Managing Tensions Between Symbolic and Substantive Strategies for Competitive Advantage: Case of Italian SMEs

Symbolic actions aid in achieving diverse objectives, such as organizational legitimacy, fostering entrepreneurial activities, and promoting corporate social responsibility initiatives. Recently, symbolic management has emerged as a significant area of study as entrepreneurs and managers use it to acquire resources. Although there is a growing focus on practicing sustainability, however, there is a noticeable gap in sustainability authenticity, particularly in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and entrepreneurial firms. This development paper investigates the extent to which SMEs, entrepreneurial ventures, and small businesses genuinely implement sustainable practices versus engaging in symbolic gestures of sustainability. Using a multi-case study holistic design, we analyze SMEs, operating in one of the Italian regions, that adopt and practice sustainable business strategies. The first findings of this study reveal varying degrees of implementation of sustainable practices among entrepreneurial firms and small business ventures that are adopting sustainable business models, both genuine and symbolic. We contribute to the management literature by offering insights into symbolic sustainable actions tailored to the needs of individual firms and also contribute to Stakeholder and Institutional theory.