Critical Review #2

Vincent Vuong (20315765)

Beyond Corporate Environmental Management to a Consideration of Nature in Visionary Small Enterprise is a research study conducted by, Kate Kearins, Eva Collins, and Helen Tregidga, to examine the potential for small-enterprises to operate with a different concept of nature at the management level, and how its business case is relatable to sustainable development. The researchers in this study have found a gap in the information, and evidence supporting small businesss management and their role in corporate environmentalism. Thus, study is meant to critique and gain an understanding of how a fundamental reassessment of the business-nature relationship can lead a corporate environmental management to ecological sustainability. The study is divided into sections subsequently to build on each other. The article moves to a discussion of the terms environment and nature, most on the differences, and how the term nature has been reconstructed as environment. It then goes to a discussion of how nature relates to the concept of sustainability at the management level, and how it is not present in the current sustainable practices. In this research they choose only 5 respondents for easy analysis of trends and patterns, participants were chosen on the notion of caring for the nature and doing good. Data sources were on-site interviews, conservations, emails, media articles and business documentation, including websites. This study touches on a new idea, of small businesses running with a management system that is purely tailored to the environment and not so much about growth. The research methods section of the survey was really well written, it outlined the type of research that was conducted as well as the methodology in using each information gathering tool. In their process they included reanalysis and second interviews to clarify points of information that were unclear. They then reduced the data, over and over again to simplify it, so outside readers can understand the research and conclusions, and to also group certain patterns under themes. However because of such a small participant count there could be issues effecting the distribution of the results, with such low number of samples there could be potential of outliers. Another problem with the sampling choice is that they are not in the same markets, so they often have different priorities in the business model, which can lead to a discontinuity in the data and perceptions of the respondents which can affect the conclusions of the results. In the end, although the research objectives were interesting as it was in the focus of an internal management perspective instead of the general practices of sustainability, but the results show no different. The notion of the risk of losing profitability, lack of infrastructure, and lack of customer preference is a risk that the green entrepreneur has to face, whether if his business helps sustainability or if it is sustainable in practice. I also feel that the format of the paper could be organized better. I had a hard to going through the initial sections outline the differences in the concepts of sustainability and

nature, and nature vs. Environment. The methodologies couldve been better organized under, such as using headings of the associated tool used in each information gathering method.

References

Kearins, K., Collins, E. & Tregidga, H. (2010). Beyond Corporate Environmental Management to a Consideration of Nature in Visionary Small Enterprise. Business & Society, 49, 3, 512-547.