In line with an intensified call for conducting business in a greener and more sustainable way, sustainability-related entrepreneurship has become an important subfield of entrepreneurship research. The variety of terms, such as "sustainable entrepreneurship", "ecopreneurship", "environmental entrepreneurship/enviropreneurship", and "green entrepreneurship", reflects the fragmented and inconsistent findings of this research field. Based on the one-pillar model of sustainable development, i.e., ecological sustainability, we present the first systematic review of the literature on ecological sustainable entrepreneurship. This analysis of 114 scientific articles reveals a strong focus on the drivers of engagement in ecological sustainable entrepreneurship, the drivers of conducting business in an ecological sustainable way, the strategic actions taken by ecological sustainable enterprises, and the outcomes, enabling factors and challenges of ecological sustainable entrepreneurship. Based on this thematic clustering, we develop an integrative framework for ecological sustainable entrepreneurship and a coherent agenda for future research. This work may help researchers to take stock of the existing literature and advance this research field.

Doing business in a green way: A systematic review of the ecological sustainability entrepreneurship literature and future research directions

The relationship between organizational culture, sustainability, and digitalization in SMEs: A systematic review

This paper aims to develop a framework for sustainability in SMEs. SMEs are most vulnerable to the effects of covid-19. The implementation of social distancing makes people limit activities outside their home, consequently sales turnover decreases. Therefore, SMEs need to change the mindset in running business by using technology transformation. It is believed to continue the sustainability of SMEs. However, some SMEs do not have knowledge about digital skills that are relevant to their business. In fact, during covid-19 condition, online business can result sustainability in their business that can take place now and in the future.

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Impact of covid-19 on digital transformation and sustainability in small and medium enterprises (smes): a conceptual framework

This study explores the circular economy (CE) practices of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the 28 European Union (EU) member states. Five measures of CE are studied, namely Re-planning the way water is used to minimize usage and maximize re-usage, Using renewable energy, Re-planning energy usage to minimize consumption, Minimizing waste by recycling or reusing waste or selling it to another firm, and Redesigning products and services to minimize the use of materials or using recycled materials. Multilevel ordinal probit models that control within- and between-variability across European Union countries are estimated. Results show that CE measures across EU countries are very heterogeneous. At the firm level, we find that firm size (number of employees and total turnover in 2015) and percentage of firms’ turnover invested in R&D in 2015 are significant in explaining within-country variations. The multilevel structure (between-country variability) accounts for 6.1%–15.1% of the total variability of CE measures. These results have implications for the design of framework policies at EU level given that the firms surveyed are SMEs, the segment in which these CE measures most need improved planning and implementation.

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The use of circular economy practices in SMEs across the EU

It is a widespread and strongly supported assumption in the educational arena that the integration of technology into language classrooms can lead to improved teaching and learning with a positive impact on language learners’ proficiency level. The current situation with the COVID-19 pandemic has provided language teachers with great many potential opportunities to implement online applications and instruments to develop learners’ language proficiency. In contrast to the previous norms of EFL classrooms, where technology integration used to be an important albeit a subsidiary component, the current COVID-19 state has put online teaching on the foreground as it is purely a techno-led teaching scenario. However, with the integration of technology-based learning strategies, challenges faced by EFL teachers have also increased. The current study aims to study technology-integrated classrooms and address the challenges before EFL teachers in Saudi Arabia during the COVID-19 pandemic. To have a clear instrument development of data and research findings, the Exploratory Sequential Mixed Method Design was selected by the researcher after using a blend of questionnaires and online interview techniques. For data collection, 50 language instructors at the English Language Institute (King Abdulaziz University) participated in the research. Due to the pandemic control lockdown state, these teachers were teaching an online Module from March-May 2020. The research design was focused on obtaining data based on two aspects: 1. Investigating the positive impact of technology integration in online EFL classrooms during the COVID-19 pandemic. 2. Addressing the challenges faced by the teachers in techno-led online classes during the COVID-19 era. The research findings indicated that despite having access to various techno-led applications and techniques including the blackboard ultra, podcasting, vodcasting etc., still there were many challenges faced by Saudi language instructors. The most common challenges included, but were not limited to, the inability to have access to the modern equipment, interrupted or weak internet connection, learners’ low motivation level and attention deficit. Despite these issues, however, many language instructors reported a positive inclination towards the use of technology in EFL online classes. The findings of the study shed light on the productive use of techno-led online EFL classrooms, focusing on strategic skill-based learning taking place and establishing a strong virtual link between the instructors and learners. Furthermore, the results of this study would help policymakers, trainers, EFL teachers and professional development experts with the current aspects of COVID-19 and the pending issues determining technology integration in EFL online classrooms, thus enabling them to make better-informed decisions.

https://www.journals.aiac.org.au/index.php/IJALEL/article/download/6376/4457

Technology Integrated Online Classrooms and the Challenges Faced by the EFL Teachers in Saudi Arabia during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Formal SMEs contribute up to 60% of total employment and up to 40% of GDP in emerging economies (World Bank, 2015). Globalization council (2009) study reveals that SMEs have more flexibility than MNCs to easily adapt and change to meet important environmental & social targets. Thus, with the right strategy, SMEs can offer both economic prosperity and environmental protection. This raises an important question as to what drives SMEs to consider sustainability in their practices? The article aims at presenting a comprehensive list of numerous drivers identified globally by various researchers using the research technique of systematic literature review. The study intends to contribute to the knowledge base by providing comprehensive state-of-the-art views and findings in the area sustainability practices and their drivers particularly in the context of SMEs. Keywords: Sustainability Drivers, SMEs, Systematic Literature Review

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Drivers of Sustainability Practices and SMEs: A Systematic Literature Review

The approach towards teaching and learning has drastically changed with the advent of technology. Classrooms are no longer what they used to be. The traditional spaces fitted with blackboards and c...

Kritesh Gupta

Papers

Drivers of Sustainability Practices and SMEs: A Systematic Literature Review

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