Literature on SME adoption of green logistics in Zimbabwe is limited. However, deficiencies in the managerial skills of SMEs in Zimbabwe have been attributed as one of the factors derailing the successful embracement of green logistics in operations. Numerous scholars support the notion that SMEs in Zimbabwe lack basic managerial functions such as leading, planning, organising and controlling (Dumbu & Chadamoyo 2012; Karedza et al. 2014; Musanzikwa 2014). Additionally, another facet considered deficient is financial management. These scholars have noted that most SMEs in Zimbabwe fail to adhere to professional and commercial practices in business management operations. For example, manual, rather than electronic, accounting records are maintained. Such constraints lead to poor performance and stifle the growth of SMEs in the country. Notwithstanding these challenges, the government through the Small Enterprise Development Corporation has created initiatives that aim to develop the human capital base among SMEs that are specifically targeted at owners or managers (Chigwenya & Mudzengerere 2013). A wide range of courses such as management, cooperative governance, record keeping, production skills and stock taking are offered. Affiliations have also been created by the Zimbabwean government between the Standards Association of Zimbabwe and SMEs to try and assure the competitiveness and quality of goods produced by SMEs. It should however be noted that these efforts are still in their infancy and as a result not many SMEs have yet managed to tap into and benefit from these initiatives. Furthermore, aspects specifically focused on equipping SME managers with environmental management techniques (such as green logistics) are presently minimal to non-existent. This is exacerbated by the fact that SMEs in Zimbabwe generally lack appreciation for green management as a branding tool (Chigora & Zvavahera 2015). Moreover, in a study carried out among tourism SMEs in Gweru by Nyahunzvi (2014), results revealed that SMEs lacked formal environmental policies and that managers had limited awareness regarding green logistics.

Many SMEs in Zimbabwe exhibit limited business sustainability and upward mobility. This situation emanates from unfriendly regulation and policy environments, the harsh macroeconomic domain as well as poor managerial skills. As such, the majority of SMEs in Zimbabwe are categorised as being in a survivalist business mode (Research Continental-Fonkom and FinMark Trust 2012). Using a sample of 282 SME employees (obtained from Harare), Chinomona and Dhurup (2014) found a positive association between the quality of work life and job commitment, employee job satisfaction and ultimately tenure intention. It is envisaged that green logistics can assist SME sustainability in Zimbabwe by increasing employee job commitment, job satisfaction and tenure. The majority of SMEs in Zimbabwe operate in working conditions that are far below government-stipulated safety standards (Chinomona et al. 2010). This both threatens viability and dampens employee morale and job satisfaction. Failure to adopt appropriate technologies (such as green logistics) was identified by Chipangura (2012) as one of the major factors constraining SME growth in Zimbabwe. Again, the sustainability of SMEs in Zimbabwe is threatened by financial exclusion and the cumbersome process of obtaining licences and permits. Similarly, product and organisational innovation were also found to have a positive bearing on SME development in Zimbabwe (Makanyeza & Dzvuke 2015). Against this backdrop, it is suggested that the adoption of green management practices by Zimbabwe’s SMEs can go a long way towards enhancing sustainable development. Furthermore, the training of SME managers and other employees on green logistics can be an important focal point towards improving sustainability.

Enterprises are driven to adopt green practices by various factors, which include, but are not limited to, increasing competitive advantage, enhancing customer relationships and reducing business costs (El-Berishy et al. 2013). Hence, sustainable development can only be achieved if there is a balance between the environment, society and the economy as illustrated in Figure 1. Green logistics enable coordination of activities so that a balance is attained by enterprises between the three priorities of environmental, economic and social concerns (Jedliński 2014). Therefore, implementation of green logistics enables enterprises to become sustainable. Sustainability is concerned with SMEs being able to operate profitably in the long run. Thus, sustainable economic growth can be achieved through environmentally friendly use of renewable resources and proper management of natural resources to attain business objectives using green technologies (Jedliński 2014).

Perceptions and responses of managers towards green logistics initiatives occupy an important role in enterprise environmental policies (Seroka-Stolka 2016). Managers who lack commitment to taking up green logistics practices will resultantly observe such behaviour being transmitted to employees, thus also discouraging workers from implementing these initiatives (Seroka-Stolka 2016). Therefore, a lack of managerial support concerning the adoption of green logistics can be one of the major implementation challenges facing SMEs. Additionally, Denisa and Zdenka (2015) offer the following as some of the main barriers that hinder SMEs from successfully implementing green logistic activities, based on a study conducted in Slovakia:

The above factors are also supported by the findings of Chan (2008), who identified that managers who lacked the following act as barriers to implementation of green logistics practices:

These findings were based on an exploratory analysis from a sample of 83 hotel managers. Nevertheless, to the authors’ best knowledge empirical studies that specifically focus on barriers to implementation of green logistics by SMEs in Zimbabwe are minimal to non-existent.

Notwithstanding the aforementioned challenges, pressure has recently been mounting for SMEs to implement ethical codes, which can enhance the surrounding business environment (Šatanová & Sedliačiková 2014). According to Denisa and Zdenka (2015), as well as Seroka-Stolka (2016), for SMEs to attain environmental sustainability, green logistics initiatives need to be factored into corporate strategies earlier on, which might enable implementation towards the whole enterprise. Equally important, the development of green logistics in enterprises requires that managers actively promote International Organisation for Standardization (ISO) 14000 international standards (Zhang & Zhao 2012). Research findings from Chinese logistics companies reiterated the importance of state legal regulations, human resource quality and organisational support in positively influencing the adoption of green practices (Lin & Ho 2010). Similarly, compliance with ISO 14001 standards, which are recognised worldwide, is regarded as one of the drivers for the adoption of green practices within enterprises (Diabat & Govindan 2011; Hasan & Chan 2014; Seroka-Stolka 2016). For example, Huang et al. (2015) stated that Chinese manufacturing SMEs are increasingly under pressure from both local and foreign customers to comply with ISO 14001 standards. Ultimately, this will improve products and services offered. More importantly, human resource development regarding green logistics at all SME levels needs to be a top priority. This can assist SMEs in obtaining a competitive advantage, gaining customer loyalty and satisfying corporate needs (Denisa & Zdenka 2015).

Environmental regulatory legislations are important if enterprise products are to withstand competition in markets that are regulated (Gunasekaran, Lai & Edwin Cheng 2008; Lai & Wong 2012). Such environmental regulatory legislation, enacted by both local and international bodies, is mainly aimed at controlling environmental damages emanating from company activities such as production, transportation and disposal of the product (Lai & Wong 2012). Zimbabwe enforces environmental sustainability for the activities of both large firms and SMEs through the EMA (Chapter 20:27) (Parliament of Zimbabwe 2002). Thus, for example, all SMEs involved in projects that are categorised as first schedule under the EMA (Chapter 20:27), namely ore processing, housing development and mining, are required to conduct an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). An EIA is a process that assists in identifying environmental impacts of a development project and clearly outlines measures to mitigate these negative effects during the project’s life cycle. Thus firms, regardless of size, are obliged to work in accordance with the EMA statutes, which are aligned with the ISO statutes that encourage enterprises to go green. However, as noted earlier the problem in Zimbabwe mostly lies with enforcement of the EMA. Further, the EMA is not as visible in urban areas compared to rural regions. This therefore justifies the need for a detailed study on the barriers that hinder green logistics in urban SMEs, the application of and the importance of green logistics.

According to Maree (2016):

Maree (2016) further stipulates that for homogeneous samples, eight participants will yield credible results, provided that the saturation point has been reached. Previous qualitative studies on green logistics such as that by Göransson, Gustafsson and Lindbergh (2014), as well as Hijaz et al. (2015), used sample sizes of five and six, respectively, with both studies yielding credible results.

In the current study, initially, 20 SMEs in the logistics industry based in the Chegutu and Harare urban areas were contacted by email and telephonically to schedule interview appointments. However, only 10 of these SMEs responded favourably and allowed for interviews to be scheduled. Two of these SMEs thereafter cancelled the scheduled interviews for business-related reasons. All in all, five SME managers and one government official were interviewed. This is because after evaluating the data collection process, it was recognised that the saturation point was reached for the SMEs at the fifth interview. Thus, at this point (i.e. at interview number 5) it was perceived that there was nothing new or significant that could be obtained from orchestrating any further interviews with the remaining SME managers. However, an additional interview with a government official was then conducted to ensure credibility and trustworthiness of the collected data from the SMEs.

As shown in Table 1, interviewees comprised SME managers (five in total). Experience ranged from 6 to 15 years, whilst educational qualifications were in Agriculture, Agricultural Business, Auto-Mechanics, Marketing and Economics. The lowest qualification discerned was a national certificate, with the highest being a Master of Commerce. As shown in Table 1, the SME managers interviewed all possessed more than 5 years of experience and held post-secondary school qualifications. This suggests all the interviewees selected were both competent and fit for the purposes of this study.

Data in this study was collected through semi-structured interviews. Using semi-structured interviews enabled the right balance between uniformity in questions asked (which ensured that there was order during all interviews) and freedom for the interviewer and interviewee (Creswell 2014). Further, as argued by Creswell (2009, 2014), using semi-structured interviews enabled exploration of green logistics issues in SMEs, a problem that is fairly new, particularly in Zimbabwe, where less research has been conducted in this regard. On average, the interviews took 30–45 min each and were carried out in English. An interview guide was created with open-ended questions structured into three main categories: (1) green logistics barriers; (2) green logistics activities application; and (3) importance of green logistics. Where necessary, additional (follow-up) questions were asked, especially when it was realised that the responses given were too vague for discerning what the interviewee’s intended reply was. Before each interview, each SME was thoroughly researched. This enabled the assurance of quality in the data collected. Consent to record the interviews from each interviewee was also sought. Notes were taken during interviews to supplement and complement transcribed texts.

All the interviews were recorded and transcribed. In cases where notes and the transcribed text were too vague, raised questions or posed the possibility of misinterpretation, interviewees were contacted for clarity by either email or telephone.

A thematic, deductive, line-by-line content analysis approach was followed to analyse data in this study. The data analysis was in four stages. Firstly, themes derived from previous relevant literature on green logistics were created. As earlier noted, three main themes were created, namely barriers to green logistics, green logistics activities application and the importance of green logistics. Secondly, because a deductive approach to analyse data was followed, the transcribed interview text was separated into sentences and paragraphs. This allowed for a line-by-line content analysis of the data. Thirdly, each sentence or paragraph was allocated a close code from the list of themes derived from literature.

Because a word document was utilised, different colours were used to highlight the various themes accordingly. For instance, for the green logistics barriers the following was used: Bright green = costs; red = lack of knowledge on green logistics; yellow = red tape or absence of a green logistics framework or legislation to enforce compliance; pink = lack of resources; blue = technological challenges; grey = lack of political will; teal = poor infrastructure or poor roads; violet = customers’ unwillingness to pay for green activities; and turquoise = lack of incentives.

This was followed by cutting and pasting all the quotes for each theme and bringing them together. In this fourth stage, the themes and subthemes that emerged were examined, with the aim of assessing how each of these subthemes and themes related to one another. This process was repeated and checked for new emerging themes. It was at this stage that network diagrams were used to show the hierarchical relationships between the different ideas, themes and emerging subthemes. Use of a radial or spider diagram was also incorporated to show how each item or topic (barrier) linked to the central item (green logistics barriers among SMEs).

To ensure authenticity, credibility and trustworthiness of the results in this study, interviewees were consulted during member checking (Maree 2016). Specifically, the interviewees were asked to read and review the draft of the transcribed text and the first draft of the report, so that they could further elaborate on, change or confirm the analysis conducted. Further, to ensure credibility and dependability of the results, a government official who works with SMEs and environmental issues was interviewed and corroborated the responses obtained from the SMEs.

The first objective in this article sought to ascertain the managerial perceptions on the barriers that hinder the adoption and application of green logistics activities in Zimbabwe. To achieve this objective, the following question was asked: From a managerial point of view, what barriers hinder SMEs from adopting and applying green logistics in Zimbabwe?

Despite the economic role played by SMEs in Zimbabwe, particularly through job creation and poverty alleviation, such entities still lag behind when it comes to environmental consciousness in activities. Figures 2 and 3 present the barriers inhibiting SMEs in Zimbabwe from adopting and applying green logistic activities in the day-to-day running of businesses.

Figure 3 provides a hierarchical analysis of these barriers. As shown in Figure 3, analysis of the logistics barriers resulted in two subcategories, namely key and secondary barriers. These were further subdivided into major internal barriers, common internal and external barriers, as well as other secondary internal and external barriers to green logistics in SMEs.

Most of the interviewees (four SME managers and one government official) unequivocally and strongly emphasised that costs, ranging from investment costs to operating and certification costs (key internal barriers), were a major hindrance in the adoption and application of green logistics in business activities. In addition, half (three out of six) of the interviewees cited lack of resources, lack of knowledge on green logistics and its importance, along with technology challenges, as common internal barriers. Poor infrastructure was cited as a common external barrier to green logistics application in SMEs. One male small firm manager, with eight years of experience in the logistics industry, specifically stated: ‘Poor infrastructure and very poor roads are a major hindrance. Bad roads result in low speed, more fuel consumption and increased logistics costs’. Another male interviewed product medium firm manager with six years of experience in the logistics industry further elaborated:

In a way, costs are a key barrier to green logistics application caused by poor infrastructure or roads. Thus, in line with the above quotes, poor roads lead to fuel inefficiency and traffic congestion because of low speeds, which ultimately leads to higher carbon emissions.

Of the three subcategories of green logistics barriers, the barriers least cited by the SME managers interviewed included other secondary internal barriers (the absence of a green logistics framework) and external barriers (namely, red tape, no legislation to enforce compliance, no incentives, no political will and customers’ unwillingness to pay extra costs for greening up). These findings corroborate previous studies such as those by Chan (2008), Göransson et al. (2014), Denisa and Zdenka (2015), as well as Piaralal et al. (2015), who found investment costs, customers’ priorities and unwillingness to pay extra to be the barriers to green logistics in firms.

The second objective in this article sought to explore managerial perceptions on the green logistics activities, if any, practised by SMEs in Zimbabwe. To achieve this objective, the following questions were asked: From a managerial point of view, do SMEs apply any green logistics activities? If so, why? If not, why? And which logistics activities are practised in these SMEs? Tables 2 and 3 present the findings on whether green logistics activities are applied by SMEs in daily operations and the specific green logistics being applied.

As shown in Table 2, green logistics is not yet applied by most Zimbabwean SMEs. From the responses given by the SME managers interviewed, one thing is clear: There are those that are not yet applying it, whilst there are some SME managers that are not sure if their firms are indeed applying green logistics. For instance, two of the SME managers interviewed stated: ‘Green logistics is not really applied in their firms’. Such responses could mean that these managers were not sure whether green logistics activities were applied in their firm; they could mean that these managers were not directly involved with the operations incorporating green logistics; it could be that their firms were at an advanced stage of planning to apply them or that the firm was not aware of what green logistics was all about. From the interviews conducted, one of the reasons given by a male auto-mechanic, who has managed a small firm for the past 15 years in the logistics industry, to support the response provided was:

Given the economic hardships in Zimbabwe, the chances are that even the government’s priorities are on other issues that could help improve the financial crisis, which explains the laxity when it comes to emphasising and enforcing the environmental responsibilities of firms, irrespective of their size.

After having consulted literature on some of the green logistics activities applied by firms and comparing it with the actual meaning of green logistics, SME managers included in the study then were asked about the activities currently applied in their firm. The activities were grouped into transport optimisation and efficiency (which consisted of the following sub-activities: Fuel efficiency, route optimisation, load optimisation, measuring and reducing carbon emissions), reverse logistics, packaging optimisation, procurement, warehousing and inventory management (see Tables 3 and 4). As shown in Tables 3 and 4, some of the SMEs are striving towards practising green logistics, particularly in transport route optimisation and fuel efficiency, as well as optimisation of packaging, warehousing and inventory management.

Most of the SME managers interviewed believed that reverse logistics was not practised and half of these felt that little or no effort was put towards load optimisation nor towards measuring and reducing carbon emissions. For instance, one male medium firm product manager who holds a postgraduate qualification in Economics, with six years of experience in the logistics industry, pointed out:

From this it can be deduced that indeed load optimisation, fuel efficiency, along with measuring and reducing carbon emissions, are still not practised.

Another male marketing manager of a medium-sized logistics firm with 10 years of experience in the logistics industry stated:

Likewise, a male, auto-mechanic by profession, small firm manager with 15 years of experience in the logistics industry also stated:

From the two preceding quotes, it seems SMEs are blaming lagging behind in green logistics implementation on economic hardships, lack of proper technology and the cost implications thereof. This makes sense, given that in 2016 the Logistics Performance Index ranked Zimbabwe 151 out of 160 countries (Arvis et al. 2016). This alone indicates that Zimbabwean companies are lagging behind in terms of various logistical aspects. Given that green logistics is a fairly new concept, countries that are poor performers, such as Zimbabwe, are expected to be found still lagging behind in this regard.

The last objective in this article sought to ascertain the managerial perceptions of SMEs on the importance of green logistics in Zimbabwe. To achieve this objective, the interviewees were asked the following questions: Of what importance is green logistics to you and your clients? Why? Figure 4 provides a hierarchical analysis of the importance of green logistics.

As can be discerned from Figure 4, green logistics is important to the few elite who understand it. However, to the majority, green logistics is regarded as ‘not important’. Two subcategories emerged from the responses given by the interviewees: (1) the environmentally conscious and (2) the cost-conscious.

The cost-conscious believe that green logistics is not important as it tends to increase extra and unnecessary costs and that the technology and cleaner fuels required may increase operational costs. As one male small firm manager, with an agricultural business qualification, who has six years of experience in the logistics industry opined:

Taking into consideration the above quote, it is possible to state that the reason cleaner fuels are perceived to be weak, and increasing costs, is because vehicles are not well maintained and most are old, second-hand vehicles. Moreover, considering that the roads in Zimbabwe are in a very poor state, the cost-conscious are bound to view green logistics as an unnecessary cost, and as attracting the free rider problem. In other words, to the cost-conscious, companies are not willing to incur the expense of going green but want to enjoy the benefits at the expense of the few who are environmentally conscious. This defeats the whole purpose of going green in logistics. Cost-conscious firms believe that the economic hardships experienced in the country are the root cause of the negative light in which green logistics are viewed.

Contrary to what cost-conscious firms believe, envi-ronmentally conscious firms are of the view that green logistics is important both in the short and long-term. Key to note is the fact that environmentally conscious firms believe that green logistics application can create brand loyalty among clients. This will lead to the creation of a good brand image for environmentally conscious firms, which can ultimately attract government support, serve as a cost-saver and improve profits in the long run. In other words, cost saving is not a priority to environmentally conscious firms. Rather, a competitive advantage lies in caring for the environment. As such, cost saving is just an added advantage.

In light of the above findings and conclusions, this article recommends the following: