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1、外文原文Small Business Champions for Corporate Social Responsibility author: Heledd JenkinsABSTRACT. While Corporate Social ResponsibilityCSR has traditionally been thedomain of the corporate sector recognition of the growing significance of the Smalland Medium Sized Enterprise SME sector has led to an
2、emphasis on their social andenvironmental impact illustrated by an increasing number of initiatives aimed atengaging SMEs in the CSR agenda. CSR has been well researched in large companiesbut SMEs have received less attention in this area. This paper presents the findingsfrom a U.K. wide study of so
3、cially responsible SMEs. The 24 companies studied werechosen as exemplars of CSR in SMEs. The aim of this study therefore is toprogress understanding of both the limitations on and opportunities for CSR in SMEsthrough the exploration of exemplary characteristics in the study companies. Keyareas of i
4、nvestigation were CSR terminology the influence of managerial values thenature of SME CSR activities motivation for and benefits from engaging in CSR andthe challenges faced. The results of this study demonstrate some of the exemplarygoals and principles needed to achieve social responsibility in SM
5、Es and begin toprovide knowledge that could be used to engender learning in other SMEs. Inparticular there is evidence that stakeholder theory may provide a framework inwhich SMEs and CSR can be understood. SMEs prefer to learn through networkingand from their peers so this is a possible avenue for
6、greater SME engagement inCSR.This would require strong leadership or championing from individuals suchas highly motivated ownermanagers and from exemplary companies as a whole.KEY WORDS: champions case studies corporate social responsibility small andmedium sized enterprises stakeholder theoryIntrod
7、uction Business has come under increasing pressure to demonstrably engage inactivities which are described as corporate social responsibility CSR. Whilst manysuch activities come under legal compliance such as environmental legislationbusiness is encouraged to go beyond this and assume roles previou
8、sly occupied by thepublic sector such as supporting education and becoming involved in the governanceof communities Curran et al. 2000. CSR has traditionally been associated with largecompanies but recognition of the growing significance of the SME sector1 Fuller2003 UNIDO 2002 has led to an emphasi
9、s on their social and environmental impact.Yet many such initiatives and indeed much thinking about SMEs and CSR are basedon a range of unfounded assumptions about SME behaviour. Furthermore thisrecognition of SMEs is incomplete at best Curran 1999 with a continued emphasisin research and the media
10、on the characteristics of large firms Storey 1994 andmost research on the topic of best practice is based on the related notions ofcompetitive advantage quality and benchmarking as they relate to largerorganisations Massey 2003. Conventional approaches to CSR are based on theassumption that large co
11、mpanies are the norm and have been predominantlydeveloped in and for large corporations Jenkins 2004a. Another assumption is thatSMEs are little big companies Tilley 2000 and that advances to engagecompanies in CSR can simply be scaled down to fit SMEs. Two key arguments in favour of CSR are that th
12、e power and resources of largecompanies produces a responsibility to use that power and develop those resourcesresponsibly and that it is in companies self-interest to behave ethically andresponsibly otherwise issues of corporate image can lead to damage to thecompanies share price and reputation wi
13、th stakeholders. Both of these are eitherexplicitly or implicitly geared to large companies. However while SMEs rarelyattract national media attention and may not have a significant impact individuallySpence et al. 2003 they constitute a significant part of the U.K. and Europeaneconomy and society.
14、For example at the start of 2004 SMEs accounted for 99.9 ofall U.K. enterprise and more than half of employment and turnover.3 Given thesignificant scale of small business in nearly every economy their aggregateachievements have a major effect worldwide. Researchers are now also recognisingthe impor
15、tance of business ethics and social responsibility as they apply to smallfirms. This paper builds on the small but growing body of research on ethicallyresponsible behaviour in SMEs and presents the findings from a U.K. wide study ofsocially responsible SMEs. The study takes a bottomup approach and
16、exploresCSR initiatives and practices from the perspective of SME ownermanagers. Whilst anumber of studies based on what SME ownermanagers think about CSR exist thecompanies studied here were chosen as exemplars of CSR in SMEs. The aim ofthis study is to progress understanding of both the limitations on and opportunities forCSR in SMEs through the exploration of exemplary characteristics in the studycompanies. An exemplar may be variously described as something or
