ESG Adoption and Sustainability Reporting in Medium-Scale Textile MSMEs: A Systematic Literature Review and Conceptual Framework

Unofficial AI-generated summary based on the public title and abstract. Not an official translation.

🔬研究者:Provides a systematic review and conceptual framework for studying ESG adoption in MSMEs, identifying research gaps.

🏢実務担当者:Offers insights into barriers and enablers for ESG compliance in textile MSMEs, useful for supply chain sustainability teams.

🏛政策担当者:Highlights the need for sector-specific capability-building models and risk-based compliance frameworks for MSMEs in emerging economies.

The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector has emerged as a highly vibrant and dynamic sector of the Indian economy, contributing around 30% of India’s GDP, over 45% of India’s exports (MSME Annual report 2024-25). MSMEs are complementary to large industries as ancillary units. This sector contributes significantly to the inclusive industrial development of the country. However, medium-scale textile MSMEs face increasing pressure to align with global and domestic sustainability frameworks. Despite this, adoption remains inconsistent due to financial, operational, and knowledge-related barriers. Thus, it can be said that, the MSME textile eco system in India, occupies a critical yet underexamined position within India’s sustainability transition, particularly as global value chains increasingly embed environmental, social, and governance (ESG) compliance into procurement and risk-management practices.There are multiple frameworks available, both at the global and national level. Some of them are GRI, BRSR, ZED, SEDEX- they provide structured mechanisms for disclosure ESG compliance and sustainability practices adopted by MSMEs. The existing literature predominantly focusses on sustainability practices adopted in larger corporations, with minimal attention towards medium scale enterprises in the Indian eco system.This study adopts Systematic Literature Review to consolidate theoretical and empirical research across sustainability reporting, ESG adoption practices, circular economy transitions, and sustainability reporting in the MSME eco system, to establish a comprehensive understanding of the drivers, barriers, and strategic implications of sustainability adoption within textile MSMEs. This review of literature also studies the textile manufacturing eco system in India and the importance of ESG compliance in this industry. The review draws on the Triple Bottom Line, Stakeholder Theory, Resource-Based View, and Diffusion of Innovation Theory to develop an integrative conceptual framework that explains ESG readiness as a multi-stage process influenced by internal resources and external stakeholder pressures. MAXQDA software shall be used to do the qualitative data analysis and systematic literature review.This research identifies four major thematic gaps:1.The absence of sector-specific ESG capability-building models for MSMEs,2.insufficient risk-based analyses of non-compliance within textile value chains,3.limited evidence on the role of sustainability-driven innovation in enhancing competitive advantage.This study analyses global and domestic frameworks, adoption processes in medium-scale enterprises, and identifies enablers, barriers, and risks of non-compliance. This outlines future research directions that fosters innovation culture in sustainable practices in the MSME eco system in India and systematic reporting processes for risk management and also gaining a sustainable competitive advantage for Indian textile medium scale industries

• semanticscholar https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.6359958first seen 2026-05-05 23:24:14