Green Economy Research Trends and Mapping in SMEs: A Bibliometric Analysis

2.1 Strategic management and RBV

Strategic management is a set of management decisions and actions that influence an enterprise's long-term performance [19]. David and Han [21] state that strategic management is the science and art of conceiving, implementing, and evaluating cross-functional decisions that enable an organization to achieve its goals. The most important aspect of strategic management is that it provides companies with a framework for developing the ability to foresee and deal with change [22]. The strategic management process model involves environmental scanning (both external and internal), strategy creation (strategic or long-term planning), strategy execution, and evaluation and control [19].

Environmental scanning and an assessment of the influence of environmental changes on the organization, should be included in strategic planning [19]. When a firm's expertise of the external environment is combined with knowledge of the internal environment, it aids in the formation of the firm's strategic intent, strategic mission, and strategies [23].

Specific strategic options can be generated once a detailed picture of the company and its environment has been developed. Strategy development (also known as strategic planning or long-term planning) begins with a situation analysis to align external opportunities and threats with internal strengths and weaknesses [19]. A successfully defined strategy enables management to combine the company's resources, capabilities, and competences in order to match them with its external environment [23].

Managers must put their plans into action after picking a congruent set of strategies to get a competitive edge and increase performance. Strategy implementation is the process of carrying out strategies and policies through the creation of programs, budgets, and procedures [19]. Strategy implementation is an essential component of the strategic management process, and it is defined as a process that converts the formulated strategy into a series of actions and then results in ensuring that the organization's vision, mission, strategy, and strategic objectives are successfully achieved as planned [24]. Once executed, the strategy's results must be measured and analyzed, with the necessary changes made to keep the plan on track. Evaluation and control is the process of monitoring a company's operations and performance results in order to compare actual performance to desired performance [19].

2.2 SMEs and green business

According to the RBV, in order to be competitive, business organizations must have valuable and unique resources that are difficult to imitate and difficult to replace [20]. The literature identifies various tools for defining SMEs' competitiveness performance. Most studies consider product, process, and management system innovation, as well as the viability and competitiveness of SMEs, to be important indicators [25]. One of the issues that is still emerging and developing is the issue of SMEs sustainability [26]. Researchers have defined sustainable performance in various ways, such as [27] as a company's ability to achieve superior performance in social and environmental aspects. The sustainability agenda encompasses a broader range of issues, including environmental justice, social justice, ecological protection, and so on [27]. One of the most widely used approaches to measuring sustainability performance is based on three dimensions: environmental, economic, and social [28].

In a rapidly changing global economy, institutional readiness is critical for informing SMEs about the potential benefits of adopting new approaches [29]. Sustainability innovation [30], is defined as a positive change that improves a company's sustainability performance. Green economy is one of the concepts currently being discussed in relation to sustainability. Sustainable development goals (SDGs) are an economic concept that emphasizes environmental sustainability as an important component of achieving SDGs [31]. Governments, businesses, and financial institutions must all think about and act to help the SMEs sector become more environmentally friendly [32].

4.1 Planning stages

The outcomes of the planning phase consist of documents that adhere to specific keywords and subject area limitations. The search criteria employed for retrieving publications in the Scopus database include the keywords "Green," "SMEs," and the limitation of subject area to "BUSI." Additionally, the search is further restricted to articles written in the English language. Articles are subject to limitations in terms of their topic area and the language employed. The data sources included in this study only consisted of papers pertaining to the fields of business, management, and accounting, all of which were written in the English language. The retrieval of publications containing the specified keywords yielded a total of 350 documents from diverse sources, encompassing journals, book chapters, conference papers, and books published between the timeframe of 2013 to 2022.

Articles on the green economy in SMEs show an increasing trend over the last 20 years, from 1997 to 2022. According to the data, articles Significant progress has been made in the last three years (2020, 2021, and 2022). Figure 1 depicts the data on article distribution.

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Figure 1. Distribution of the number of articles

Research on the implementation of green economy principles within the SME sector has increased substantially over the past three years. The significant increase in the number of articles was analyzed as the result of SDGs policies. IFAC (International Federation of Accounting Committee) announced at the 2020 G-20 summit that every company in the world is encouraged to update their reporting to the Integrated Reporting scheme. Integrated Reporting is a public reporting system that includes financial reporting as well as corporate social responsibility/sustainability reporting (annual report and sustainability report). This is a solution for increasing corporate involvement in achieving the SDGs by 2030 [40, 41]. Companies can use this report to be open and honest with their customers, build trust and awareness, encourage customers to make environmentally friendly choices, gain scalability, and become more eco-efficient.

The requirement to have a sustainability report applies not only to large corporations, but also to SMEs in order for them to compete globally [42]. According to research [43], the mission, practice, form of company, certificate, and capacity of SMEs are currently shifting toward the inclusion of sustainability concepts and principles. In Europe, SMEs owners are also encouraged to conduct sustainable reporting in accordance with the 2030 SMEs vision. In the interim, study [42] reported that the sustainability report was applied to twenty-five small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Indonesia and that among the twelve general information indicators, over fifty percent of SMEs were disclosed. The 25 SMEs referenced in study [42] are a representative sample of 25 SMEs operating throughout Indonesia that possess knowledge or are inclined to investigate sustainability issues. The sustainability report comprises 12 general indicators. These encompass the following: company name, brand names, activities, products, and services; business and head office locations; ownership and legal structure of the company; markets covered; company size; values, principles, standards, and norms of conduct; executive management's approach to stakeholder engagement; and standards, norms, and values of the company.

4.2 Implementation stage

4.2.1 Co-authorship analysis

Co-authorship analysis seeks to determine the level of productivity of authors (co-authors) when conducting research and writing activities as single authors and as authors in groups [43]. Bibliometric analysis results for co-authorship analysis with a country analysis unit of at least 5 articles per country. Figure 2 depicts an image of the co-authorship cluster analysis. The author's collaboration with other authors is the focus of this analysis. The analysis displays results based on the author's name, organization, or country of origin. According to the findings of the analysis, the authors' collaboration occurred across borders, resulting in 5 collaboration network clusters in 28 countries. When compared to nodules representing the names of other countries, nodules representing the United Kingdom are the largest. This demonstrates that author collaboration in publishing research findings related to the green economy in SMEs is stronger than collaboration among affiliated writers from other countries.

Table 1 displays data on the number of articles and article citations by country. According to the findings, articles from India, the United Kingdom, Taiwan, China, and Italy have the highest number of articles among the 28 other countries. The number of citations was related to the number of articles published by the five countries.

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Figure 2. Co-authorship analysis with country analysis

Table 1. Article citation and number by country

According to research [44] conducted in India, all SMEs have a positive attitude toward green manufacturing, but many are not ready to implement the practice. Meanwhile, [45] stated that SMEs contributed nearly 47% of GDP in the United Kingdom [46]. Meanwhile, in Taiwan, companies that implemented green projects for more than three years saw significant improvements in green innovative capabilities, green relational capabilities, co-innovation behavior, and entrepreneurial opportunity recognition [47]. This evidence suggests that researching the green economy in these countries remains very appealing.

4.2.2 Co-occurrences analysis

The Co-occurrences analysis is a search for scientific publication documents using the search terms "green" and "SMEs" on titles, abstracts, and/or keywords published in Scopus indexed journals. It also generates information in the form of a complete keyword list with the frequency of occurrence of 1.583 keywords and 81 keywords that appear 5 times in the article. Figure 3 depicts the results of the network visualization analysis for the article's keywords.

The analysis results show that there are six clusters that demonstrate the relationship between one topic and another. SMEs (90 times), sustainable development (51 times), sustainability (50 times), and environmental management are some of the most frequently used keywords in articles (35 times). However, with a total link strength of 276, the topic of sustainable development is the most frequently connected in green economy research. This is understandable given that the environment is one of the indicators of sustainable development. Authors [48, 49] contends that the green economy—the most recent method of acquiring and utilizing resources—is a product of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and centralizes many of Industry 4.0's achievements. Clean energy, green finance, and green economic development are examples of sustainable practice [50].

The co-occurrence analysis can show the distribution of topics each year in addition to the network of relationships between topics. Figure 4 depicts the results of the Vos Viewers overlay visualization analysis. Topics with yellow nodules have recently been reviewed in the article. The most recent topic is green manufacturing, which is related to green innovation, business performance, and environmental management.

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Figure 3. Analysis of co-occurrences on article keywords

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Figure 4. Overlay visualization analysis results

Green manufacturing is an intriguing topic that has recently received attention because the incorporation of sustainable strategies into manufacturing operations has become mandatory in recent years in order to achieve the goal of sustainable development [50], where sustainable development is closely related to business performance [51]. Topics related to green entrepreneurship, on the other hand, are still rarely used in previous research. This is evident in the data visualization, where green entrepreneurship is a new topic with few studies.

Table 2 displays the cluster data for the topics discussed in the article. As a result of the co-occurrence analysis, the data shows that five keyword clusters have formed. Cluster 1 depicts the topics that influence the performance or outcomes of the green economy in SMEs. According to Purwanto et al. [52], which states that green economy model innovation positively affects SMEs' performance, a proactive environmental strategy has a significant effect on company performance [53]. As a result, previous research has demonstrated that applying green economy principles to SMEs has a significant impact on overall business performance.

Cluster 2 displays topics that are closely related to processes or strategies that can be implemented in the implementation of a green economy to SMEs. Environmental protection, the existence of environmental regulations, pollution control, and the application of principles in the creation of green products are examples of strategies that can be implemented. All aspects of strategy are strategic planning that must be carried out by business actors in order to put the green economy concept into action. Cluster 3 demonstrates the existence of programs or activities that SMEs can carry out. The program or activity is based on a strategic plan and will be implemented in cluster 2. Green entrepreneurship, for example, is a program that can be implemented. Cluster 4 depicts the impact that occurs, specifically how the strategy's implementation can result in global warming (if the green economy principle is not implemented) or the existence of environmental performance (environmental performance). Cluster 5 depicts broad topics related to broad concepts in the green economy in SMEs, such as sustainability, sustainable development, environmental technology, and waste management.

Table 2. Categorizes green economy topics

4.2.3 Citation analysis

Citation analysis identifies the most frequently cited articles based on the document, the article's source, the organization, the authors, and the country of origin. Citation analysis was performed on documents with a minimum of 5 citations per document, yielding 168 documents with the most citations. Figure 5 depicts the results of the document-based citation analysis. The largest nodule (the highest number of citations) is indicated by a document with the author Chen Y, published in the journal of business ethics, 81(3): 531-543 in 2008. The document received 689 citations, with 11 linked articles. According to this data, articles published in 2008 are still relevant as a reference to the concept of green economy in SMEs.

Table 3 shows the results of an article citation analysis based on article sources (minimum published articles = 5 articles). According to the table, the most cited sources of articles were articles published in journals with a Q1 predicate. This demonstrates that the higher the article's source index, the more articles will be cited.

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Figure 5. Citation analysis results based on document

Table 3. Results of citation analysis

Citation is used in scientific works to give credit or recognition for the influence of previous works or to refer to someone with scientific authority. Citation allows the reader to judge what is currently being tested by looking at previous works. Authors are often directly involved in these tests and explain why they agree or even disagree with previous views. The large number of citations will show the impact of an article, so increasing the citations of each article will affect the quality of a journal. Based on the table, the sources of articles from order 1 to 8 are journals that are ranked Q1 in the Scopus database.

4.3 Reporting stage

The present study undertook a classical analysis of a selection of publications that exhibited the highest citation counts, using upon strategic management theory as proposed by Wheelen et al. [19]. The strategic management theory proposed by Wheelen and Hunger encompasses four distinct stages, including environmental scanning, strategy creation, strategy implementation, and assessment and control. Wheelen et al. [19] claim that the process of environmental scanning is a distinct and essential preliminary phase that precedes the formulation of a strategic plan. The process of environmental scanning entails the examination and evaluation of both internal and external elements that have the potential to impact the company. The process of strategy formulation encompasses the identification and establishment of an organization's mission, goals, and strategies. The process of strategy implementation entails the execution of a formulated strategy, whereas assessment and control encompass the ongoing monitoring and necessary adjustments to the strategy.

The outcomes of the planning phase consist of documents that adhere to specific keywords and subject area limitations. The search criteria employed for retrieving articles from the Scopus database include the keywords "Green," "SMEs," and the limitations of subject area to "BUSI" and language to "English”. The accessibility of articles is limited by their topic matter and the language employed within them. The data sources included in this study only consisted of papers pertaining to the fields of business, management, and accounting, all of which were written in the English language. The retrieval of publications containing the specified keywords yielded a total of 350 documents from diverse sources, encompassing journals, book chapters, conference papers, and books published between the timeframe of 2013 to 2022.

The utilization of a strategic management framework within the context of the green economy for SMEs. This review highlights the predominant focus of prior research on the association between green practices and the performance of SMEs [54-56]. The adoption of the green economy will yield various effects on economic, environmental, resource, and social performance [57]. The strategic management framework derived from the analysis of relevant literature is depicted in Figure 6. The green economy of SMEs encompasses the notion of environmental scanning, which may be categorized into two distinct domains: the internal environment and the external environment. This categorization yields many conceptual frameworks.

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Figure 6. Strategic management framework in the green economy of SMEs

Chen [54] conducted research on the notion of green core competencies and their impact on performance enhancement. SMEs that allocate significant resources and exert substantial efforts towards developing green core competencies can effectively align with stringent international regulations and environmental protection conventions. Furthermore, Chen [54] argues that such investments can lead to an increase in green innovation. Additionally, Thanki et al. [55] suggests that the cultivation of green core competencies can contribute to sustainable growth by facilitating overall performance improvement. This study examines the concept of internal environmental scanning, which encompasses an analysis of several factors such as the resources possessed [58], management attitudes [59, 60], and [61] research demonstrated that a primary barrier preventing small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) owners and managers from adopting environmentally sustainable practices is the limited availability of financial resources. Hatak et al. [59] shown that in addition to functional and economic variables, emotional aspects also play a significant role in motivating individuals. These emotional aspects encompass self-satisfaction, alongside functional factors such as enhanced product quality, and economic factors such as higher revenue. Ecopreneurs perceive business not alone as a means of generating income, but also as a mechanism for effecting social transformation [62]. It also necessitates profound changes at the individual, societal, and institutional levels. The transition from industrial processes to sustainable organizational processes presents business owners with further motivation, as sustainability is associated with altruism and optimism [59].

The process of conducting an external environment scan involves examining the external circumstances surrounding SMEs. This examination encompasses the interactions between SMEs and various stakeholders, including collaborations among SMEs [63], consumer or customer demand [54, 57], relationships with the community [58], and other stakeholders [59]. Additionally, it takes into account the emerging trend of a paradigm shift towards the ecopreneur paradigm [64]. Customers have a significant influence in motivating companies to use green product diversification initiatives [60]. Similarly, according to Singh et al. [64], several factors such as the adoption of new technology, customer attributes, social and government pressures, and the implementation of green supply chain management can be identified as crucial predictors for the successful integration of green manufacturing practices within small and medium-scale organizations in India. SMEs have the capacity to implement various strategies in response to shifts occurring within their internal and external environments. This literature review encompasses several tactics, namely the green image strategy [54], green manufacture strategy [64], and the strategy of environmental social responsibility (ECSR) [65]. The aforementioned tactics are subsequently included into other programs including Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) [58, 66-69], green innovation [54, 55, 61, 68, 69] ecoefficiency [69], and green product [60].

The implementation of GSCM methods facilitates the generation of novel prospects for client acquisition, while concurrently addressing the purchasing requirements of firms [56]. To bolster their environmental reputation, the industry should demonstrate a strong commitment to sourcing eco-friendly materials from suppliers. Additionally, they could actively promote the significance of sustainability by conducting conferences or seminars focused on environmental topics [67]. The inclusion of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in public sector procurement processes has the potential to foster sustainable development by facilitating the adoption of environmentally friendly products or technologies [63].