Abstract

Climate change poses increasingly complex business challenges, particularly in navigating survival and growth in uncertain environments. While substantial research has investigated the relationship between climate change and large organizations, the strategic responses of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) remain underexplored. This study addresses this gap by examining the evolution of scholarly literature on climate-related strategies in SMEs, identifying key trends, and outlining future research directions. Through a systematic literature review of 91 articles from the Web of Science database, we applied bibliometric techniques, including co-citation and bibliographic coupling analyses, paired with a thematic cluster analysis to uncover the new trends in the field. Our findings reveal that this domain entered a “Development Phase” in 2020, with contributions predominantly concentrated in Europe and Asia, highlighting significant regional disparities in research focus and contexts. Six thematic clusters from bibliographic coupling and three from co-citation analysis illustrate the diverse yet fragmented foundations of the field. We emphasize the need to expand the geographic and institutional diversity of the field by proposing targeted avenues for future research that consider the institutional, cultural, and sectoral contexts shaping SMEs’ climate-related strategies. By advancing theoretical frameworks and policy-relevant insights, we aim to inform effective interventions for mitigating climate challenges globally.