Weerman, Cor (2026) Laddering Sustainability Commitment Decisions in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises. Master thesis, Sustainable Entrepreneurship (SE).
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Abstract
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) represent a major share of economic activity and environmental impact, but the motivations that lead their owners to commit to sustainability over time remain poorly understood. This thesis investigates how SME owner-managers integrate expectations about economic, environmental and social benefits into strategic decisions regarding sustainability commitments. Drawing on means-end chain (MEC) theory and the laddering interview technique, six semi-structured interviews were conducted with owner-managers of diverse SMEs in a regional Dutch context. The attributes, consequences and values mentioned by respondents were coded using a codebook, combined into an implication matrix and visualised in a hierarchical value map (HVM). The results show that sustainability decisions in SMEs are not driven by economic logic alone. Owners link specific sustainability investments to outcomes such as cost savings, operational reliability, employee well-being and reputation within the local community, which in turn connect to deeper, underlying values. The analysis identifies three overarching outcome logics that structure these decisions: economic protection, moral-professional alignment and relational continuity. By uncovering these intertwined economic, cognitive and moral foundations, the thesis extends MEC theory to strategic sustainability decision-making in SMEs and enriches the business-case-for-sustainability literature. The findings provide actionable insights for SME advisers and policymakers seeking to support more robust and value-driven sustainability strategies in the SME sector.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Master) |
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| Name supervisor: | Kilian, S.K. and Cardoso Chrispim, M. |
| Date Deposited: | 02 Jul 2026 07:59 |
| Last Modified: | 02 Jul 2026 07:59 |
| URI: | https://campus-fryslan.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/878 |
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