Sustainability & Business - An Annotated Bibliography

Week 2 Discussion 2: Annotated Bibliography

            Engaging in sustainable business practices is the key to the success of small businesses around the world. Businesses should engage in socially and environmentally sustainable practices so as to make a positive impact in the society. This would also ensure that their businesses operations will be there in the future. The gap is to understand the best sustainable practices to be employed by small businesses around the world.

Annotated Bibliography

Albino, V., Balice, A., & Dangelico, R. M. (2009). Environmental strategies and green product development: an overview of sustainability‐driven companies. Business strategy and the environment, 18(2), 83-96.

            Albino, Balice, and Dangelico in this article focus on the role that companies can play in ensuring that environmental sustainability is achieved in the world. The article indicates that embracing green based production processes as well as products is the only true way through which environmental sustainability can be attained by companies around the globe.

            Since the publication of the article in 2009, it has been beneficial when it comes to encouraging firms around the world to embrace green strategies as part of their environmental sustainability efforts. However, the main limitation of the article is that the data analysis approach used does not provide adequate data that can fully make the findings presented in the article reliable.

            The source will be instrumental in understanding ways in which green production and product strategies can be useful in ensuring that small businesses engage in sustainable practices. The source is related to my doctoral study literature review component.

Caniato, F., Caridi, M., Crippa, L., & Moretto, A. (2012). Environmental sustainability in fashion supply chains: An exploratory case-based research. International journal of production economics, 135(2), 659-670.

            Caniato et al. talks about the concept of environmental sustainability within the fashion industry. The article reveals that adoption of green initiatives within the fashion sector supply chains has played an instrumental role in enhancing environmental sustainability practices in this sector.

 The article since it publication has provided information about some of the best practices to deal with environmental challenges in the world of business. However, the sample size used in the article is small, making the findings less reliable.

            The source will be useful in understanding how green strategies can aid in enhancing environmental sustainability practices in small business. The source is related to my doctoral study discussion component.

Chapin, F. S., Carpenter, S. R., Kofinas, G. P., Folke, C., Abel, N., Clark, W. C., ... & Berkes, F. (2010). Ecosystem stewardship: sustainability strategies for a rapidly changing planet. Trends in ecology & evolution, 25(4), 241-249.

 Chapin et al. focus on the issue of ecosystem stewardship as crucial in ensuring that businesses engage in sustainable operations. The article reveals that engaging in activities that are proactive in nature when dealing with change as well as embracing policies that discourage environmental destruction is the only way business operations can be sustainable.

 The source has been beneficial in understanding some of the techniques that can be used by businesses to enhance sustainability. The main source weakness is that it does not provide empirical data.

            The source will be useful in understanding ways in which small businesses can be sustainable in their operations. The source is related to my doctoral literature review component.