The Family Company in Spain

The objective and justification of the chapter focuses on the importance that family businesses in Spain have in the current business environment, which is characterized by great instability. Also in the center of focus is how these family businesses integrate family values with a sustainable business. Innovation, technological advances, market internationalization, quality requirements, and the differentiation of products and/or services, among others, have led to important reflections on how to organize companies, especially family businesses. Nowadays and as a result of the economic crisis, it has been possible to observe a growing creation of family businesses in Spain, which reflects a driving role of business activity in its capacity to undertake and contribute to innovation. Thus, the figures provided by the Institute of Family Business in 2016 show that 90% of Spanish companies are family businesses and contribute about 60% of Spanish GDP and represent 70% of jobs in the private sector as a whole.

An Innovative Company in a Smart City

The aim of this chapter is to analyze the business model of an innovative company in the context of a smart city. Specifically, this research investigates key components and challenges concerning the operationalization of a business model originally conceived to be sustainable. This chapter relies on the analysis of the empirical evidence collected at the organizational level by combining different data sources, including official and internal documents, face-to-face interviews, and questionnaires. It is thus designed to contribute to the lively debate on sustainability by providing empirical evidence and shedding light on the operationalization of the concept of sustainable business model. Further, in light of the smart context where the company operates, this research paves the way for further investigation into the potential win-win collaboration between innovative companies and smart cities to foster sustainability consistent with a systems approach to the topic.

SME and Sustainability

The analysis and the consideration of the sustainability development throughout the SMEs has been less considered by the academic literature than the one developed by large firms so far, although small and medium enterprises represent the majority of the local businesses in many geographical areas of the world. Since small and medium entrepreneurs usually do not know how to tackle the challenges concerning internationalization and sustainability, a managerial model for underling which kind of relationships and interactions must be built is the real aim of the present chapter. In order to do that the chapter is focused of a limited area, the Piedmont Region (Italy), to deep analyse the relationship SMEs can create and improve with the local institutions, associations, and business partners.

Integration of Sustainability and Management Control Systems

In order to support family SMEs in developing more responsible, innovative, and competitive business models, this chapter proposes to study the role and interaction between sustainability control systems (SCSs) and management control systems (MCSs). The chapter will examine management control and family business literature with the purpose of discussing the following research issues: What are the interactions between different forms of social responsibility in family SMESs? How can we transfer the family firms' attitude to social responsibility in a sustainable business model? What are main elements of a sustainable business model that can leverage on family firms business model? The conceptual framework will be defined through literature review: the main aim is to convey the meaning of sustainability and investigating the integration between SCSs and MCSs in family SMEs.

“Glocal” Small Business for Sustainability

In socioeconomic areas, the “glocal” model, which mediates the characteristics of globalization with those of the more entrenched localization, seems to flourish. Glocalization is a social and economic phenomenon, and has intuitive implications also on the environment. Therefore, it causes sustainability issues. As it is governed by its own principles, it modifies traditional business management systems. When can a business be defined glocal? What are the characteristics of its management? What are the features of his promotional communication? How does its social, environmental, and financial reporting change? Must the many stakeholders always be spectators of a communication imposed by property and regulations, or can they become “prosumers” in the financial statement? These initial reflections will require subsequent empirical verifications.

Matching Sustainability Strategy and Results

The aim of the research is to analyze the strategy and the value creation system from a sustainable point of view adopted in an Italian family firm, with a particular focus strategic intensions and strategic projects under implementation. This work has been conducted through the qualitative method of case study, where theory and empirical research are intertwined. In particular, semi-structured interviews and internal document analysis have been conducted. The research shows how the company has implemented the strategy, focusing on sustainability critical success factors and key projects in order to lay the foundation for innovation and growth. The chapter has some theoretical and practical implications as it contributes to integrate the existing literature on family firms, strategic planning, and sustainability, and allows managers better understand how a sustainability strategy can be translated into operational terms.

Determinants of Sustainability Reporting in Medium Enterprises

The importance of the relationship between sustainability and accountability in the business world has increased in the last few years. This chapter examines the determinants of sustainability reporting in 100 medium enterprises operating in Portugal with an excellent financial performance over the past three years. The main results demonstrate that firm characteristics, such as size, ownership structure, and sales growth, contribute significantly to explaining sustainability in these firms. The authors also find that medium firms exhibit a lack of interest in changing their business conduct to improve sustainability. Sustainability accounting is in a relatively early phase of development and the authors hope that this study will further the understanding of the firm characteristics that explain sustainability in medium enterprises.

The Role of Small and Medium Practices in the Sustainability Reporting of Italian Small and Medium Enterprises

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have a prominent role in both the European and the Italian economies, but their approach towards corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability is still underdeveloped. The reasons are mainly related to perceived low economic returns, lack of enforced compliance of the legislation, limited financial and practical support. In overcoming these problems, the role of small and medium practices (SMPs) can be determinant due to the relationship between SMEs and their (not only accounting) consultants. This chapter focuses on SMPs' role in promoting SMEs' initiatives and also considers the academic debate about their sustainability reporting. The investigation of this stream of research and the results of a web survey (involving SMPs in the Northeast of Italy) emphasize how SMPs can support SMEs' sustainable practices and reporting.

Sustainable Management Accounting Systems for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses

The purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of environmental and sustainability management accounting (EMA) systems that can be adopted by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It presents a detailed description of how and why corporate sustainability performance is important for SMEs while placing EMA as a decision support tool to aid sustainability-related corporate strategies. Having discussed various EMA tools and techniques, the chapter also provides an integrative framework for EMA adoption which is based on the evolutionary stages of environmental management. This framework aims to guide SMEs to progress from compliance-orientation towards higher order sustainability outcomes. The chapter stresses the need for the SMEs to continuously take deliberate managerial actions with the support of EMA systems to reach the advanced stages of sustainability in an ever-changing business environment.

Entrepreneurial Orientation and Family Influence Factors for Sustainable Small Business

This chapter addresses the issue of sustainability in small family firms, considering the relation between entrepreneurial orientation and family influence factors. The literature describes positive links between small firms and sustainability outlining their power in spreading good practices. Furthermore, the role of family is crucial to strengthen such intrinsic links. The aim of this study is to first demonstrate the influence that family factors play on entrepreneurial orientation and, second, highlight how factors and orientations shape small family firms' sustainable approach. The study employs a case-based method, illustrating a peculiar case: the leading Italian small family-owned craft beer producer Baladin. It provides fertile ground for the development of functioning as a learning process and being replicable in smaller firms. It also highlights the relevance of family culture even when an entrepreneur engages in a countertrend against his usual family path, by undermining the traditional family business but maintaining a local commitment to sustainable outcomes.