Sustainable Manufacturing Practices among SMEs in Malaysia

Abstract

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) play a significant role in the economic development of Malaysia, accounting for approximately 97.3% of businesses in the country. While there is a plethora of studies which examine the commitments of large and multinational firms towards business sustainability, little is known about the efforts of SMEs to translate their strategic orientation towards environmental and social sustainability into action. It is important to examine the extent of SMEs’ response to the imperatives of becoming sustainable businesses through the implementation of sustainable manufacturing practice (SMP) in their business operations. The purpose of this paper is to determine the extent of the implementation of SMP among SMEs in Malaysia. Analysing survey data from 127 SMEs, the results show that the extent of the implementation of SMP among them is low to moderate. This implies that although environmental initiatives are becoming important nowadays, there is still a lack of implementation of SMP in the operational and business activities of SMEs in Malaysia. As well as offering some insights into SMP, particularly in the context of SMEs, this study provides a useful reference for salient stakeholders, such as the government and industrial practitioners, for making decisions and taking further action related to the strategies of nurturing, implementing and enforcing environmental protection and social well-being.

Keywords

• Manufacturing industry
• SMEs
• Survey
• Sustainability
• Sustainable manufacturing practice