Strategic Sustainability: Managing Small Business Volatility
A Special Issue of World (ISSN 2673-4060) belonging to the section "Inclusive and Regenerative Development".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 April 2027 | Viewed by 987
Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
In an era defined by rapid market fluctuations, climate risks and technological disruption, small businesses face a unique paradox: they are the most vulnerable to volatility yet possess the greatest potential for agility. As the backbone of the global economy, the stability of small businesses is not merely a private concern but a macroeconomic necessity (e.g., Alshebami; 2025; Fernandez, 2025); when small businesses fail, local supply chains fracture and aggregate community wealth diminishes.
Strategic sustainability serves as a critical bridge between immediate survival and long-term viability (e.g., Viteri-Sánchez & Novillo-Villegas, 2025). By integrating resilient practices—such as diversified sourcing and lean operational efficiency—small businesses can insulate themselves against the inflationary pressures and resource scarcities that define modern volatility. Furthermore, their lean structures allow for rapid innovation, enabling them to pilot new business models and adapt to shifting consumer demands faster than their corporate counterparts (e.g., Salvato et al., 2020). Ultimately, fostering the resilience of these enterprises ensures a more diversified, equitable and stable economic landscape. By viewing sustainability as a strategic toolkit for risk management rather than a regulatory hurdle, small businesses can transform from fragile participants into robust drivers of a lasting and secure industrial future.
This Special Issue, "Strategic Sustainability: Managing Small Business Volatility," explores how small businesses can transform uncertainty and vulnerability into a core engine for resilience and innovation.
Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Strategic sustainability as risk management
- Agility and adaptive business models
- Supply chain disruptions
- Natural disasters
- Innovation
Innovative papers or reviews submitted to this Special Issue are, therefore, requested to contribute to and highlight ongoing research aimed at fostering small business adaption.
I look forward to receiving your contributions.
References
Alshebami, A. S. (2025). Crisis management and customer adaptation: Pathways to adaptive capacity and resilience in micro- and small-sized enterprises. Sustainability, 17(9), 3759. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17093759
Fernandez, V. (2025a). Capital, digitalization, and formality: Chilean micro-enterprises during COVID-19. Administrative Sciences, 15(11), 409; https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci15110409
Salvato, C., Sargiacomo, M., Amore, M.D., & Minichilli, A. (2020). Natural disasters as a source of entrepreneurial opportunity: Family business resilience after an earthquake. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, 14, 594–615. https://doi.org/10.1002/sej.1368
Viteri-Sánchez, C., & Novillo-Villegas, S. (2025). A Framework for a Sustainable Adoption of Business Process Management. Sustainability, 17(21), 9827. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17219827
Dr. Viviana Fernandez
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. World is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- small business
- resilience
- vulnerability
- innovation
- entrepreneurial motivation
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
