Abstract
Never has there been a timelier publication in relation to environmental sustainability and small and medium enterprises (SMEs), with a calculated 400 million SMEs globally producing approximately 70% of the world’s pollution and 60% of CO2 emissions and with current research arguing SMEs have been environmental laggards (Factor and Ulhøi, 2021). This edited book provides a theoretical map of sustainability and SME research, and an in-depth historical and regional level examination of the use of mixed methods within this transdisciplinary field of inquiry. The central argument is that due to the dynamics and complexity of sustainability approaches in business contexts and more specifically SME contexts, mixed methods research designs enable the capture of multiple worldviews (paradigmatic pluralism) and offer innovative methodological approaches to conducting research in this field. The book invites researchers to break out of the confines of traditional and often mono method research designs and approaches and to break out of their ‘discipline defined methodological comfort zone’ (p. 251). As such it is a welcomed contribution to this field but also has value for other related disciplines and sub-disciplines across the broader management and business spectrum.
The book is structured across four parts. Part A contains three chapters and focuses on introducing the reader to research on sustainability and SMEs and the use of mixed methods within that research space. Part A provides the foundational positioning of the book by addressing the key broad theoretical roots and approaches to sustainability research (Chapter 1), then sharpens the focus to research on SMEs and sustainability (Chapter 2), before mapping the existing methodological landscape across the field of inquiry related to SMEs and sustainability (Chapter 3).
Part B is the largest section of the book and contains six chapters from contributors from across the globe including an environmental management research team based in Spain (Chapter 4), senior academics and researchers from the United States (Chapter 5), the United Kingdom (Chapter 7), South Africa (Chapter 9) and Australia (Chapters 6 and 8). Each of these chapters contributes perspectives on the application and use of mixed methods research designs for examining sustainability and SMEs. The chapters in Part B contain an interesting mix of researcher reflections on conducting sustainability research and applying mixed methods research (MMR) approaches and are all grounded in that authentic researcher experience. For example, Molina-Azorin et al., in Chapter 4, argue that the use of innovative research designs such as MMR can assist in meeting the grand challenges facing society such as, environmental degradation and climate change, poverty, health and social and economic inequality. Gagnon in Chapter 5 links both sustainability and entrepreneurship research through mixed methods approaches arguing that they are both complex and challenging to understand, however MMR approaches assist in unpacking that complexity. In Chapter 6, Bressan, who has a long-standing passion for social responsibility and environmental sustainability draws on his PhD study to provide a very pragmatic and practical example of the application of a complex MMR design that focuses on sustainability in SMEs. The four-phased MMR design allowed Bressan to capture and integrate data from each phase to provide in-depth understanding and interpretation of his research questions and to ultimately contribute to theory building and elaboration. Sainidis, in Chapter 7, looks specifically at sustainable strategies in manufacturing SMEs and reflects on the application of MM to his research which utilised a parallel mixed methods research design. The chapter actually exemplifies what is required when undertaking the Good Reporting of A Mixed Methods Study. Sainidis also brings attention to the important features of MMR design in terms of design quality, transparency, data quality, interpretive rigour, inference transferability and utility. Similar to Chapters 6 and 7, Chapter 8, by Factor, also showcases another type of MMR design, the longitudinal mixed method study which explores Australian SME environmental behaviour utilising a critical realism lens and reinforcing the theme which pervades the collection that sustainability is a holistic and complex phenomenon. Romm and Hamann’s contribution, Chapter 9, is an insightful conversation (applying duo-ethnographic dialogue) with a strong focus on underlying ontological and epistemological tensions and methodological choices when utilising a MMR study resulting in fresh angles and insights into these perennial philosophical debates.
The third section, Part C, is made up of four chapters with two of these examining the value added proposition of applying mixed methods research for this field of inquiry (Chapters 10 and 12), while Chapter 11 addresses very important aspects of mixed methods research designs and the reporting of mixed methods studies – data integration and joint displays. Guetterman and Moss Breen supply a comprehensive table of data integration terms, practical examples and software generated joint displays, which is an incredibly useful resource for those researchers struggling with how to meet the crucial feature of MMR studies – data integration. These joint displays assist in visualising and reporting the integration of the qualitative and quantitative data being collected and analysed in mixed methods research studies. The book ends with Chapter 13 which includes a summation of the lessons that can be learned from applying mixed methods research to this field. Many of these lessons could be applied to a variety of business and management disciplines and sub-disciplines and offer conceptual and practical advice for addressing sustainability’s grand challenges. They cover issues and traps that many researchers new to mixed methods may fall prey to. They highlight the use of paradigmatic pluralism and abduction in MMR and touch on the importance of methodological reporting, showcasing an existing complex convergent MMR design that investigates sustainability training programmes.
The book and its contributions contain a balanced mix of discipline specific researchers and academics and prominent mixed methodologists, thereby catering to the stated purpose of the book which is predominantly focused on SMEs and sustainability research with a strong methodological slant in terms of employing mixed methods research and the value added proposition that applying mixed methods to this field of inquiry presents.
The editors capture the complexity and transdisciplinary nature of sustainability research and argue strongly and convincingly for coupling this research with mixed methodologies. The book will be of value and interest to a variety of audiences including researchers and academics interested in researching environmental sustainability within business contexts including early career researchers, SME and entrepreneurship researchers new to sustainability and mixed methods research designs, and of course students. Other relevant audiences for the book include academics teaching postgraduate research methods and mid-career and senior researchers wishing to expand their knowledge base in respect to mixed methods research designs. The book will also be very relevant for industry practitioners and for those on multidisciplinary research teams.