The influence of a company's inherent values on its sustainability: Evidence from a born-sustainable SME in the footwear industry

SMEs are a significant portion of global corporations and, while individually, might not compare to larger corporations in total emissions, holistically have a significant impact. Therefore, understanding how the founder's and the company's values influence its ability to be sustainable is a theme not fully covered in the literature. This research focused on the influence of the founder's values on social, environmental, and economic values on a company's sustainability. The Agency Theory was used as a theoretical lens to analyze the values and sustainable-oriented behaviors of the founder and the company. An exploratory case study was implemented through qualitative data collection and analysis. The main findings revealed that, by comparing the founder and company profiles, the inherent values of Veganism, Ethical Drive, and Ecological Consciousness influenced mainly the environmental and economic dimensions of the company's sustainability to be more sustainable. Moreover, comparing their values according to Schwartz (1994) and Axsen and Kurani (2013), the founder and the company matched six over nine values. The inherent values influenced the growth in environmental, social, and economic dimensions of sustainability. This research contributes by highlighting the need to translate the inherent values to practice fostering sustainability in the private sector. © 2023 The Authors