The microlevel actions undertaken by owner-managers in improving the sustainability practices of cultural and creative small and medium enterprises: A United Kingdom–Italy comparison

This article discusses micro-level actions undertaken by owner-managers, and how such actions affect stakeholders in enhancing the sustainability of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), the knowledge on which is lacking in the extant literature. The paper, by adopting an inductive analytical approach, draws key insights from the literature on micro-foundations and sustainability and evidence from representatives of five Cultural and Creative Industry (CCI) SMEs in Italy and of five in the UK. The findings suggest that owner-managers play a crucial role when engaging in sustainability activities jointly with employees and other stakeholders, through which individual-level actions enhance collective organizational-level sustainability practices. The UK and Italian cases highlight two contrasting approaches to dealing with sustainability; thus, the paper contributes to the emerging literature on SME micro-foundations and sustainability.