Abstract
Stakeholders play a fundamental role in stimulating SMEs to adopt sustainable practices, yet relatively little is known about the resources such stakeholders offer, how SMEs perceive those, and the challenges encountered in delivering and accessing that support. Our paper uses both resource-dependence theory and institutional theory and draws on 47 in-depth interviews and two focus groups with UK SMEs and support providers, to map out a novel stakeholder support ecosystem based on latent dependency dynamics. We offer recommendations for practitioners and policy makers to enhance sustainability support and in order to drive the net zero transition.