Sense or Sensibility? Managerial sensemaking and responsible business practices in international small and medium-sized enterprises
Year of publication
2023
Authors
Uzhegova, Maria; Ivanova-Gongne, Maria; Torkkeli, Lasse
Abstract
International business today is increasingly stimulated to be conducted in a socially and environmentally responsible way. The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals have emphasized the role of international business as an agent of transformation. Sustainability and related issues are global by nature; thus, they have a reach in international business and in providing international entrepreneurial opportunities. Despite this, research on international business and sustainable development has focused primarily on large multinational enterprises, while studies on international entrepreneurship (IE) have remained relatively absent. This study contributes to the literature on the internationalization of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by shedding light on how managers of international enterprises make sense of responsible business practices (RBPs). With an empirical sample of 179 Finnish internationalized SMEs and linear regression analysis, the study finds out that communication of sensemaking enhances the firms’ RBPs. This study illustrates the role of the sensemaking approach in IE, where it is essential to account for managerial sensemaking when seeking to explain how international entrepreneurial firms strategize for sustainable international business and can potentially contribute to Sustainable Development Goals.
Show moreOrganizations and authors
Åbo Akademi University
Ivanova-Gongne Maria
Publication type
Publication format
Article
Parent publication type
Compendium
Article type
Other article
Audience
ScientificPeer-reviewed
Peer-ReviewedMINEDU's publication type classification code
A3 Book section, Chapters in research booksPublication channel information
Parent publication name
Sustainable International Business : Smart Strategies for Business and Society
Parent publication editors
Arte, Pratik; Wang, Yi; Dowie, Cheryl; Elo, Maria; Laasonen, Salla
Publisher
Pages
323-350
ISBN
Publication forum
Publication forum level
2
Open access
Open access in the publisher’s service
No
Self-archived
Yes
Other information
Fields of science
Business and management
Keywords
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Internationality of the publisher
International
Language
English
International co-publication
No
Co-publication with a company
No
DOI
10.1007/978-3-031-43785-4_14
The publication is included in the Ministry of Education and Culture’s Publication data collection
Yes