Road to sustainability: Organisational antecedents of knowledge creating, transferring, and retaining to support the sustainable transition of traditional firms

The development of organisational learning (OL) processes, - i.e. knowledge creating (KC), transferring (KT), and retaining (KR), - represents an essential phase in supporting sustainability-oriented transition of traditional small and medium enterprises (SMEs). To stimulate the sustainable management of traditional SMEs, and specifically their transition towards circular economy (CE), the identification of contextual factors influencing OL processes activation is essential to prospect an effective transition of traditional firms. Answering both OL and CE literatures, we developed a mixed-method investigation to evaluate the influence of three contextual factors, - strategy, information technology (IT) operations, and external network utilisation, - on KC, KT, and KR, specifically employing a partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) and an exploratory CE case study of the Italian construction sector. Theoretical and managerial implications are raised from quantitative, and qualitative results, contributing, on the one hand, to the development of an OL multi-level theory, and, on the other hand, to orient the sustainable transition of SMEs: in fact, the management of exploration, exploitation strategies, as well as the activation of dedicated IT operations, and external experts’ inclusion appear to positively contribute to effective CE-oriented learning processes within tranditional SMEs.