Driving Impactful Change: Entrepreneurial Insights for Social Responsibility in the Irish Context

Today’s volatile situation at the global level, provoked by a significant rise in Economic and Political Uncertainty, emerged as an answer on countries attempts to manage the climate change crisis, armed conflicts, the rising cost of living, a growing divide between the more prosperous Global North and the poorest Global South that are reflected on the emergence of multifaceted, multiple and long-lasting crises. During periods of heightened instability and economic uncertainty, businesses struggle to build trusting relationships with stakeholders as they seek to reduce costs. Additionally, companies seek deep engagement as they confront the costs associated with sustainability challenges and try to alleviate economic uncertainty. In the Irish case, the research findings show some level of resilience to the geoeconomic challenges due to stable consumer spending, supported by a strong labour market capable of decelerating inflation and providing further consumption growth. This chapter examines existing literature to identify if Irish SME executives are trained to lead the country’s economic growth agenda in the context of sustainable development as the role of small companies is subject to significant challenges impacted by fast technological developments and mounting pressures emerging from environmental deterioration with businesses being critical players as part of accelerated changes converting them from local entities into full-fledged market players. As SDG 4, quality education can support SME executives in achieving the required competencies of the new technological era, providing decent work and economic growth and encouraging small businesses to assess themselves through knowledge management strategy to address geoeconomic and political challenges.