Title: Sustainability indicators for small and medium enterprises in industrial clusters

Authors: Robert Eduardo Cooper Ordóñez; Guilherme Erran Prevedel; Camila Alejandra León Vanegas; Jimmy Alejandro Carvajal Trujillo; Rosley Anholon

Addresses: Department of Manufacturing Engineering and Materials, School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Campinas, R. Mendeleyev, 200 Cidade Universitária, Campinas, SP, 13083-860, Brazil ' Department of Manufacturing Engineering and Materials, School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Campinas, R. Mendeleyev, 200 Cidade Universitária, Campinas, SP, 13083-860, Brazil ' Department of Manufacturing Engineering and Materials, School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Campinas, R. Mendeleyev, 200 Cidade Universitária, Campinas, SP, 13083-860, Brazil ' Department of Manufacturing Engineering and Materials, School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Campinas, R. Mendeleyev, 200 Cidade Universitária, Campinas, SP, 13083-860, Brazil ' Department of Manufacturing Engineering and Materials, School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Campinas, R. Mendeleyev, 200 Cidade Universitária, Campinas, SP, 13083-860, Brazil

Abstract: The high competitivity in the market and the theme of environmental conservation that has emerged in the last 30 years has led companies, governments and many other groups to introduce solutions that meet the market needs. Indicators have been created as tools of action and control both for internal and external issues, aiming to meet the new demands of economic, social and environmental sustainability. Within these concepts, the companies organised in clusters have real possibilities to be in evidence because of their potential in knowledge use, experience exchange, flexibility and social impact. This article aimed to understand how sustainability indicators can be used for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) belonging to clusters, and what is the approach of academic articles. Through a bibliographic search, we understood the importance of the concepts of sustainability for the creation of competitiveness and social structuring. However, the low number of articles related to the proposed theme shows that, although sustainability is widely disseminated, its use by SMEs is not yet common, offering opportunity for deeper academic research.

Keywords: sustainability; cluster; indicators; small and medium enterprises; SMEs.

DOI: 10.1504/LAJMSD.2018.096066

Latin American Journal of Management for Sustainable Development, 2018 Vol.4 No.3, pp.191 - 204

Received: 17 Feb 2018
Accepted: 07 Jul 2018
Published online: 09 Nov 2018 *

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