Sustainable competitive advantage : The impact of sustainable resources on businesses -an analysis of resource-based theory

This research aimsto highlight the attributes that contributeto a sustained competitive advantage of small-mediumenterprises (SMEs) in a sustainable context. With this knowledge, the studycan show academia and other organizations how to approach sustainability concerns and perform more effectively.The phenomenon of sustainable practices as a driver of sustainable competitive advantage among small and medium-sized firms (SMEs) in Germany was explored in this thesis. This research employs resource-based theory to explore the relationship between sustainable practices and competitive advantage in SMEs. According to resource-based theory, internal corporate resources and competencies provide a competitive advantage. In other words, the goal of this study is to look at the ESG (Environmental, Governance, and Social) elements of sustainability using resource-based theory. Finding out what a company is doing to ensure a resource's long-term sustainability raises manyquestions. Thus, toaddress such questions, qualitative analysis was used to obtain data for the interviews in this study. The multiple case study procedure utilized an abductive methodological approach, moving between empirical evidence and acquired theory.According to thefindings of this study, the firms under investigation have made efforts to improve ecologicalsustainability by incorporatingsustainability into their operations.The findings reveal that businesses believe they are accountable for making strategic decisions that benefit the environment and society. However, due to the early stages of the product life cycle or financial constraints, the company is still lagging in implementingthe ESG dimension.Online Presentation via Zoom