This study explores how SMEs design and manage sustainability alliances as intellectual capital mobilization mechanisms for signaling sustainability commitment to stakeholders.
We adopt a qualitative multiple case study approach analyzing alliance formation, governance and stakeholder communication processes. The study is based on three Italian SMEs active in the agri-food sector.
Three intellectual capital mobilization patterns – sequential, simultaneous and network amplification – emerge across cases, each generating distinct eco-innovation outcomes. Our analysis identifies two intellectual capital mobilization mechanisms: signaling infrastructure, through which alliances are deliberately designed around shared values and operational compatibility, and signaling reframe, through which existing collaborations are retroactively repositioned as sustainability communication platforms.
The study identifies two mechanisms through which SMEs mobilize intellectual capital by means of sustainability alliances and proposes a cycle of intellectual capital, alliances and signaling that drives the adoption of eco-innovation. The study offers managerial insights for SMEs on partner selection, alliance structuring and governance, targeted signaling investments and the strategic role of a sustainable alliance manager.
