Small and Medium Enterprises – Propensity toward Corporate Social Responsibility

Abstract

The concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is alive and flourishing in both academic as well as practitioner communities worldwide. Over the years, businesses have come under the increased pressure to engage in activities summed up as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Traditionally, most of the related theoretical perspectives on CSR have focused on large organizations and thereby ignore the very important area of research pertaining to SMEs engagement in CSR. As such it has previously been assumed that the applications of CSR in large organizations can be transposed to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) which have nevertheless undermine the very foundation of CSR concept. In this view, the current paper advances the relevant research discourse in the areas
of CSR, SMEs, and the intersection of CSR and SMEs. The overall paper discussion includes (a) the debate around defining CSR, (b) a brief history of CSR, (c) the motivations for participating in CSR, (d) the CSR literature’s predominant focus on small medium companies. The discourse presented highlights the nuanced definitional orientation of CSR and the peculiarities of SMEs as to how they operate differently as compared to large organizations and that SMEs are not little big firms and thereby provides the ground for future endeavours in the field of CSR and SMEs.