Inter-organisational Cooperation Oriented Towards Sustainability Involving SMEs: a Systematic Literature Review

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) are under increasing pressure to implement sustainability practices and collaborate in sustainable development. To do so, they can choose to collaborate with other organisations in order to overcome the challenges and barriers found in moving towards sustainability. Sustainability issues in SMEs have been discussed in the last two decades, but the knowledge on the inter-organisational collaboration towards sustainability remains dispersed. In this sense, this paper aims to answer the question: what is known about inter-organisational cooperation oriented towards sustainability involving SMEs? A systematic literature review (SLR) was carried out using 55 articles available on Web of Science (WoS) aiming to understand the processes of inter-organisational relations towards sustainability involving SMEs, simultaneously addressing the emergence of the circular economy. As a result, the articles were organised into four groups, namely (1) cooperation for sustainability promoted by government initiatives, (2) effects of inter-organisational cooperation for sustainability, (3) process of cooperation oriented towards sustainability, and (4) start of discussions on cooperation for the circular economy. A framework is presented with an overview of the evolution of the field, highlighting the main factors and outcomes related to inter-organisational cooperation involving SMEs for sustainability. The review provides theoretical implications as future research avenues for academics and scholars as well as practical implications for entrepreneurs, managers and policy-makers.