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 18 / 26 further validated by the Pearson chi-square (X2) test of homogeneity, which demonstrates statistically significant het- erogeneity in strategic awareness across sectors. Specifically, firms in the primary (X2 = 54.32; p = 0.00), secondary (X2 = 57.29; p = 0.00), and tertiary (X2 = 80.49; p = 0.00)sectors exhibit distinct behaviors in their approach to strategic awareness. This sector-based heterogeneity suggests that sector-specific characteristics influence how organizations prioritize and integrate sustainability and carbon neutrality within their strategic frameworks. These findings align with pre- vious research [64,65], highlighting the need for tailored approaches that consider sectoral differences. Discussion Given the relevance of guiding MSMEs toward a greener economy, we aimed to answer three interrelated research ques- tions: a) To what extent are MSMEs aware of CC and decarbonization? (b) How do MSMEs develop strategies to address CC and achieve carbon neutrality? (c) What factors shape MSMEs’ attention to CC and decarbonization? Table 8 pres- ents a comparative summary of our main findings alongside those reported in prior empirical studies. It highlights areas of consistency, divergence, and potential contributions to ongoing scholarly debates. Our findings indicate that while MSMEs are generally familiar with broad concepts such as “climate change” and “global warming,” their understanding of more

specific terms like “carbon neutrality” and “decarbonization” remains limited. Additionally, we observed significant dispar- ities in climate-related knowledge across the business community, which may impact strategic decision-making. Further- more, MSMEs perceive higher internal perceived institutional pressures (PIP) than external PIP, suggesting that shifts Table 7. Carbon Neutral: Strategies. Panel A. All sample (N = 1,453) Strategic Awareness SE SBO MSMEs Grand Total At the level of operational processes 48.28 41.67 33.46 42.74 At the level of corporate practices 12.16 14.35 14.96 13.63 No response 39.56 43.98 51.57 43.63 Total 100 100 100 100 Panel B. Primary sector (N = 89) Strategic Awareness SE SBO MSMEs Grand Total At the level of operational processes 52.94 46.67 62.50 51.69 At the level of corporate practices 13.73 26.67 12.50 17.98 No response 33.33 26.67 25.00 30.34 Total 100 100 100 100 Panel C. Secondary sector (N = 430) Strategic Awareness SE SBO MSMEs Grand Total At the level of operational processes 46.43 37.65 38.89 42.33 At the level of corporate practices 12.50 14.12 8.33 12.79 No response 41.07 48.24 52.78 44.88 Total 100 100 100 100 Panel D. Tertiary sector (N = 934) Strategic Awareness SE SBO MSMEs Grand Total At the level of operational processes 48.91 42.86 31.43 42.08 At the level of corporate practices 11.59 13.62 16.19 13.60 No response 39.49 43.53 52.38 44.33 Total 100 100 100 100

Note. Values in percentages. SBO = Small Business Owners; SE = Self-Employed; MSMEs = Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0327165.t007