectively enhance small business development interventions and reduce current failure rates. More empirical research is still needed to measure and quantify the effectiveness of BIs to SME failure rates, as no research has attempted to link a business incubator to both the success of individual SMEs and the country’s SME failure rate.