IC News

To help small businesses across New York State implement sustainability initiatives, two Ithaca College School of Business faculty members, with a grant from HSBC, are exploring what motivates small businesses to adopt sustainability practices. The study, “Sustainability in Small Businesses: Developing a Model of Success,” is the first of its kind and is a collaboration between HSBC and IC’s Narges Kasiri, associate professor of management, and Hormoz Movassaghi, professor of finance and international business.

Sustainability has gained traction throughout the U.S., with an increasing number of businesses adopting best practices including retrofitting existing structures and constructing new “green” buildings, using renewable energy, conserving water and recycling. While many large, multinational companies have been public about their sustainability commitments and the resulting cost savings, more small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) are now considering their sustainability efforts when reviewing their annual operating plans.   

“SMEs are responsible for most of the pollution on earth; they are collectively culpable for approximately 60 percent of total carbon dioxide emissions and an alarming 70 percent of total pollution,” said Movassaghi. “This study will demonstrate the most successful sustainability solutions New York SMEs have experienced and will uncover the most significant barriers SMEs encountered in adopting such solutions.”

Kasiri and Movassaghi, along with assistant professor of management John Vongas and three student researchers, are currently immersed in the first phase of data collection, followed by surveys and data analysis in the later phases. They will present their findings to HSBC and at local, national and international conferences, and will disseminate sustainability guidelines to small businesses across New York State. 

Daniel Ruthman ’17, MBA ’18, is one of the student researchers assisting in the study. Kasiri selected Ruthman, who was a key player in launching “IC Sustainability Week” in 2017, based on his demonstrated interest in sustainability initiatives. He hopes the experience will help him in his career.

“Being able to design, collect, analyze and report on research studies such as this is essential in today’s analytically driven world,” Ruthman said. “As someone that plans to go into management or eventually open their own business, being able to do this kind of work will allow me to understand markets more effectively and be able to collect data more efficiently.”

Sarah Lamoreux ’18, an applied psychology major, was approached by Kasiri to assist in the study. Lamoureux accepted the role, understanding that it presented an excellent opportunity for research experience.

“I am considering pursuing a Ph.D. in industrial/organizational psychology, so having experience with business management research is perfect for that,” said Lamoreux. “Regardless of where I end up, I know that my experience working on a team with people in disciplines different from my own will greatly benefit me in the future.”

Once the data collection, surveys and analysis is completed in the fall of 2018, the team will create an inventory of common actionable measures that the study will have identified as successful, as well as those that businesses viewed as the key obstacles.

Kasiri stresses that the findings from their study will not only contribute to the existing public information, but will also make a real impact on business owners and communities throughout New York. The results will help develop guidelines for businesses to adopt sustainability practices and for policymakers to encourage sustainability efforts by small businesses.