Researching the Green Practices of Smaller Service Firms: A Theoretical, Methodological, and Empirical Assessment

This paper presents an integrative review and critical assessment of theoretical, methodological, and empirical dimensions of 109 environmental business-related articles on small and medium-sized service firms published during the 1992-2012 period in mainstream and specialized journals. Theoretically, more than half the studies lacked a theoretical foundation, with the remainder anchored primarily on stakeholder theory, the resource-based view, and institutional theory. Methodologically, studies were generally exploratory, cross-sectional, and descriptive in nature, as well as characterized by a narrow geographical scope, nonprobability samples, small sample sizes, and simple analytical methods. Empirically scholars focused on many diverse issues, with the most frequent relating to facilitators and inhibitors on green initiatives, stimuli and barriers to corporate environmentalism, and environmental problems and practices. The paper provides recommendations for strengthening these areas and offers directions for future research.