**1. Introduction**

The aim of this study was to answer four research questions: (i) Can organizational learning capability (OLC) help to implement the adoption of environmental practices in SMEs? (ii) Can the increased use of ITS in SMEs improve the adoption of environmental practices? (iii) What exactly are the pathways and components of human resources and technology that lead to the adoption of environmental practices by SMEs? (iv) What characteristics of managers and types of firm according to size help to take paths towards the adoption of environmental practices in SMEs?

Since the 2005 World Summit on Social Development, organizations have been expected to design their strategies in accordance with the three main sustainable development goals—that is, economic development, social inclusion and environmental protection— which reflect the three pillars of the triple bottom line approach [1,2]. Therefore, sustainable

**Citation:** Muñoz-Pascual, L.; Curado, C.; Galende, J. Fuzzy Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis on the Adoption of Environmental Practices: Exploring Technologicaland Human-Resource-Based Contributions. *Mathematics* **2021**, *9*, 1553. https://doi.org/10.3390/ math9131553

Academic Editors: Laura González-Vila Puchades and Jorge de Andres Sanchez

Received: 7 June 2021 Accepted: 29 June 2021 Published: 1 July 2021

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managemen<sup>t</sup> models are needed for the application of environmental practices that also help manage the other two pillars, namely economic and social.

Consequently, the adoption of environmental practices represents a means through which organizations can promote full sustainable development [3]. At the same time, current sustainability challenges can become a source of inspiration for the adoption and improvement of new practices in firms and with it improve competitiveness and contribute to building a better society [4,5]. However, this triple bottom line approach is not a dominant business model in the world [6,7] as firms focus their efforts mainly on obtaining economic benefits.

Our study presents three comparative and integrative research models for PRAC. In addition, our research examines differences in PRAC between SMEs with OLC and SMEs with ITS. Our research models also analyze other characteristics of firms (size) and managers (educational level and experience) for PRAC. Therefore, our study aims to find the paths that lead firms to PRAC or its absence, supported by a triple bottom line approach.

In this study, we used a qualitative method, fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), to identify the pathways and alternative configurations for PRAC or its absence. We used fsQCA instead of other methodologies because we aimed to identify the essential and necessary conditions of the configurations that lead to the result variable or its absence [8]—that is, to PRAC or its absence. Therefore, this study completely covers the PRAC pathways and applies the most appropriate qualitative methodology to meet the research objectives.

This study focuses its attention on sustainability in SMEs because they constitute more than 95% of firms worldwide. That is why conducting a study of this type and taking into account the size of the firms is very important, because PRAC, ITS and OLC can be very different between firms depending on their sizes. Therefore, this study also addressed sustainable pathways for three types of SMEs (SMEs with OLC, SMEs with ITS and SMEs with OLC and ITS) and several managers (educational level and experience) and firm characteristics (size).

This study shows that OLC and ITS are beneficial for PRAC and to boost the competitive advantage of SMEs. A firm that adopts new practices of learning for its employees and new technologies with a culture of sustainability can obtain several pathways for PRAC or its absence.

This study makes several contributions.

First, the findings significantly extend the knowledge of the adoption of environmental practices.

Second, there are seven alternative causal configurations that lead to PRAC with OLC and only three for its absence.

Third, there are six alternative causal configurations that lead to PRAC with ITS and only four for its absence.

Fourth, there are eight alternative causal configurations that lead to PRAC with OLC and ITS and seven for its absence. Therefore, there are more alternative causal configurations that lead to PRAC than to its absence in the three research models.

Finally, the factor of human resource variables as OLC is very important for PRAC, because with OLC, there are seven pathways for PRAC, and with ITS, there are six pathways for PRAC.

The article is structured as follows: Section 2 shows the theory and the constructs. In Section 3, the formulation of the hypotheses, the methodology, the sample and the measures are shown. Section 4 shows the main results of the investigation and the paths for PRAC and its absence. Finally, Section 5 shows the discussion and the conclusions.

#### **2. Three Research Models to Explore the Adoption of Environmental Practices in SMEs**

In light of the global crisis caused by COVID-19, one of the most important future challenges that can help improve the lives of people, firms and society as a whole is to find a real balance between the implementation of new technological systems and the care, improvement and learning of human capacities. For this, firms must make a significant investment in the managemen<sup>t</sup> and maintenance of the factors derived from two key pillars, namely social and economic factors, both fundamental for the adoption of environmental practices and the development of business sustainability supported by the triple bottom line approach [2,9].

In this sense, our research model raises human factors such as OLC, the characteristics of the manager as social factors and technological and business factors as economic factors to achieve the adoption of environmental practices.

Therefore, it is necessary to continue advancing in research that helps to provide new mechanisms and pathways that interrelate human resource management, new technologies and business sustainability.

In addition, this is justified through the triple bottom line approach, where sustainability and the adoption of environmental practices should be sought through three approaches: economic, social and environmental. Here, we rely on this approach to assess which variables or factors can lead to the adoption of environmental practices [2,10].

We thus propose the following research questions:


In this sense, our research models try to be comprehensive and comparative research models for the adoption of environmental practices via the contributing factors or variables of the three pillars of the triple bottom line approach. Therefore, the OLC and human factors of managers comprise social factors, and technology and business variables, such as company size, comprise the most economical factors of the approach [2,10].

#### *2.1. Triple Bottom Line Approach*

The triple bottom line approach is a term related to sustainable business that refers to the impact that the activity of a firm has in three dimensions: social, economic and environmental. The concept was coined by John Elkington in 1994 and further developed in his book *The Triple Bottom Line: Does it All Add Up*, published in 2004 [11]. The evidence of performance in relation to the triple bottom line is manifested in the reports of sustainability or corporate social responsibility. Until 2009, their preparation and publication continued to be voluntary and evolving throughout the world.

Ideally, an organization with good performance in triple bottom line terms would be able to maximize its economic benefit and environmental responsibility, as well as minimizing or eliminating its negative externalities and emphasizing the social responsibility of the organization towards groups of interest, not just to shareholders. In this case, a stakeholder refers to anyone who is influenced, directly or indirectly, by the firm's actions. Therefore, the triple bottom line approach facilitates the performance of a business entity as a vehicle for coordinating sustainable interests.
