Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.1080/1331677X.2022.2029713
Adoption of green innovation practices in SMEs sector: evidence from an emerging economy
Shah Fahad
Faisal Alnori
Fang Su
Jian Deng
Abstract
In developing world, awareness and environmental concerns
are forcing small and medium-sized enterprises to adopt green
practices. Hence it is important to distinguish the major
obstacles/barriers which hinders the adoption of green practices
in SMEs. This study utilizes a framework (three-phase) to classify
the major barriers/obstacles and solutions to eliminate these
obstacles in green innovation adoption. In total, twenty-five barriers and fifteen solutions were recognized through review of
existing literature and experts opinions. Fuzzy Analytical
Hierarchal Process (AHP) was utilized to rank these barriers and
Fuzzy Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal
Solution (TOPSIS) is employed to give appropriate ranks to strategies/solutions to overcome the identified obstacles. The findings
of our study revealed that out of six major barriers, legal barriers
were the most critical obstacles in green innovation adoption in
Pakistani SMEs. Information barriers were the second critical green
innovation adoption obstacles/barriers in SMEs, followed by technical-barriers, managerial-barriers, economic-barriers and marketbarriers. These findings will offer insights to SMEs stockholders to
overcome and eradicate barriers to green innovation, who intend
to adopt green practices instead of conventional ones. Our study
analysis will assist SMEs in prioritizing the major factors influencing green innovation adoption.
Keywords
Analytical Hierarchal Process method (AHP); fuzzy TOPSIS; green innovation; SMEs; Pakistan
Hrčak ID:
302856
URI
Publication date:
31.3.2023.
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