De la Idea tot de Praktijk : A Cross-Cultural Study of Environmental Strategy Development in Textile SMEs from Spain and Belgium

Sammanfattning

This thesis examines how owner-managers in textile small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Spain and Belgium develop and implement proactive environmental strategies, and how regional cultural contexts shape these processes. Existing research has largely focused on the motivations behind sustainability adoption and its outcomes, while paying limited attention to the implementation process itself and to the influence of regional differences within Europe. To help address these gaps, this thesis operationalises Complex Leadership Theory (CLT) alongside regional and organisational culture theory to analyse how proactive sustainability initiatives are developed and implemented within SMEs in the textile industry. The research adopts an interpretivist and abductive qualitative approach. Data were collected through nine semi-structured interviews with owner-managers of textile SMEs operating in Spain and Belgium. The interviews were analysed using thematic analysis, enabling both within-country and cross-national comparisons. The findings show that proactive environmental strategies in textile SMEs are strongly shaped by the owner-manager, who simultaneously performs entrepreneurial, enabling, and operational leadership functions. Sustainability initiatives emerge from personal values, the use of networks, and adaptive and creative organisational practices rather than from formalised strategic systems or regulations. The study also shows that regional cultures significantly influence how sustainability is interpreted and implemented. Belgian SMEs were generally characterised by collaborative organisational cultures, employee participation, and stronger internal integration of sustainability values. In contrast, Spanish SMEs displayed a more relational and externally driven approach shaped by stakeholder expectations and market pressures. Across both contexts, limited resources, time constraints, and regulatory complexity were identified as barriers to embedding sustainability into long-term organisational routines.