Navigating climate change: Climate change awareness and strategies in micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises in a developing economy

PLOS One | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0327165 July 2, 2025 17 / 26 research is needed to determine the specific resources required to facilitate this integration. Additionally, ventures perceiv- ing pressures from customers (OD = 0.65; ME = –0.10; p = 0.00) and investors (OD = 0.67; ME = –0.10; p = 0.01) are less likely to disregard climate-related strategies. In contrast, perceived support from the government (OD = 1.12; ME = 0.03; p = 0.92) and stakeholders, such as employees, (OD = 1.56; ME = 0.11; p = 0.61) exhibit a positive but non-statistically significant effect. These findings suggest that perceived normative discourses might play a critical role in shaping the strategic decisions of MSMEs regarding climate action. Finally, awareness of national carbon markets reduces the likelihood of perceiving carbon neutrality as unfeasi- ble (OD = 0.67; ME = –0.10; p = 0.00), suggesting that familiarity with these markets positively influences strate- gic alignment with sustainability goals. At the corporate level, ventures actively engaged in carbon-related practices (OD = 0.49; ME = –0.17; p = 0.00) or implementing carbon programs (OD = 0.64; ME = –0.10; p = 0.00) are similarly less likely to view carbon neutrality as unattainable, highlighting a potential learning effect associated with sustainability initiatives. Conversely, ventures in the secondary (OD = 1.99; ME = 0.15; p = 0.01) and tertiary (OD = 1.65; ME = 0.11; p = 0.05) sectors are more inclined to perceive carbon neutrality as less feasible, potentially

due to sector-specific constraints. Lastly, MSMEs demonstrate a lower likelihood of dismissing carbon neutrality as a stra- tegic option (OD = 0.67; ME = –0.10; p = 0.02), suggesting that they may view sustainability commitments as essential for long-term survival. Carbon neutrality: Strategic awareness At last, we explored MSMEs’ strategic awareness regarding carbon neutrality (please refer to Table 7 for an overview). Specifically, MSMEs aim to implement carbon neutrality strategies at either the corporate practice or operational process level to achieve their strategic timing. Panel A outlines the overall trend observed within the sample. This trend reveals most respondents (Mean All = 0.41) intend to implement strategies at the operational process level, while a smaller propor- tion anticipates implementing strategies at the corporate practice level (Mean All = 0.14). Remarkably, a significant pro- portion of participants did not respond (Mean All = 0.45), indicating a potential lack of understanding on how to effectively pursue carbon neutrality. To further explore this result, we conducted a Pearson chi-square (X2) test of homogeneity which suggests that the sample behaves in an heterogenous way (X2 = 115.94; p = 0.00) further confirming the heterogeneity on strategic planning within the business community. These findings provide further evidence of the absence of standard- ized global guidelines for establishing net-zero strategies [64]. This lack of clear pathways for selecting carbon neutrality

strategies hinders executives from effectively driving environmentally positive organizations. While some conceptual studies have attempted to address this gap, further research is needed to develop clearer and more actionable guidelines for the business community. Likewise, panels B, C, and D in Table 7 describe the strategic awareness among MSMEs by eco- nomic sector. It is observed that ventures in the primary sector (Mean Primary Sector = 0.54)are more inclined to engage in strategies at the operational process level compared to those from other economic sectors (Mean Secondary Sector = 0.41; Mean Tertiary Sector = 0.41). This trend may suggest that certain sectors find it easier to integrate operational-level strategies into their approach to achieving carbon neutrality, due to their operational nature. Besides, we observe that ventures in the primary sector (Mean Primary Sector = 0.18) and tertiary sector (Mean Tertiary Sector = 0.18)are more likely to engage in corporate practices level compared to the secondary sector (Mean Secondary Sector = 0.14). This observation could imply that ventures from the secondary sector may need to engage in long-term planning to balance financial and non-financial strategies effectively. Finally, we found that ventures from the secondary (Mean Secondary Sector = 0.47) and tertiary sector (Mean Tertiary Sector = 0.45) had the highest proportion of no response about carbon neutrality strategies compared to the primary sector (Mean Primary Sector = 0.28). This may suggest that some economic sectors may lack knowledge about

the concept of “Carbon Neutrality” and how to strategize and potentially implement it effectively. These findings are