Motives Stimulating the Implementation of Business Solutions Based on Technological and Environmental Trends: Evidence of Polish SMEs

Objective: To contribute to a better understanding of the dynamics of change in the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) sector and to the preliminary identification of key motivational factors and their impact on the decision-making processes of Polish SMEs in implementing innovative business solutions based on selected contemporary leading technological and environmental trends, as a response to the changing landscape of sustainable competitiveness, from both an economic and a social perspective. Research Design & Methods: CATI pilot research conducted in December 2023 on a population of n = 126 respondents, research data obtained by a specialised external entity DSC Research Group Ltd. Findings: When asked about the motives that encourage taking actions related to the development of 1) Sustainable Technology Management and 2) Sustainable Environmental Management systems through the implementation of innovative solutions based on selected, currently leading technological and environmental trends, the respondents indicated that these are: 1) internal motivation / belief that this is the right direction to support the development of the company, 2) customer expectations, and 3) requirements arising from standards and policies at international level, e.g., European Union regulations. The analysis of the structure of the replies made it possible to observe differences in the distribution of the various indications and to identify a certain tendency, which indicates that the more often a given factor was mentioned in the population as a motive/motivator for action, the higher the percentage of indications that it was the “range I” (main primary) motivator and, conversely, the less often a given factor was mentioned, the higher the share in the distribution of the replies of the indication that it was a tertiary (range III) motivator. Implications / Recommendations: Relatively low scores for conditions such as: 1) “required by institutions that support and finance the development of enterprises (e.g., banks, venture capital),” 2) “required by our business partners” and 3) “required by standards and policies at local level (local authority policies)” may indicate that the so-called business environment institutions are either not ready, not aware of, or do not see the need to reward enterprises that want to develop in a sustainable way, based on innovative technological and environmental trends. This fact can be interpreted as evidence of the need to take measures to support the creation and development of sustainable business cooperation ecosystems. Contribution: The conducted research contributes to the development of knowledge about motives that can encourage entrepreneurs to implement innovative business solutions based on today’s leading technological and ecological trends in order to increase competitiveness while meeting the requirements and assumptions of sustainable development policies.