Why capable SMEs disengage: formalisation architecture and carbon reporting in Taiwan’s manufacturing sector

Manufacturing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face growing pressure to measure and disclose carbon emissions as accountability extends across global supply chains. Existing research commonly attributes limited participation in carbon reporting to deficits in resources, expertise, or motivation. Yet many manufacturing SMEs already maintain formalised systems for documentation and compliance. This study examines why carbon-reporting engagement remains limited despite these capabilities. Drawing on scenario-based interviews with twelve Taiwanese manufacturing SMEs and carbon-reporting professionals, and using the Attention-Based View (ABV) as an analytical lens, the study identifies four strategic logics shaping organisational responses: operational relevance screening, conditional readiness, social signal amplification without actionable method, and embedded translation. SMEs engaged more readily when reporting requirements were legitimised through recognised organisational channels, key methodological choices were resolved upstream, and operational data could be integrated into existing routines. The findings show that awareness and administrative competence alone do not produce organisational action. Instead, engagement depends on a translation process that converts operational records into auditable carbon accounts. The study extends the ABV by identifying organisational translation as a distinct stage between attention and action and shows that this translation depends on formalisation architectures that activate existing organisational capabilities for carbon reporting.