Role of Social and Technological Challenges in Achieving a Sustainable Competitive Advantage and Sustainable Business Performance

Muhammad Haseeb, Hafezali Iqbal Hussain, Sebastian Kot, Armenia Androniceanu and Kittisak Jermsittiparsert
Additional contact information
Muhammad Haseeb: Taylor’s Business School, Taylor’s University Lakeside Campus, 1 Jalan Taylors, Subang Jaya 47500, Malaysia
Sebastian Kot: Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, P.O. Box 1174, Vanderbijlpark 1900, South Africa
Armenia Androniceanu: Administration and Public Management Faculty, The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Piața Romană, 6 010374 București, Romania
Kittisak Jermsittiparsert: Social Research Institute, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 14, 1-23

Abstract: In the postmodern era of industrialization, sustainable business performance is vital for success in a competitive environment. In order to attain sustainable business performance, Malaysian Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) are facing various social and technological challenges. The objective of this study was to examine the roles of social and technological challenges in achieving a sustainable competitive advantage and sustainable business performance. To accomplish this objective, first-hand data were collected from Malaysian SMEs. Opinions of managerial staff of these SMEs were preferred regarding the roles of social and technological challenges in achieving a sustainable competitive advantage and sustainable business performance. An email survey was carried out to collect data. A total of 500 questionnaires were distributed among managerial staff of SMEs. Questionnaires were distributed by using simple random sampling. By using structural equation modeling, findings of the study revealed that social and technological challenges played major roles in boosting sustainable competitive advantage and sustainable business performance. Moreover, strategic alignment was a key in reflecting the positive roles of social and technological factors on sustainable competitive advantage. Findings of the study are beneficial for practitioners and will allow their strategies to reflect sustainable competitive advantages and sustainable business performance.

Keywords: social challenges; technological challenges; strategy alignment; competitive advantage; sustainable business performance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (66)

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