Adoption of Sustainability Reporting Tools by New Zealand Small and Medium-sized Enterprises

Abstract

This study examines how sustainability reporting (SR) is understood, adopted, and enacted by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in New Zealand (NZ), with particular attention to the role of digital tools and institutional context. Drawing on an interpretivist, qualitative methodology, 15 semi-structured interviews were conducted with SME owners, sustainability consultants, software providers, and industry representatives between October 2025 and February 2026. Data were analysed using Reflexive Thematic Analysis. The findings reveal that SME engagement with SR is shaped by a dynamic interplay of intrinsic owner-manager values, external stakeholder pressures, and strategic business considerations, counterbalanced by persistent resource constraints, knowledge gaps, and financial barriers. Digital tool adoption follows a pragmatic logic, with SMEs favouring foundational tools such as Excel and cloud accounting software over sophisticated platforms, reserving formal certification tools for contexts where audited credibility is required. A significant chasm persists between the promised capabilities of digital SR tools and practical reality, driven by foundational data limitations, poor tool design, and an unsupportive ecosystem characterised by policy instability and framework fragmentation. Interpreted through Stakeholder Theory and the Technology Acceptance Model, the study contributes a contextually grounded account of SME SR as a sense-making process shaped by values, stakeholder dynamics, and technological affordances.