A BIBLIOMETRIC ANALYSIS ON THE DRIVERS OF SME’S SUSTAINABILITY PRACTICES

Although SMEs play a vital role in the global economy, they are often overlooked in sustainability efforts. This has raised concerns about the likelihood of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) within the specified timeline. What then are the current approaches SMEs can use to navigate their sustainable development? To address this issue, the study conducted a bibliometric literature review using VOSviewer to analyze existing research on SMEs and sustainable development. Guided by the PRISMA framework, the review sourced data from Scopus, focusing on publications between 2015 and 2024. The findings identified seven key drivers of SMEs’ sustainability practices: societal influence, sustainable finance, corporate culture, regulatory pressure, bricolage, digitalization, and cost savings. Since societal influence id recognized as a primary driver behind SME’s sustainability practices, it is crucial for diverse social groups to actively express their support for these initiatives. Such unified advocacy can give birth to regulatory pressures, potentially fostering the putting forward of sustianable financial tools. Given that most existing research has been carried out in developed countries, there is a pressing need to shift attention to developing nations, where SMEs frequently encounter resource limitations that impede the implementation of sustainable practices.