Brightness at Varying Distances LabImage by Borb CC license

Brightness at Varying Distances Lab
Image by Borb CC license: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverse-
square_law#/media/File:Inverse_square_law.svg
Purpose: In this lab, you will look at how light leaving a star
“spreads out” and how this spreading can be used to determine
the brightness of the star at different distances. While the focus
of this lab is on light, your results will apply equally well to
sound and the loudness of sounds at varying distances.
Equipment: This lab uses the optics bench, a square of
aluminum foil sandwiched between two squares of paraffin wax,
a lens holder to hold the wax, three incandescent light bulbs of
equal wattage with bases, and three optics stands. The lab also
requires access to the internet and a ruler.
Let’s start this lab by introducing the basic question that we
want to answer.
Part 1: Introducing the Question
At the front of the class is an optics bench with two identical
light bulbs on opposite sides of a wax block. In the center of the
wax block is a piece of reflective foil. The foil ensures that
each side of the wax is only illuminated by one of the light
bulbs.
In a moment, the instructor will turn on the light bulbs and turn
off the overhead light.

1. How does the brightness of each side of the wax block
compare when the bulbs are both equal
distances from the wax?
a) Both sides of the wax are approximately the same
brightness
b) The left side of the wax is noticeably brighter
c) The right side of the wax is noticeably brighter
Your question for this experiment is: If we add a second
identical light bulb to the left side of the optics track, how far
must the two light bulbs be from the wax in order to make both
sides of the wax appear equally bright?
2. What is your prediction? If the single light bulb on the right
side is 20 cm from the wax, how
far away do you think the two light bulbs will need to be
from the wax in order to produce an
equal amount of brightness on their side of the wax?
Part 2: Computer Simulation
Open your internet browser and go to the online Flux Simulator
at
http://astro.unl.edu/classaction/animations/stellarprops/lightdete
ctor.html. The simulation shows two light bulbs and two light

sensors. The number on the sensors can be considered a
numerical value of the brightness at that location. Take a few
minutes to play around with the controls and see what you can
do to increase and decrease the brightness readings.
3*. Set the wattage of the top bulb to 50 and use the simulation
and your calculator to fill in the
table below. For columns 3 and 4, note that B1 is always
3.979.
Distance from bulb
Brightness Value
B1/R
B1/R2
R = 1.0
B1 = 3.979
R = 2.0
B =
R = 3.0
B =
R = 4.0
B =
R = 5.0
B =

*Note that in the last column, only R is squared, B1 is not being
squared.
4. The brightness value at R = 2.0 is:
a) approximately half of the brightness value at R = 1.0
b) significantly more than half of the brightness value at R =
1.0
c) significantly less than half of the brightness value at R =
1.0
Your answer to Question 4 tells us that the brightness does not
decrease linearly with distance. The brightness decreases faster
than linearly.
5*. Use your table to determine which equation below best
represents the brightness at different
distances.
6*. Let’s try out our equation. Calculate what you think B
would be at a distance of R = 2.3.
Show your work.
Move the sensor in the simulation to R = 2.3 and check that you
get the same result as from your calculation above.
7*. Calculate what you think the brightness value would be at R
= 7.0. Show your work.

8*. Based on your results so far, make another prediction about
the opening question. Do you
think the two light bulbs will need to be:
a) less than 40 cm from the wax block
b) approximately 40 cm from the wax block
c) more than 40 cm from the wax block
9*. Discuss your answer above with the instructor and obtain
his/her initials indicating that you
have considered how your results above relate to our
opening question.
Let’s try to model our opening question is the simulation. Set
the top bulb to 50 Watts and the bottom bulb to 25 Watts. Try to
use the simulation to answer our opening question.
10*. Describe how you used the simulation to answer our
opening question. Where did you
move each object? What values are you comparing?

11*. Based on your simulation results: If a single bulb is 20 cm
from the wax block, what
distance from the wax block should the two bulbs be in
order to produce equal brightness on
the wax?
12. Compare your answer for Question 11 with another group.
Do your answers agree? Did you
do the same thing in the simulation to determine your
answers?
**Once everyone is ready, the instructor will turn off the
classroom lights and demonstrate the two bulbs vs. one bulb
arrangement either confirming or contradicting your answer
above.
Let’s use our new understanding of brightness at varying
distances to think about what the Sun would look like from
other planets. To help us answer these questions, let’s go back
and notice a pattern in your results from the simulation. Use the
results in your table above to fill in the following table:
R = 2.0 (twice as far away)
B/B1 =
1/22 =
R = 3.0 (three times as far away)

B/B1 =
1/32 =
R = 4.0 (four times as far away)
B/B1 =
1/42 =
R = 5.0 (five times as far away)
B/B1 =
1/52 =
This table shows us that if an object is three times farther away,
it will appear approximately
1/32 = 1/9th as bright. If an object is five times farther away, it
will appear approximately
1/52 = 1/25th as bright. And so on. This pattern even works for
moving objects closer. If an object is half as far away, it will
appear times as bright. Use this pattern of reasoning to answer
the next two questions.
13*. Neptune is 30 times farther from the Sun than the Earth.
How would the brightness of the
Sun viewed from Neptune compare to the brightness of the
Sun viewed from Earth? Your
answer should be a numerical value (1/2 as bright, 1/40 as
bright, something like that).
14*. Mercury is 4/10 as far from the Sun as the Earth. How
would the brightness of the Sun

viewed from Mercury compare to the brightness of the Sun
viewed from Earth? Your
answer should be a numerical value.
Why 1/r2?
Why does the brightness behave this way; why is the equation B
= B1/r2? It is because we live in a three-dimensional world.
Imagine turning the bulb on for a millisecond and then turning
it off again. During the millisecond that the bulb is on, it emits
a flash of light in all directions. As the light leaves the bulb, it
spreads out in all directions like an explosion. As the flash of
light travels outward in all directions, the light (electromagnetic
energy) becomes spread over the surface of a sphere. As the
light moves farther away from the bulb, the sphere and its
surface get larger causing the light energy to be more spread out
meaning less of the total light hits your eye or the wax block.
The surface area of a sphere is given by 4r2. This is where the
r2 in our brightness equation comes from. If we lived in a two-
dimensional world, then the light would spread out over the
surface of a circle and the equation would be B = B1/r. If we
lived in a four-dimensional world, then the light would spread
over the surface of a hypersphere and the equation would be
B = B1/r3. You could say that our experiment today proved that
we live in a three-dimensional world. (Or at least a world with

three dimensions large enough to be noticed.)
Part 2: Using Apparent Brightness to Estimate Stellar
Distances*
The apparent brightness of different celestial objects can vary
significantly, by many orders of magnitude. In order to have
smaller values and ranges of values to work with, astronomers
classify the apparent brightness of stars, planets, and other
celestial objects by a number called ‘apparent magnitude’. This
system was introduced about 2000 years ago with the
astronomer Hipparchus gave the brightest appearing stars a
value of 1. Stars that appeared somewhat dimmer were given
apparent magnitude values of 2 and so on so that the larger the
apparent magnitude, the dimmer the star appears. In the mid
19th century the apparent magnitude system was revised on a
more systematic basis. As a result, we now have apparent
magnitude values of zero and even negative values for stars that
appear very bright.
You know from the first part of this lab, that the apparent
brightness of a star depends on both its distance from us and its
wattage. The tables on the following page give some helpful
apparent magnitude and wattage values.

*Based on Using Apparent Brightness to Estimate Stellar
Distances from The Universe in Your Hands
Apparent Magnitude
Object
-26.7
Sun
-12.5
Full Moon
-2.5
Jupiter (at its brightest)
-1.5
Sirius (brightest star)
6.5
Limit with unaided eye on darkest night
13.0
Limit with 8-inch telescope
24.0
Limit with 200-inch telescope
28.0
Limit with Hubble Space Telescope
Wattage
Object
Watts
Sun
Watts
Trinity atom-bomb test
200 Watts
Light bulb
1 Watt
Candle
Watts
Firefly (lightning bug)

On the last page of this activity is a nomogram. The nomogram
is a chart that allows you to convert between wattage, apparent
magnitude, and distance using a ruler rather than an equation.
As long as you know two out of the three quantities (wattage,
apparent magnitude, and distance) you can use a ruler to
connect the two quantities you do know and read off the value
of the third unknown quantity.
1. Use the nomogram and the apparent magnitude and wattage
values above to determine the
distance to the Sun. Check your result with the instructor.
2*. What would be the apparent magnitude of a 200 Watt li ght
bulb if it were 100 m from you?
3*. What astronomical object has approximately the same
apparent magnitude as the light bulb
in Question 2?
4*. How far would you have to be from a burning candle for it
to be barely visible to the
unaided eye? (It’s surprisingly far.)
5. The distance in question 4 is surely much larger than you
would have guessed. Offer two
possible explanations for why the value in 4 is so
surprisingly large.

6*. How far would you have had to be from the Trinity atom
bomb test for it to have had the
same apparent magnitude as the Sun?
7*. The distance from Earth to Sirius is about 9 light years
(l.y.). What is the wattage of Sirius?
8*. How far would you have to be from Sirius for it to appear as
bright as the Sun?
Howard Community College - ASTR 114 Page 8
Howard Community College - ASTR 114 Page 7
72
Factors Influencing Social Sustainable in Small and Medium-

Sized Enterprises in India: A Case Study of Food Industry of
India
Contents
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LIST OF FIGURES
LIST OF TABLES
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONSAcknowledgement
I would like to thank my sincere gratitude to my supportive
supervisor for the continuous support and guidance that he
provided me during the writing of this report. I would also like
to thank the librarian for the provision of relevant academic
sources without which, this research would have been a pipe
dream.
DECLARATION
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY STATEMENTExecutive
summary
There are various aspects of the modern business, which can be
an important part in the process of attaining sustainability and
competitive advantage within the business. One of the keys in
this context would be the social sustainability of the business.
Social sustainability serves as a key factor for business
competitiveness especially for the SMEs where the proper

connection with the community is deemed extremely important
for attaining business success. As per the research of Trufil &
Hunter (2012), social sustainability in SMEs mainly seeks to
improve on the innovation capacity of the companies. This facts
informed this research paper and thus sort to answer the main
research question; which factors that are driving social
sustainability in small and medium-sized enterprises in India in
context of the food industry of the nation This research paper
through a case study approach collected data using, semi -
structured interviews, observations and literature review on the
state of food industry SMEs in India. The findings showed that
technology, government policies, external and internal work
dynamics and environment drive social sustainability in India’s
food industry.CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Background of
the Study
In the contemporary era of business, it is important for
companies to operate in a manner that can enable them to be
more comprehensive in the competitive environment. There are
various aspects of the modern business, which can be an
important part in the process of attaining sustainability and
competitive advantage within the business. One of the keys in
this context would be the social sustainability of the business.
Correspondingly, this particular research focus has been mai nly
on analyzing and examining the impact of social sustainability
within the SME sector in India. For this particular research
study, the focus has mainly been considered towards analyzing
and understanding the factors driving social sustainability in
small and medium-sized enterprises in India in context of the
food industry of the nation. As per the research of Popovic & et.
al. (2017) social sustainability in business mainly refers to the
concept of the work process of business units towards
developing products and structures which not only meet the
present demands of the community, but can also serve as a key
proponent in terms of supporting the future generation. In a
similar context, the views of Ajmal & et al. (2017) has argued

that social sustainability is one of the major way forward for
modern business towards attaining overall business
sustainability. The study has defined social sustainability to be
the process or the approach through which companies seek to
identify the impact of the business on the community or the
customers both positively and negatively. Social sustainability
serves as a key factor for business competitiveness especially
for the SMEs where the proper connection with the community
is deemed extremely important for attaining business success.
As per the research of Trufil & Hunter (2012), social
sustainability in SMEs mainly seeks to improve on the
innovation capacity of the companies. This can further comprise
of improvising or utilizing the optimum use of natural resources
towards increasing the productivity resulting in better value for
money for the customers regarding goods and services used. In
this regard, Ciemleja & Lace (2014) has also argued that there
are mainly three dimensions of sustainability for SMEs
including social, economic and ecological sustainability. The
study has also argued that social sustainability is directly
relevant to social environments in which companies operate.
The social capital of SMEs is regarded to be an important
element for this social development. Sava & et al. (2011), has
also argued that promoting social responsibility is crucial for
assuring a sustainable performance of the business, especially
for the SMEs. It is also regarded as a part of the CSR of the
business where the focus is on positively contributing towards
the society. Social sustainability means adding value to the
services that are provided to the key statehooders of the SMEs
such as government, environment, customers, shareholders, and
others. In this study, the focus has been mainly on analyzing the
factors that influence social sustainability among the SMEs in
India within the Food industry. As per the research of Jayeola
(2015), one of the major factors is the financial performance of
the business that links with social sustainability. It has been
noted that financial performance of the business of SMEs
determines their approach towards the environment. It mainly

imbibes the scale of operations of the business to improve on
the social performance of the business. Agreeing to the views of
Jayeola (2015), Hosseininia & Ramezani (2016) has extended
discussion on the factors influencing the social sustainability of
the SMEs in the food industry of India. The study has discussed
that some of the factors comprise of the environmental and the
social elements. The environment factors comprise of setting up
the standards for dealing with environmental issues effectively,
setting standards for workplace and moving into the recycling
of waste for the better of the environment among others. On the
other hand, the social factors would comprise of getting social
support from the community on a consistent basis, customer
orientation and staff training among others. This study will
focus on elaborating on these factors by collecting data that is
specifically relevant to the Indian food industry.
Food Industry of India
The food industry of India has been on a constant boom in the
recent times. As per the data of IBEF (2017), the food industry
of India has been depicting a considerable fluctuation trend and
has poised to be with high growth prospects in recent years. It
has a major contribution to the global food trade each year. The
sector is further deemed to be highly productive and profitable
with a current valuation of US$ 39.71 billion with a
compounded annual growth of around 11%. Food and grocery
comprise 31% of the overall share of consumption of customers
in this particular market. Regarding food and grocery, India is
the sixth largest market in the world. It is forecasted that by the
end of the year 2020, the market is expected to reach a figure of
around US$ 894.98 billion.
Aims and Objectives
The prime aim of this particular research study is to analyze the
factors that influence the social sustainability of SMEs of India
especially in the context of the food industry.

SMEs have proven to be heavily dependent on the business
ecosystem in comparison to large companies. Due to their
internal constraints, it makes them more vulnerable to the
market failures, policy inefficiencies and inconsistencies.
Enation of structural reforms on SMEs is targeted to foster
innovation, sustain a culture of business dynamism, promote
skills development, increase the ease to access of finance and
enable an easy access to the available public markets.
In the Indian Economy, SMEs play an integral role in the
development as the key drivers of growth. SMEs are key
players in the sectors such as Manufacturing, Infrastructure,
Service industries, Food processing, Packaging, Chemicals and
IT which have proven to be the most dynamic engines of growth
in the Indian economy in the recent years. SMEs include self-
funded proprietary firms, private self-help groups, Khadi,
village, and Coir industries that provide huge employment
opportunities and ensure that there is industrialization in the
regions that are not highly developed. The number of SMEs in
India is estimated as 42.50 million that is a proportion of 95%
of the total industrial units in the country. In terms of
employment opportunities, it employs about 106 Million that is
a 40% proportion of the total workforce in India. In terms of the
output, SMEs contribute a total of 45% of the total Indian
Manufacturing output and 45% of the total exports. The Indian
food processing Industry is recognized as having an immense
potential to transform the Indian Economy through large-scale
food manufacture that will benefit both the customers as well as
create broad employment opportunities and exports thus
increasing the GDP and the National Income of the country
(Wiese, 2014).Increased Urbanization in India comes with a
high demand for processed food, which shows that the future of
SMEs in the food industry is promising. Other factors of
consideration for SMEs in the food sector are the increased
expansion of the middle class as well as the growing health
awareness and the evolving consumer trends and demands.

An analysis of the differences between the small scale and
large-scale businesses reveal that large-scale firms in all the
sectors face different opportunities and challenges in
comparison to the small-scale firms. Despite the fact that the
small scale firms are more flexible in their ability to adapt to
the changes in the market trends, larger firms have the benefits
of a quality economies of scale which put them at a higher
political advantage and a better access to government credits,
contracts and licenses. However, a consideration of these
factors of size, the government has provisioned different
regulatory and development arrangements in India. This is
because the development of Small and Medium enterprises is
significant factors of employment, innovation, economic growth
and equity,(Wiese, 2014).In India, the Micro, Small and
Medium enterprises development Act 2006 subsequently merged
into the Ministry of small scale industries and the Ministry of
Agro and Rural industries in May 2007 which formed the
Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium enterprises in order to
address the challenges affecting the SMEs. This paper sought
to investigate how such initiatives favour the growth and social
sustainability of SMEs and if they create a channel for
innovation. Likewise, the study aimed at investigating other
enacted policies, the implications they have on SMEs towards
adoption and the impact of such policies to the community.
Social sustainability in SMEs is dependent on several factors.
SME development must take into consideration a cross cutting
strategy in that its success depends on the ability of the
government to implement sound macroeconomic policies, the
ability of the stakeholders to develop a conducive
microeconomic business environments and the ingrained ability
of the SME in implementing a competitive operating practice
and align its business practices, (Zhou, 2009). The success of
the SMEs is founded on the ability to align and integrate into
the broader National Development Strategy for instance,
poverty eradication or sustained development of the rural areas.
This research aimed at investigating whether such factors

promote or hinder social sustainability. Among the study’s
objective, was to investigate how social sustainability creates
an opportunity for the SMEs towards aligning its strategies and
integration towards the National Development Strategy.
Dialogue and partnerships between stakeholders is an integral
part of development within the SMEs. For instance, the
integration of the Public, Private and the civil society may
promote the ownership of some of the SMEs strategies making
them more implementable and more sustainable. According to,
(Zhou, 2009), enhancing Women’s capability to participate in
the SME development is also a significant factor of
consideration because women contribute an important share in
in the private sector and contribute a lot towards poverty
eradication. Gender is an important factor of consideration
when aligning SME development strategies and programs. Such
a significant factor should be investigated in Social
Sustainability to determine whether any strategies or factors are
aligned with gender and the success of the outcomes.
Legal, Regulatory and Administrative environments are a key
determinant of Social Sustainability of SMEs, (Wallen and
Fraenkel, 2001). The rules influence the investment decisions,
the opportunities and rewards available to the economic actors.
The Governments majorly focus on raising the revenues earned
from the taxes, protection and observation of the rule of law,
protection of health and safety of the consumers, labour laws
that focus on ensuring fair wages for all the employees. In
addition, SMEs only thrive with the presence of a simple,
transparent and low compliance cost tax system, which is
operational and fair for investment. Likewise, business
licensing is a factor of consideration of the sustainability of the
SMEs in conjunction with financial sector regulations in regards
to banking, leasing and insurance,(Wallen and Fraenkel, 2001).
Likewise, information asymmetry is a significant factor
undermining sustainability in SMEs, which determines the
financial stability and credibility of their sustainability

strategies. Correspondingly, the key objectives to be
accomplished in this study will be the following: (1) Analysis
of the importance of social sustainability to ensure overall
sustainability of SMEs, (2) Illustrating the impact of social
sustainability upon the SMEs in the food sector of India (3)
Examining the factors influencing the social sustainability of
SMEs in the Indian food industry
Research Questions
1. What are the factors that drive social sustainability in the
Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in India in context of the
food industry?
2. What impact does changes in current policies, rules and
regulations of SME firms have on Social and Environmental
Sustainability??
3. What are the key achievement factors, including the part of
the administration and different partners, in advancing
maintainable SME improvement in India?Research Rationale
Social sustainability mainly acts as am approach of a particular
business unit towards the environment or the society or the
community altogether. It mainly seeks to ensure maximum
utilization of the natural resource towards business operations
so that maximum value can be added to the products and
services delivered to the people or the community. It has been
noted that companies are often attributed high financial cost to
attain environmental sustainability. As per the research of
Markku (2004), the current society expects a practically perfect
approach from the business units towards the society and the
environment. This aspect further assures that approach of
companies towards the environment and the society forms the
core of business operations. In a similar context, Eccles et al.
(2013) have determined that there is a consistent relationship
amid sustainability and firm’s performance, which further
implies that business units need to be more lenient towards

social sustainability. There has been a wide range of research
conducted regarding the importance of social sustainability and
regarding the operations of the companies about getting
comprehensively sustainable business operations.
Correspondingly, it is worth to conduct this research study,
which is specific to the Indian food industry and the SMEs in
this sector. This is because research conducted on this topic, is
inadequate which further acts as a motivation for conducting
this research study.
1.50. Research Structure
Six different chapters that have been discussed in brief
hereunder would conduct this research.
Chapter 1 Introduction: In this chapter, the focus has been
mainly on setting the tone of the research through providing a
brief background of the topic along with determining the aims
and objectives to be accomplished in the later stage. The
chapter also provides an understanding of the significance or
motivation of conducting this research study.
Chapter 2 Literature Review: This chapter of the study is
mainly focused on reviewing past papers relevant to the topic,
that is., the factors influencing social sustainability among the
SMEs within the Indian food industry. This will provide a
preliminary understanding of the topic, which will further assist
regarding the results of the study.
Chapter 3 Methodology: In this chapter of the study, the focus
would be mainly on justifying the methods selected for
conducting this research study based on the topic selected.
Chapter 4 Results: This section of the study has been focused
mainly on presenting the findings of the study collected from
various sources.

Chapter 5 Discussion: This chapter of the study has been mainly
being mainly focused towards discussing the findings of the
study based on the collected data in chapter 4. This will also
focus on accomplishing the objectives of the study.
Chapter 6 Conclusion: This chapter of the study has been
focused towards answering the research question based on the
collected data throughout the research study.
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.10. Introduction to the Literature Review
The aim of this literature review is to examine the existing
secondary sources in order to investigate the relationship
between social sustainability in the Small and Medium sized
Enterprises. This will entail investigating both the internal
structures such as the business practices and the external factors
such as the government policies which influence SMEs ability
to integrate measures that promote social sustainability. In an
attempt to answer the research questions, the literature review
will be divided in sections that explain the background of
SMEs, the significance of Social Sustainability in the SMEs,
Factors undermining SMEs in the food industry in India,
policies and regulations and the reasons that contribute to the
failure of implementation of socially sustainable strategies in
the existing literature.
2.11. Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are considered as a
backbone of economic growth in all the countries because they
account for 80% of the global economic growth. In accordance
to a research done in India, 95% of the industrial units, which is
an estimate of 3.4 million, are in the small-scale sector with a
40% value addition in the manufacturing sector. These
enterprises contribute to 35% of the total Indian Exports. In
such a setting, it reveals that SMEs are fundamentally important
to the economy of India. Their immense potential to generate

employment opportunities, bolster the level of exports and bring
a flexible environment into India’s business environment is a
factor of strength, which must include ways of promoting
sustainability.
Hosseininia & Ramezani (2016) refers SMEs to be employment
multiplier mainly in the manufacturing and food industry. SMEs
are creating a competitive environment and driving economic
force that positively influences business and economy. Kot
(2018) that job creations in small sectors are less cost-effective
than in large business sector because it is more capital intensive
argues it. However, large companies offer stability,
compensation along with benefits that are more than the SMEs.
Consequently, SMEs are innovative and provides a high share of
effectiveness regarding investments. SMEs are growing and are
becoming relevant regarding investors and customer approach
that leads to sustainability and development of the economy.
Kour (2015) that growth of the economy that is based upon
innovation would be sustainable as it is linked with business
activities and technological advancement states it.
Furthermore, it is believed by Pachouri & Sharma (2016) that
SMEs usually plays a pivotal role in positively influencing the
economy by creating jobs, producing augmented new services to
ensure new innovation of products. The private employment
sctor across the globe is more because of the increase in the
SMEs sectors. Rakesh (2014) that SMEs are classified into two
types that include stability oriented and Growth oriented further
argues it. The name determines that stability oriented does not
intend to growth but tends to progress the family business by
providing moderate needs. On the other hand, growth-oriented
SMEs are usually small and are effective to explore new
opportunities for new opportunities and technologies. The
sustainability of the SMEs is based upon various aspects that
include effective sustainability policies, market environment,
opportunities, and infrastructure along with the human skills. In

the views of Sommer (2017), national policies are effective for
the growth of the SMEs, as they tend to provide policies for
scaling up SME funding opportunities that positive influences
the macroeconomic stability regarding sustainable economic
growth. The SME sector enhances the financial accessibility
leading to growth regarding the global economy.
2.12. SMEs and their commitment to sustainability
In spite of the significant role played by SMEs in the economy,
research has proven that they seem to be laggard on the subject
of commitment to sustainability (EC, 2012, Revell et all, 2010).
Several factors have been credited to this fact by different
authors. For example, a review done by del Brio and Junquera
(2003) highlighted nine distinct characteristics of SMEs which
explain the existing discrepancies in Social and Environmental
strategies. This includes factors such as financial resources,
organizational structures, the management style, Production
capabilities, the level of innovation, Human resources training.
Likewise, Hillary (2004) also outlined four major internal
barriers to the SMEs in their steps towards implementation of
sustainability, which includes factors such as insufficient
resources, implementation barriers, failure to understand the
benefits and an addition of the organization’s culture. The
correlative idea of both Hillary(2004) and del Brio and
Junquera(2003) is that SMEs have diverse circumstances and
competencies which are generally different from the large
companies which explains the discrepancies between large
companies and SMEs in terms of sustainability. Commitment to
sustainability is a significant factor of consideration because
sustainability is a pivotal factor to the organizational processes
and procedures such as the Management Philosophy, Quality
product decisions, the competitiveness of the SME and strategic
planning in line with the market economy.
2.13. The Impact Of Market Orientation Towards A
Commitment To Sustainability

Market orientation refers to the ability of the organization to
implement and adapt the marketing concept (Kohli and
Jowarsky, 1990). Market orientation is often viewed as the
most dominant managerial concept (Goldman and Grinstein,
2010). Kohli and Jowarsky (1990) continue to argue that Market
Orientation is the ability of the organization to develop a
certain form of market intelligence, which pertains to the
current and future customer’s needs, which is disseminated
across all the departments that respond to the outline. Different
researchers have proven different facts about Market
Orientation as a limiting factor of SMEs commitment to
sustainability. Oakley (2011) explains that a Market Oriented
SME is Customer focused, coordinates and plans its activities in
a way that shows focus and commitment to the community and
is focused externally. The two researchers continue to expound
that customer focus is the extent in which the organization sees
its business as creating utility to their customers by putting the
needs of the customers first. Coordination and planning are the
processes through which the organization structures and aligns
the businesses process with an integration of sustainability
where the entire organization remain focused on their marketing
concept. Crittenden et all (2011) and Gonzalez Benito (2008)
both distinctly approach Market Orientation as a possible
predictor of commitment to sustainability amongst SME
companies. They argue that if their customers and external
society demand for social and environmental sustainability,
then the Market Oriented SMEs because of their market
Intelligence and sensitivity to their customer’s needs, they will
respond accordingly. Likewise, the concept that customer’s and
stakeholder’s pressures trigger SMEs to develop sustainability
measures has been adopted by different authors and has also
received support from other researchers. Kammer (2009)
expounds that SMEs tend to focus on sustainability if they see it
is a way to deliver benefits to their customers. In conclusion,
on the factor of market orientation, commitment to social
sustainability is a function of the focus on the customers that is

only evident in Market Oriented Firms. In the context of,
Storey, (2016), it can be stated that a small business
organization should organize a market research programme to
determine the actual market demands regarding their products.
Moreover, appropriate market research helps an organization to
determine the position of the competitors in the market, which
helps them to take an upright decision to compete with the
competitors in a stipulated gesture.
2.14. The Influence of Entrepreneurial Orientation in
commitment to sustainability
Stakeholders play an integral role in determining the
commitment of an organization towards sustainability.
However, there are situations where the customers make little
requests towards sustainability. Customers may not know ahead
what are their sustainability needs or the constantly changing
non- linear environmental and social problems (Heikkurinen and
Bonnedal, 2013). This shows that without the involvement if
the customers or other stakeholders, Market oriented firms take
to initiatives to invest in sustainability. Sustainability does not
necessarily flow from the customers or stakeholders but also on
the Entrepreneurial Orientation, which sustains sustainability.
Entrepreneurial Orientation has three components that entail
pro-activeness, Innovation and risk taking. For instance, risk
taking may include factors such as investing in new
sustainability measures, which may include untested
environmental technologies. Innovation and pro-activeness
means that the organization is dynamic towards finding
opportunities in the market and developing new sustainable
business ventures. In this aspect, the corporation views
sustainability as a source of competitive advantage where there
is a combination of entrepreneurial innovation with sustainable
business practices. Aragon Correa et al (2008) showed that pro-
activeness is connected to sustainable innovative practices in
SME contexts. Through the research by Menguc and Ozanne

(2005), it is evident that the higher the level of EO, through
flexibility, foresightedness and the ability to innovate gives
SMEs a resource through which they see opportunities and work
out sustainability strategically.
2.15. Importance of Management values on Commitment to
sustainability
. In comparison to larger organizations, SMEs are classified by
a flatter and less formalized organizational structure. Likewise,
this fact in conjunction with the ownership of the organization
indicates that ownership, control and operations are in the hands
of a small team of individuals. The attitudes, knowledge and
orientation of the manager play an integral role towards
sustainability (Cassells and Lewis, 2011: Kearins et all, 2010.
Due to the nature and operation of the SMEs, the set of the
individuals have the potential to influence the strategies and
culture of the individual organization. There are many
indicators in literature, which give evidence that managers hold
a positive attitude and driving force towards sustainability of
the organization. For instance in a research done in 220 SMEs
in the UK where 82% agreed that sustainability and
environmental issues were a high management priority while
70% disagreed with the statement that the business managers
cannot be expected to manage social issues(Revell et all,2010)
Such results are reinforced by other qualitative studies that
highlight that the manager’s attitude and values are important
for commitment to sustainability in the SME group. Kearins et
all 2010 highlighted the significance of values in the interviews
with visionary small enterprises. The nature of the managerial
values was important to the direction of the company. Likewise,
Parry 2012 expounds on the significance of personal and ethical
beliefs of the managers. In this study, all the managers who
were interviewed said that their ethical and moral orientation
was a key factor to develop more sustainable environment
friendly practices.

2.16. Promotional policies for SMEs in the Indian government
The relevance of SMEs is being recognized globally, and it is
vital to coordinate activities by …

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