Exploratory Survey of Australian SMEs: an Investigation into the Barriers and Opportunities Associated with Circular Economy

Abstract

Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) account for 97.4% of all businesses in Australia and, contribute, by revenue, 32% to the country’s economy. In the last decade, Australian SMEs have become increasingly aware of the importance of sustainability and need to shift away from a linear to circular economy (CE). Since 2019, there has been considerable growth on CE adoption research in SMEs, but empirical research examining Australian SMEs has yet to be undertaken. This study has used a survey and aims to understand the enablers and barriers of CE adoption in Australian SMEs. The research addresses three specific research questions— What are the barriers that impact CE adoption in Australian SMEs?; What enablers facilitate CE adoption in Australian SMEs?; and What is the effect of industry type, geographic location and job roles on enablers and barriers identification for CE adoption in Australian SMEs? Based on 352 responses from the survey of Australian SMEs, the paper identifies and analyses the enablers and barriers that these organizations face as they transition towards circular economy. The impact that location, industry sector and the role respondents undertake within the organization provides some interesting insights into how Australian SMEs are managing the process of adoption of CE. The research demonstrates that there is an overwhelming need for the development of consistent, sectoral, industry and location-specific policies by the federal and state governments to support internal policy development and the acquisition of new technologies in order to stimulate Australian SME CE adoption. In addition, Australian SMEs need to have a better understanding of how budgetary constraints, the lack of customer awareness and an absence of clearly defined business process impact CE adoption.