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Social responsibility, profit maximisation and the small firm owner-manager
Abstract
In this paper, a new analysis is presented of the social and ethical orientation of small firm owner-managers. Using exploratory qualitative empirical evidence, it is proposed that there are four “frames” of perceiving the social perspective of the small business. These are profit-maximisation priority, subsistence priority, enlightened self-interest and social priority. If policy makers wish to influence the ethics of small firms, they need to be aware of this diversity of viewpoints and move beyond the notion of the profit-maximising, rational economic entrepreneur as the standard image of the small business owner-manager.
... In these analyses of EE, approaches linked to small and medium-sized enterprises have also emerged. For example, Spence et al. (2001), in analyzing small business ownermanagers' social and ethical orientation, proposed four "frames" for reviewing and offering policies for small businesses: Profit-maximization priority, subsistence priority, enlightened self-interest, and social priority. Arend (2013) linked ethics to the dynamic capabilities of small and medium-sized enterprises, showing that these capabilities have positive effects on the ethical performance of these enterprises. ...
... How does venture capital address ethical issues in entrepreneurship based on digital technologies such as artificial intelligence? (Arend, 2013;Skinner, 2019;Spence et al., 2001). Accordingly, the following propositions are proposed for consideration in future research: ...
Entrepreneurship has been highlighted as one of the major forces in addressing significant economic, social, and environmental challenges. These challenges have raised new ethical questions, leading to an explosive growth of research at the intersection of ethics and entrepreneurship. This study provides an overview of the evolution of the scientific literature on the interplay between ethics and entrepreneurship to propose a research proposition with standardized protocols and a broad time limit. Specifically, in a hybrid literature review, 516 articles from peer-reviewed journals indexed in Scopus were analyzed. The review revealed that the field mainly comprises six themes. Through the analysis of each theme, gaps are identified and structured and used to build theoretical proposals for future research agendas applied to current societal challenges. Understanding the link between entrepreneurship and ethics guides practices improves decisions, addresses challenges, promotes sustainability, enhances academia, and builds trust, fostering a responsible, beneficial entrepreneurial environment for society and the economy.
... Como la investigación se centra en pymes se indaga en estudios sobre el desarrollo de la gestión de la responsabilidad social en éstas, pero son escasos los estudios (Muñoz et al., 2009, y Moneva y Hernández, 2009), debido, principalmente, a la confusión que origina este concepto en los empresarios, como se indicaba con anterioridad (Murillo y Lozano, 2006). Además las actividades de responsabilidad social no están integradas a las acciones estratégicas de las pymes (Spencer y Lozano, 2000;Muñoz et al., 2009), pues sus acciones se concentran en trabajar por la integración de procesos que inciden en la cadena de valor (Spencer y Rutherfoord, 2001, y Cox de Moura, 2009), y algunas de ellas efectúan donaciones (Vives, 2006;Marín y Rubio, 2008, y Muñoz et al., 2009, o trabajan en el desarrollo de sus colaboradores por medio de programas de motivación en su puesto de trabajo (Spencer y Lozano, 2000;Spencer y Rutherfoord, 2001;Marín y Rubio, 2008, y Muñoz et al., 2009. ...
... Como la investigación se centra en pymes se indaga en estudios sobre el desarrollo de la gestión de la responsabilidad social en éstas, pero son escasos los estudios (Muñoz et al., 2009, y Moneva y Hernández, 2009), debido, principalmente, a la confusión que origina este concepto en los empresarios, como se indicaba con anterioridad (Murillo y Lozano, 2006). Además las actividades de responsabilidad social no están integradas a las acciones estratégicas de las pymes (Spencer y Lozano, 2000;Muñoz et al., 2009), pues sus acciones se concentran en trabajar por la integración de procesos que inciden en la cadena de valor (Spencer y Rutherfoord, 2001, y Cox de Moura, 2009), y algunas de ellas efectúan donaciones (Vives, 2006;Marín y Rubio, 2008, y Muñoz et al., 2009, o trabajan en el desarrollo de sus colaboradores por medio de programas de motivación en su puesto de trabajo (Spencer y Lozano, 2000;Spencer y Rutherfoord, 2001;Marín y Rubio, 2008, y Muñoz et al., 2009. ...
La experiencia investigativa se desarrolló con la integración de los elementos estratégicos organizacionales para dimensionar en torno al ciclo de gestión con enfoque socialmente responsable, su aplicabilidad en pyme del sector servicios de la ciudad de Cali, Colombia. Por tanto, la práctica se enmarcó en lo establecido por la Guía Técnica Colombiana GTC 180, pues se adoptaron los lineamientos y el enfoque en el ciclo PVHA con el propósito de impactar los sistemas de gestión organizacional. A partir de esta percepción, y con la participación de sus directivos, se pudo presentar propuestas estratégicas de mejoramiento encaminadas al fortalecimiento del direccionamiento estratégico: misión, visión; así como a la verificación de acciones para instrumentar los programas de responsabilidad social. De esta manera se aprecia la responsabilidad social como un actor integral para la gestión organizacional, la cual contribuye en la sostenibilidad de la pyme.
... Incluso con las herramientas creadas y adaptadas a las Pymes, si el empresario no conoce de inmediato beneficios explícitos a corto plazo la eficacia de estas herramientas se ve comprometida (Johnson & Schaltegger, 2016). Este es otro de los motivos por los que las Pymes son escépticas cuando se enfrentan a programas de ética empresarial y sostenibilidad, tender a percibirlos como un coste para la empresa sin beneficio alguno (Spence & Rutherfoord, 2001, 2003. ...
... El coste de la implantación de las políticas de RSE sí son un freno que hace que los gerentes sean escépticos a la hora de implantar estas estrategias, pero al contrario que lo que sentencia Spence & Rutherfoord, (2001, 2003, los gerentes sí consideran en su mayoría que acarrea un beneficio a largo plazo con un carácter menos económico y más social y reputacional. ...
Social responsibility in SMEs is especially important because they represent most of the productive fabric of a country and employ most of the employees in this country. Sustainability is, in many cases, inherent to SMEs, but the development of formal tools is not common, which confirms the existence of a silent Social Responsibility.
The development of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policies and their disclosure using non-financial reports in SMEs encounters barriers and accelerators, among which the lack of resources and tools or a limited perception of managers of what these policies imply, as well as with characteristics of the SMEs are a difficulty or an advantage for this development.
In the present work there is an analysis through the contrast of the opinions of different managers of a heterogeneous sample of SMEs, obtained through semi-structured interviews with the conclusions of various authors and previous studies to know what is the approach that these companies have on CSR, what do they consider to be their main barriers and accelerators when implementing these CSR policies, and what information would they be able to disclose in a non-financial information framework for SMEs.
The results reveal the opinion of these companies on general aspects of CSR, the main barriers and accelerators and the elements that they would be able to report in a non-financial information framework, as well as the main characteristics of SMEs with a higher commitment to CSR policies
... Visions of creating change and the owner/ manager as change maker were evident, as were business incentives beyond profit maximisation. Spence and Rutherfoord's (2001) work helps to put these findings into perspective. They claim that SME entrepreneurs' business orientations can be described as profit maximisation priority, subsistence priority, enlightened self-interest priority or social priority. ...
... Most of the owner/ managers attributed this to their size. However, while personal values guided the business and could be changed on a whim due to their lack of formality, not one of the participants had what Spence and Rutherfoord (2001) would describe as a profit maximisation priority. Some fit the enlightened self-interest priority but the majority were oriented toward the social priority. ...
Responsible research and innovation or responsible innovation (RI) has recently attracted a lot of scholarly interest, leading to fruitful streams of research ranging from discussions about the responsibility of researchers in research and development (R&D) teams (Pandza & Ellwood, 2013) to theoretical frameworks of RI (Genus & Stirling, 2018; Stilgoe et al., 2013; Voegtlin & Scherer, 2017) and risk management approaches to lessen the negative externalities of innovations developed in publicly funded academic research (Owen et al., 2013). At the same time, driven by the fact that the vast majority of research and innovation takes place in the private sector, a burgeoning stream of research focuses on the implementation of RI in industry (Auer & Jarmai, 2018; Dreyer et al., 2017; Hemphill, 2016; Iatridis & Schroeder, 2016; Martinuzzi et al., 2018; Stahl et al., 2017; van de Poel
et al., 2017). The insights generated from these studies have diffused the concept at industry level but there is a dearth of research focusing on RI and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This is an important gap in the literature as the vast majority of firms fall into this category. In the words of the European Commission, SMEs are the “backbone of the European economy”, making up 99% of the businesses in the EU (European Commission, 2018). Therefore, learning more about the challenges and drivers SMEs might face when implementing RI presents an opportunity for RI to ensure that SME strategy is aligned with the European Commission’s vision for growth. In this chapter, we aim to enhance knowledge of this topic by focusing on a specific category of SMEs active in the food industry. These firms, also known as “foodpreneurial”, are SMEs with innovative food ideas, from artisan products to cutting-edge food technology. Foodpreneurial SMEs represent an interesting case for research because businesses of this type tend to have a startup mentality and use socially responsible business models to tackle issues as disparate as social inclusion and fighting disease. At the same time, foodpreneurial SMEs are disrupting big food and beverage producers at an alarming rate. In the USA, the top 25 food and beverage producers lost $18B in market share
between 2009 and 2015 (Kowitt, 2015). Equally in the UK, such SMEs seem to play a gradually increasing role. For instance, Pip and Nut, a UK nut butter brand that claims to be a healthy alternative to sugar and palm oil-filled conventional nut butters, is a prime example of this type of challenger brand. In just four years, the company has captured approximately 13% of the UK nut butter market (Newsdesk, 2018). Perhaps foodpreneurial SMEs have found a way to see the “grand challenges” of our time as an opportunity rather than a constraint. They are establishing innovative business models that put responsibility higher on the agenda than large firms. For this reason, there may be a natural tendency for such SMEs to innovate responsibly.
This chapter contributes to the literature both empirically and theoretically. Empirically, we introduce new interview data with 19 foodpreneurial SMEs operating in London, UK. Theoretically, we contribute to the literature by providing insights on the challenges and drivers SMEs face when implementing RI. Our results suggest that lack of awareness, time, labour and money imposes obstacles to RI. Inclusion proves to be equally tricky, as
most respondents had difficulties identifying stakeholders and articulating how they engaged with them. Respectively, and opposite to the enlightened self-interest perspective found in many orthodox economic arguments, our findings highlight personal values and a concern for societal and environmental wellbeing as business drivers. This illustrates that, despite contemporary pressures for quarterly-based profit maximisation, there are SMEs that resist such demands and attribute the same, if not higher, significance to societal and environmental issues as they do to profit. The chapter is organised as follows. First, we discuss the literature of RI in industry to act as a frame of reference with which to compare RI to already embedded RI practices in the SMEs studied. We then discuss the research methodology and findings of our analysis, with a focus on the challenges and drivers of implementing RI in the aforementioned SMEs. We conclude by discussing the implications of the study, its limitations and directions for future research.
... In this sense, SMEs generally represent no homogeneous sector, where significant differences among these exist, and commonly these are established on informal economies (Graafland et al., 2003;Fassin, 2008). Besides, management practices have significant differences on both large and small enterprises, normally because SMEs CEOs are the owners themselves and their personality characteristics have serious impacts on the business performance and growth, as well as on the adoption and implementation of CSR activities (Spence & Rutherfoord, 2001;Hannafey, 2003;Fisscher, Frenkel & Lurie, 2005;Lahdesmaki, 2005;Wempe, 2005;Lepoutre & Heene, 2006;Fassin, 2008). ...
The globalization of economy and society that drive most of the countries has dramatically changed businesses. It has changed competence rules among enterprises, primarily among Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), which is now demanding better firms commitments, for instance, a focus on business ethics. Therefore, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is incrementally becoming an important strategy for enterprises to have positive impacts to society. Moreover, CSR impacts SMEs' growth, however, it remains as an ambiguous concept that generally creates discussions between researchers, mainly because some of them believe that due the enterprises nature, independently of their size, these are socially responsible. Nevertheless, some researchers do not agree with this, and instead they think that SMEs actually have barriers that limit their abilities to implement CSR and to rise business grow. Therefore, this investigation has the objective to analyse CSR effects on Mexican SMEs' growth. This paper presents an empirical study carried out on 397 SMEs, from 5 to 250 employees. The results obtained show that CSR has positive effects on SMEs' growth.
... The value-intentions of SME managers and their impact on spin-offs When these value-intentions are applied at an SME scale, it is the owner-managers' personal values (egoistic or altruistic) and the intentions they pursue with these practices (strategic or institutional) for their SMEs that are of interest. As mentioned earlier, organizational values and intentions in the SME context strongly coincide with those of the leader, especially when it comes to SD (Spence and Rutherfoord, 2001). The implementation of SRHRM practices can be justified as much by egoistic as by altruistic values, and as much by strategic as by institutional intentions. ...
Purpose
In many parts of the world, labor shortages are likely to affect the activities of SMEs. Consequently, SMEs needs to adopt attractive HRM practices. This study analyzes the impact of one type of sustainable HRM (SD-HRM) on employees’ attraction and retention factors such as employees’ motivation, the quality of image and customer satisfaction in SMEs context. It also looks at the impact of SME managers’ value-intentions, calculative (egoist-strategic) and non-calculative (altruist-institutional) on this relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on part of a survey of 409 Quebec SME managers’ commitment to sustainability, a mediation model is used to consider the impact of the manager’s values-intentions on potential workforce attraction and retention factors.
Findings
The results show that the implementation of SD-HRM practices has a positive impact on the outcomes considered, as it was expected, but show the counterintuitive results that it is altruistic values (non-calculative), rather than egoistic values, that helps to maximize the desired effects.
Practical implications
SME managers could adopt SRHRM practices to attract and retain employees. To maximize positive impacts, they might strategically integrate this approach while remaining authentic to their altruistic values. Purely institutional intentions are insufficient. By being both personally committed and strategic, managers can improve both employee well-being and organizational performance.
Originality/value
The original aspect of this research is the integration of expectations of spin-offs (positive or neutral) in relation to SD-HRM, based on the values and intentions of SME managers. This allows to recognize the multiple profiles, justifications and objectives of SMEs, which do not form a monolithic whole and need to be understood and supported by considering their differences.
... These efforts include legislative reforms, international tax treaties, and increased cooperation among tax authorities to enhance transparency and combat cross-border tax abuses. As a result, businesses are facing greater scrutiny and regulatory oversight, requiring them to adopt more transparent and responsible tax practices [2]. ...
The ethical landscape of state and local tax planning presents a complex interplay between profit maximization and social responsibility. While businesses seek to maximize profits within legal boundaries, their tax planning strategies often raise ethical questions regarding their contribution to the communities in which they operate. This paper explores the tension between profit-driven decision-making and the broader social implications of tax planning at the state and local levels. By examining case studies and ethical frameworks, it assesses the moral responsibilities of corporations towards society and the environment, alongside their financial obligations to shareholders. Moreover, it analyzes the role of government regulations and corporate governance mechanisms in promoting ethical tax practices. The findings highlight the importance of transparency, fairness, and accountability in tax planning processes, emphasizing the need for businesses to consider not only their financial interests but also the welfare of stakeholders and the public. Ultimately, the paper advocates for a balanced approach that integrates profit maximization with social responsibility, recognizing that sustainable long-term success depends on maintaining ethical integrity while pursuing economic objectives. This research contributes to the ongoing discourse on corporate ethics and governance, offering insights into the ethical dilemmas faced by businesses in navigating the intricate terrain of state and local tax planning.
... Small and medium enterprises would make up a major motivation for economic development (Spence & Rutherfoord, 2001). In fact, these enterprises account for a large proportion, which plays an important role in the total number of enterprises in Vietnam. ...
This study aimed at testing the impacts of social responsibility on customers’ switching behavior in using products and services. The research method was quantitative based on the structural equation modeling SEM with the sample size of 551 individual customers in small and medium enterprises in Vietnam. Research findings demonstrated that social responsibility put both direct and indirect impacts on customers’ switching behavior in using products and services. This relationship was proved with two intermediary factors, namely enterprises’ brand value and customer loyalty. These conclusions not only revealed the research’s contributions but also laid the foundation for further studies. Based on the research findings, the author proposed recommendations to avoid customers’ switching and minimize business loss due to customers’ switching behavior in using products and services.
... The personal values and beliefs of the owners thus drives the CSR practices. Spence and Rutherfoord (2001) 37 observed that in small firms, ownership and management are not separated to the same extent in larger firms with the result that control remains in the hands of the owners to allocate resources as they wished. Teal and Carroll (1999) 38 , find that the personality traits that increase the likelihood of responsible behaviour is inherent with the entrepreneur/ the small business owner-manager. ...
... They often share a close relationship with these stakeholders, built on loyalty, honesty, and openness (Lepoutre and Heene, 2006). In small businesses, the owner-manager has personal control over the allocation of resources, and their decisions are influenced by personal relationships (Spence and Rutherfoord, 2001). Consequently, small businesses' responsible behaviour and socially responsible initiatives may be associated with the personality traits of the owner-manager (Lepoutre and Heene, 2006). ...
Purpose
Socially responsible firms are known to improve competitive advantage and create workplaces that protect employees and the society in the long-term. Yet, the transitionary and project-based nature of the construction industry makes it difficult to espouse socially responsible practices. This study aims to adopt a person-centric conceptualisation of social responsibility by drawing on processes of individual sensemaking to gain a deeper understanding of small-business social responsibility (SBSR).
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted semi-structured interviews with 11 people from the construction industry in Sri Lanka to develop retrospective narratives.
Findings
The findings suggest that individuals in small-business construction firms rely on intraindividual, organisational and wider societal considerations to make sense of SBSR. What drives these interviewees to be responsible is determined not so much by profitability or reputation but by their own SBSR sensemaking process.
Originality/value
This study examines how individuals make sense of social responsibility in transitionary project-based small businesses in the construction industry.
... Although there is a lack of consensus about the perception of CSR among SMEs, identification of relevant social responsibility issues and integration of CSR in daily business routines (Baumann-Pauly et al. 2013;Lepoutre and Heene 2006), SMEs do engage in CSR activities. SMEs often view and practice CSR through normative reasons rather than instrumental reasons to aid business development (Jenkins 2006;Hwang and Metcalfe 2016;Spence and Rutherfoord 2000). ...
... For various reasons, businesses are not always capable of profit-maximising, contrary to the assumptions of most theories in economics. For instance, Spence and Rutherfoord (2001) found that many of the small businesses pursue profit-satisficing strategies. ...
... Owner-managers are usually a major or sole owner and decision-maker in their organization (Spence 2002). SME owner-managers are also able to enact values other than profit (Curran and Blackburn 2001;Spence 2002;Spence and Rutherfoord 2001). Lepotre and Heene (2006) found that small business owner-managers are particularly sensitive to activities related to their immediate internal stakeholders (employees, customers, and suppliers). ...
What are the motives for private businesses investment in city-branding.? A positive city image may attract new businesses while a contested image may limit the opportunities, also for existing businesses. Our data originates from the Danish city of Horsens. Horsens has over a 20-year period changed image from being nationally known as a prison city to become nationally known as a concert and event city. The key to success has been a private limited liability company in a cross-sectoral partnership between investors from private businesses, the city and third sector organizations. We analyzed business investors motives through a lens of philanthropy, human geography, and social sustainability. We find that investors see their investment as philanthropic, but that traditional motives behind philanthropy are insufficient to describe all motives behind the investment. Instead, we find that investors sense of place, place attachment and city pride was strongly affected by the contested city image in the outside world and a key to their involvement in the project. We believe that the key to change is to affect the perception of the external world, because only the resonance from the outside world can confirm citizens and businesses that a project is successful.
... This research paper refers to SCT as the case study approach is primarily concerned with the significance of relationships and their connections as a resource (social capital), rooted within the connections of complimentary associations and recognition (Sen and Cowley, 2013). Reflecting on this ideology, various business researchers (Fuller and Tian, 2006;Perrini, 2006;Spence and Rutherfoord, 2001) claim that organisations participate in social activities with the aim of increasing their social capital. In 2006, Perrini proposed that CSR in multinational organisations should be based on ST, whereas in SMEs, it should be understood through the application of SCT. ...
Purpose
This study aims to explore how corporate social responsibility (CSR) has assumed a new meaning today, with the COVID-19 pandemic. This, in turn, has changed the way companies now view the impact of their activities on the environment, customers, employees, community and other stakeholders.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses a qualitative case study approach and draws a critical lens to document the complex interplay between dimensions of CSR, business sustainability and social issues, applying theoretical tools such as social capital theory and stakeholder theory to elucidate the nature of collaborative managerial responses to the organisation’s challenges during the pandemic. This is a case study paper. This paper applies multi method approach to develop a case study analysis through participant observation and report analysis to investigate the CSR approaches undertaken in India by Infosys Genesis, a global leader in technology services and consulting, and Akshaya Patra Foundation, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), which operates the world’s largest lunch school program. This was an appropriate methodology since the focus was on an area that was little understood, while the analysis required an in-depth understanding of a complex phenomenon through observation and a case study. In addition, case study research has been recommended for how, why and what type of research questions that focus on contemporary events (Saunders et al. , 2003; Yin, 1994), such as CSR participation in the existing business environment. Furthermore, the issue under investigation is a real-life situation where the limitations between the phenomenon and the body of knowledge are unclear (Yin, 1994). This was the case because CSR has been probed by numerous disciplines through the application of various theoretical frameworks, each interpreting the context from their own perspective. Leximancer was used for the analysis (a text-mining software for visualising the structure of concepts and themes across case studies). This process differs from the traditional content analysis in that specific word strings are not needed; instead, Leximancer recognises what concepts are present in a set of texts, permitting concepts to be automatically coded in a grounded fashion (Cretchley et al. , 2010, p. 2). The paper will be looked at from three levels comprising themes, concepts and concept profiling to create rich and reliable dimensions of a theoretical model (Myers, 2008). The themes are created in Leximancer software and are built on an algorithm that looks for hidden repeated patterns in interactions. The concepts add a layer and discover which concepts are shared by actors. The concept profiling allows to discover additional concepts and allows to do a discriminant analysis on prior concepts (Cretchley et al. , 2010). Words that come up frequently are treated as concepts. Although the limited number of cases does not represent the entire sector, it enabled collection of rich data through quotes revealing some of the most crucial aspects of large organisations and non-profits in India.
Findings
The findings demonstrate how these robust, innovative, collaborative CSR initiatives between a multinational firm and an NGO have been leveraged to combat manifold issues of education, employment and hunger during the pandemic.
Research limitations/implications
Despite significant implications, this study has limitations. A response from only two companies is investigated to the COVID-19 pandemic. The scope of this study is only India, a developing nation, thereby, cross country research is recommended. A comparative study between developed and developing countries may be conducted. A quantitative approach may be used to get empirical findings of the COVID-19 pandemic and post-pandemic policies of companies from an international perspective. Hence, there is ample opportunity to research organisations’ response to the pandemic and CSR as a strong arm to deal with critical disasters.
Practical implications
The paper offers new insights into exploring research and praxis agenda for collaborative potentials towards the evolution of CSR and sustainability.
Social implications
The findings develop new initiatives and combat manifold issues of education, employment and hunger during the pandemic to provide quick relief.
Originality/value
The paper offers new insights into how companies are considering issues related to the crisis, including avoidance of layoffs and maintaining wage payments, and may be in a better position to access fresh capital, relief programs and emergency funds. Taking proactive health and safety measures may avert legal risks to the company. It is likely that the way in which companies are responding to the crises is a real-life test on resilience and adaptation.
... En varias empresas de la región iberoamericana la RS se orienta al cuidado ambiental y desarrollo social, sin embargo, presentan poca innovación, despreocupación por los derechos humanos y limitadas acciones de consumo responsable [35]. Las pymes pertenecientes al sector metalúrgico de la zona de Lara-Venezuela poseen recursos que no son orientados hacia la RS y realizan acciones de protección ambiental por obligaciones legales [36]. ...
La responsabilidad social produce beneficios en las empresas y en sus grupos vinculados, y es un tema de investigación abordado a nivel académico y gerencial. La pequeña y mediana em-presa es el sector empresarial que más aporta con empleo, comercio y producción y, ha comenzado a participar con fuerza en el desarrollo de programas sociales. Por tal razón, el presente estudio identifica las limitaciones que enfrenta la pyme en Latinoamérica y España en acciones de responsabilidad social y, describe los objetivos y estrategias que esta plantea. Para el efecto, se realiza un estudio de revisión. Los resultados reflejan que el desconocimiento de la gerencia sobre responsabilidad social, falta de recursos y planificación de corto plazo representan las principales limitaciones. Se concluye que, en Latinoamérica y España la pyme presenta similitudes en cuanto a limitaciones, objetivos y estrategias.
... Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have more concentrated ownership and management than large companies (Spence and Rutherfoord, 2001). Hence, the implementation of CSR activities and responsibilities depends on the personal preference of managers in SMEs because these managers have control over the allocation of constrained company resources such as time and financial resources (Spence, 1999). ...
The thesis explores the determinants of corporate social responsibility (CSR) adoption and its implications on company financial performance (CFP) and investment in China. In doing so, we aim to answer two primary research questions: (1) how a company’s dynamic capabilities—its ability to respond to the changing environment—can influence the company at incorporating CSR into its operations; and (2) how corporate social performance (CSP) is associated with a company’s financial accounting and investment performance. The study is divided into three empirical research papers as outlined below.
The purpose of paper one is to investigate the determinants that influence a company to incorporate CSR into its operations, which is to adopt strategic CSR (SCSR). The paper primarily examines how a company’s dynamic capability can affect the adoption of SCSR. This study draws on the stakeholder, dynamic capability, and neo-institutional theories. Data were collected from 134 Chinese companies listed on the Shenzhen stock exchange (SZSE) and Shanghai stock exchange (SHSE) over the period 2017 to 2019 to examine the role of dynamic capability on SCSR adoption. The findings suggest that a higher level of dynamic capability than the average industrial level negatively affects SCSR adoption. The findings also reveal that dynamic capability, stakeholder pressures, and regional culture are important predictors of the adoption of SCSR. The empirical findings provide valuable insights into how CSR can affect company performance if used strategically. The use of dynamic capability theory in the study explains SCSR adoption from the perspectives of dynamic capabilities. The study partially supports DCT by focusing on the impacts of dynamic capability on SCSR adoption within companies operating in a developing country, China.
Paper two aims to investigate how CSP relates to CFP across the company life cycle (CLC) stages, including the introduction, growth, maturity, and decline/shake-out stages. This paper also examines how the focus of CSP, in terms of stakeholder dimensions, shifts across the CLC stages. To examine the two research objectives, we used quantitative data collected from 1,628 large, listed Chinese pharmaceutical companies from 2010 to 2018. Drawing on the resource-based view (RBV), stakeholder theory and CLC theory, the study finds supporting evidence that CFP is improved with better CSP across the CLC stages. It also finds, on the basis of different stakeholder groups and across the CLC stages, that the effects of CSP are different. Investors, employees, suppliers, and the government are the most influential stakeholder groups influencing CFP. The study results suggest that CFP is directly linked to CSP and CLC and that the link is associated with stakeholder dimensions of CSR. Overall, the findings highlight the important role of CLC and CSP, which are often cited as important factors for enhancing CFP. This study provides valuable insights into the influence of CLC on CSP, which in turn may shed light on management practices to allocate resources and improve CFP.
Paper three explores the association between CSP and company performance through capital market effects and the role of cash flow volatility (CFV). This paper uses investment–cash flow sensitivity (ICFS) to capture the capital market effects. Drawing on the RBV and stakeholder theory, the association between CSP and ICFS was tested in this paper. To investigate the research objective, this paper used quantitative data collected from 4,082 companies listed on the SZSE and SHSE in China over the period 2010 to 2020. The study finds that companies with better CSP tend to have a greater and significant ICFS in a developing economy such as China. It also finds that the positive association between CSR and ICFS is weaker for companies with a more volatile current CFV and stronger for companies with a more volatile expected CFV. This demonstrates that CFV partially mediates or moderates the relationship between CSP and ICFS. The role of CFV on the association between CSP and ICFS highlights the need for regular management attention and evaluation on the investments and performance in non-financial engagements. This management attention should also be paid when making decisions relating to resource allocation and investment policies. In addition, managers should consider the company's cash flow stability and uncertainty sides in the competitive market environment. These findings suggest that the emphasis on the role of CFV is important in evaluating the performance effect of CSR through the capital market’s response. This study contributes to the CSR, financial accounting and investment literature by responding to the call for research in ICFS in the context of developing countries in general and research on the role of CFV on CSP–ICFS association in particular.
... Iles and Ryall (2016) recognised cost as an obstacle; however, this observation tends to be from organisations that do not operate sustainable procurement. With the correct application of responsible sourcing and embedding of strategies, companies can actually experience a cost saving overall (Spence and Rutherfoord, 2000). This is, in part, due to the integration of supply chains and the minimisation of waste through responsible procurement (Bastas and Liyanage, 2018). ...
Responsible sourcing and green supply chains are becoming dominant tools towards procuring materials in a sustainable manner across the architecture, engineering and construction sector to achieve the United Nations’ sustainable development goals. The aim of this study was to provide a structured review of responsible sourcing literature to identify the potential opportunities and obstacles towards the accomplishment of a roadmap for the sector to support delivery of the goals. The main opportunities included competitive advantage, stakeholder value and improved supply chain management. The main obstacles included cost, deficiencies in structured frameworks and an array of industry specific constraints. These were aligned with the goals to produce a roadmap, validated by industry experts. For fruition, it is surmised that refocusing the industry in recent years combined with achievement of the goals will stimulate innovative technical solutions to produce truly sustainable development.
... To allow interviews flow as a conversation, the questions were designed to evoke free flowing narratives. Respondents were allowed freedom in their responses and to talk in their own terms (Spence and Rutherfoord, 2001). ...
... Hal ini diperjelas dengan adanya penelitian yang dilakukan oleh Aquilani et al., (2017) bahwa kompetensi strategi membuat seorang pengusaha lebih mengaplikasikan strateginya ke lingkungan eksternal bisnis demi mencapai pertumbuhan perusahaan. Sementara penelitian yang dilakukan oleh Spence & Rutherfoord (2001) menyatakan bahwa kompetensi etika merupakan kunci untuk mencapai pertumbuhan perusahaan. ...
The purpose of this research to examine whether 1) The influence between strategic competency on the business growth. 2) The influence between ethical competency on the business growth. 3) The influence between strategic competency on the network competence. 4) The influence between ethical competency on the network competence. 5) The influence of network competence as a mediation among strategic competency to business growth. 6) The influence of network competence as a mediation among ethical competency to business growth. 7) The influence between network competency on the business growth. Sample was selected using purposive sampling method amounted to 50 respondents at Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta. The result of this study show that strategic competency has positive and significant effect to business growth, ethical competency has negative and not significant effect to business growth, strategic competency has positive and significant effect to network competence, ethical competency has positive and significant effect to network competence, there are positive and significant influence between strategic competency on business growth with network competence as a mediating variable, there are positive and significant influence between ethical competency on business growth with network competence as a mediating variable, and network competence has positive and significant effect to business growth. Tujuan dari penelitian ini untuk menguji apakah 1) Pengaruh antara kompetensi strategis terhadap pertumbuhan bisnis. 2) Pengaruh antara kompetensi etika terhadap pertumbuhan bisnis. 3) Pengaruh antara kompetensi strategis pada kompetensi jaringan. 4) Pengaruh antara kompetensi etika pada kompetensi jaringan. 5) Pengaruh kompetensi jaringan sebagai mediasi antara kompetensi strategis terhadap pertumbuhan bisnis. 6) Pengaruh kompetensi jaringan sebagai mediasi antara kompetensi etis terhadap pertumbuhan bisnis. 7) Pengaruh antara kompetensi jaringan pada pertumbuhan bisnis. Sampel dipilih menggunakan metode purposive sampling berjumlah 50 responden di Tanah Abang, Jakarta Pusat. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa kompetensi strategis berpengaruh positif dan signifikan terhadap pertumbuhan bisnis, kompetensi etika berpengaruh negatif dan tidak signifikan terhadap pertumbuhan bisnis, kompetensi strategis berpengaruh positif dan signifikan terhadap kompetensi jaringan, kompetensi etika berpengaruh positif dan signifikan terhadap jaringan kompetensi, terdapat pengaruh positif dan signifikan antara kompetensi strategis terhadap pertumbuhan bisnis dengan kompetensi jaringan sebagai variabel mediasi, terdapat pengaruh positif dan signifikan antara kompetensi etika terhadap pertumbuhan bisnis dengan kompetensi jaringan sebagai variabel mediasi, dan kompetensi jaringan berpengaruh positif dan signifikan. untuk pertumbuhan bisnis.
... Extant typologies relating to small business social responsibility have sought to classify general approaches, including framing perceptions of social perspectives of small business owner managers (Spence & Rutherfoord, 2001), 'ideal' types of green entrepreneurs (Walley & Taylor, 2002) and issue drivers and barriers of small business social performance (Kusyk & Lozano, 2007). ...
Research on socially responsible supply chains has tended to define suppliers over‐simplistically as either responsible or irresponsible. This paper illuminates the varied roles of broadly socially responsible small and medium sized enterprises by seeking to discern the differences and highlight the heterogeneity of the approaches taken. Distinguishing our approach from extant corporate social responsibility categorisations, a typology is outlined, drawing on Jungian Theory of Extraversion and the strategic capability of smaller firms. The analysis suggests four groupings of socially responsible small and medium enterprise supplier: strategic engager; strategic contemplator; active connector and active reflector. Overall, the paper seeks to inject nuance into discussions regarding supplier social responsibility practices, adding to the small business social responsibility literature, as well as unifying a number of strands of research relating to supply chain responsibility. The proposed typology offers firm foundations for further empirical and conceptual research in the area.
... Las principales prioridades de las Pymes son la maximización de beneficios, la subsistencia, el interés propio y el capital social, y compiten en un entorno turbulento al igual que las empresas de mayor tamaño pero enfrentando estas posiciones competitivas con un flujo de caja más limitado, menos conocimiento, menos tiempo y menores recursos humanos. Este es otro de los motivos por los que las Pymes son escépticas cuando se enfrentan a programas de sostenibilidad y ética empresarial complejos, y es que tienen a percibirlos como un coste para la empresa sin ningún beneficio relacionado (Spence & Rutherfoord, 2001, 2003. Esto va en la línea de lo que aportan Lepoutre & Heene, (2006), y es que la actitud de los gerentes de las Pymes es a menudo adoptar una visión miope de futuro mientras realizan múltiples tareas rutinarias, esto es, centrarse más en planificación a corto y medio plazo que tener una planificación estratégica. ...
Companies and stakeholders are increasingly concerned about the impact they produce on society and the environment, that is why ideas such as corporate social responsibility (CSR) are gaining more and more interest. Consequently, the European Union has prepared and implemented the Directive on Non-Financial Information and Diversity, a text that seeks to develop the way in which large companies disclose information related to the sustainability of their policies and the impact they have on the society using the Non-Financial Information Statement (NFIS). But not only large companies maintain these concerns, SMEs as the main engine of the economy are also closer to these ideas of corporate social responsibility, and the development of policies in this way will allow them to obtain competitive advantages.
In the present work we make a study of the European Directive to analyse its content and its elaboration process, and a critique of fundamental aspects such as its scope, the role of sanctions, the frame of reference for prepare the reports and the role of the auditor.
On the other hand, this work addresses the disclosure of social responsibility policies in SMEs, analysing the state of the question in the European Union; the main factors, barriers, and accelerators for the implementation of these policies and their disclosure in SMEs; and the frame of reference that they can use to develop their non-financial reports.
... The concept of responsibility To be?er understand the concept of responsibility and its rela;onship with jus;ce tourism, three main types or responsibility are dis;nguished: social, rela;onal and poli;cal responsibility. Social responsibility entails individuals ac;ng in their own interest, while at the same ;me, having the moral obliga;on to act to the benefit of society, social fairness and equity (Spence & & Rutherfoord, 2001). Therefore, social responsibility resonates with an ethics of duty, i.e., a Kan;an or Rawlsian ethics, and its main concern is "acts of wrongdoing -did she commit it or not? ...
... Socio-effectiveness and socio-efficiency (Dyllick & Hockerts, 2002) are intrinsic to critical thinking as it fits within a sustainability model and invariably coalesces with financial acumen as well. Driving for better decisions has been shown in the research to derive improved financial performance (Spence & Rutherfoord, 2001;Waddock & Graves, 1997) and also resulting in the sustainable economic value of the firm. (Camilleri, 2016). ...
Research purpose. This paper will present contemporary ideas on how, when, and where the four quadrants are vital to the sustainability of an organization and central to the future of the entity. There have long been suppositions and actual operational level models featuring three primary rudiments. Much of the prior research and modeling has centered on Economic, Social, and Environmental as the basis for sustainability within business models. This particular research brought new perspectives and addressed some deficiencies in the existing sustainability models.
Design / Methodology / Approach . A qualitative methodology aligned with an axiological philosophical assumption is evidenced throughout the explanatory review, and new open-ended interviews focused on values while discussing the nuances of sustainability. The methodology applied is a review of relevant literature on sustainability, critical thinking, CSR, and financial acumen that was utilized to augment the interviews.
Findings. This new and distinct perspective develops and puts forth four quadrants that are corollary to these three core elements. However, this version purports a more comprehensive and holistic framing with a focus on Financial Acumen, Critical Thinking, Creativity & Innovation, and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Each of these “new model” fundamentals provides a broader application for sustainability within a business strategy as companies look to distinguish themselves in the markets served. There is no doubt that executives are faced with a myriad of complex and, in some sense, extraordinary demands on the business.
Originality / Value / Practical implications. This sustainability model captures four imperatives for sustaining and improving business performance and, in the end, a sophisticated and authentic approach providing engagement by and with all stakeholders. Financial acumen must be comprehensive and create value; Critical Thinking must be pervasive throughout the organization; Creativity & Innovation must drive systematic improvements throughout, and Corporate Social Responsibility should be a core business strategy for both employee engagement and creating external social influences. Though this last supposition can be argued such as Friedman put forth, there remains the awareness and recognition of the importance of CSR in a business model. This particular research will broaden the view of those involved with sustainability to now include critical thinking, creativity, and innovation.
... It may therefore be the case that in SMEs the likelihood to engage in CSR activities, such as introducing effective environmental management practices, is less strongly driven by economic motivations and more directly linked to individual decision makers' personal values and motivation (see also Hammann et al. 2009). Some qualitative studies such as Spence and Rutherfoord (2001) and Dincer and Dincer (2013) show that decision makers in SMEs often act based on their personal values, rather than based only on business considerations, and that many of them do have a pronounced concern for social and environmental issues. This may be relevant to consider when attempting to increase CSR, sustainability, or environmental management practices in SMEs. ...
... While some of these deeper criticisms may be true in part or for some organizations, we think a more multifaceted and charitable interpretation [15], [16] is both appropriate and likely to be beneficial toward seeking positive change. Indeed, significant literature has challenged the notion that firms or individuals within firms are characterized by purely "rational" economic behavior [17], [18]. We argue instead that organizations are best understood not as monolithic single actors, but as multiple coordinating and competing coalitions of individuals [19]. ...
In this paper, we review the gap between high-level principles aimed at responsible uses of AI and the translation of those principles into effective practices. We review six potential explanations for the gap: tensions related to organizational incentives and values, a need to make sense of the complexity of AI's impacts, disciplinary divides in understanding problems and solutions, the distribution of accountability and functional separation within organizations, the need for holistic management of knowledge processes, and a lack of clarity and guidance around tool usage. We argue that stakeholders interested in realizing AI's potential for good should advance research on understanding the principles-to-practices gap and attend to these issues when proposing solutions and best practices.
... However, while the tension between economic and social values in the private sector has a long history [39], [40], our results also challenge single-minded attention to the private sector's motivations. We find that the public sector greatly prioritizes issues of economic growth and unemployment as compared to the other sectors, and states this focus openly. ...
In recent years, numerous public, private, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have produced documents addressing the ethical implications of artificial intelligence (AI). These normative documents include principles, frameworks, and policy strategies that articulate the ethical concerns, priorities, and associated strategies of leading organizations and governments around the world. We examined 112 such documents from 25 countries that were produced between 2016 and the middle of 2019. While other studies identified some degree of consensus in such documents, our work highlights meaningful differences across public, private, and non-governmental organizations. We analyzed each document in terms of how many of 25 ethical topics were covered and the depth of discussion for those topics. As compared to documents from private entities, NGO and public sector documents reflect more ethical breadth in the number of topics covered, are more engaged with law and regulation, and are generated through processes that are more participatory. These findings may reveal differences in underlying beliefs about an organization’s responsibilities, the relative importance of relying on experts versus including representatives from the public, and the tension between prosocial and economic goals.
[This article is an accepted version. The final published version is available at https://doi.org/10.1109/TTS.2021.3052127. © 2011 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.]</div
... However, while the tension between economic and social values in the private sector has a long history [39], [40], our results also challenge single-minded attention to the private sector's motivations. We find that the public sector greatly prioritizes issues of economic growth and unemployment as compared to the other sectors, and states this focus openly. ...
In recent years, numerous public, private, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have produced documents addressing the ethical implications of artificial intelligence (AI). These normative documents include principles, frameworks, and policy strategies that articulate the ethical concerns, priorities, and associated strategies of leading organizations and governments around the world. We examined 112 such documents from 25 countries that were produced between 2016 and the middle of 2019. While other studies identified some degree of consensus in such documents, our work highlights meaningful differences across public, private, and non-governmental organizations. We analyzed each document in terms of how many of 25 ethical topics were covered and the depth of discussion for those topics. As compared to documents from private entities, NGO and public sector documents reflect more ethical breadth in the number of topics covered, are more engaged with law and regulation, and are generated through processes that are more participatory. These findings may reveal differences in underlying beliefs about an organization’s responsibilities, the relative importance of relying on experts versus including representatives from the public, and the tension between prosocial and economic goals.
[This article is an accepted version. The final published version is available at https://doi.org/10.1109/TTS.2021.3052127. © 2011 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.]</div
... However, while the tension between economic and social values in the private sector has a long history [39], [40], our results also challenge single-minded attention to the private sector's motivations. We find that the public sector greatly prioritizes issues of economic growth and unemployment as compared to the other sectors, and states this focus openly. ...
In recent years, numerous public, private, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have produced documents addressing the ethical implications of artificial intelligence (AI). These normative documents include principles, frameworks, and policy strategies that articulate the ethical concerns, priorities, and associated strategies of leading organizations and governments around the world. We examined 112 such documents from 25 countries that were produced between 2016 and the middle of 2019. While other studies identified some degree of consensus in such documents, our work highlights meaningful differences across public, private, and non-governmental organizations. We analyzed each document in terms of how many of 25 ethical topics were covered and the depth of discussion for those topics. As compared to documents from private entities, NGO and public sector documents reflect more ethical breadth in the number of topics covered, are more engaged with law and regulation, and are generated through processes that are more participatory. These findings may reveal differences in underlying beliefs about an organization’s responsibilities, the relative importance of relying on experts versus including representatives from the public, and the tension between prosocial and economic goals.
... As such, values can create additional values. In smaller organizations, personal ethics influence business ethics and thereby create an organizational culture rooted in ethical values (Spence and Rutherfoord 2001;Jamali, Zanhour, and Keshishian 2009). Often, the values that drive MSMEs are profit-maximization, subsistence, enlightened self-interest, and social responsibility. ...
... It may therefore be the case that in SMEs the likelihood to engage in CSR activities, such as introducing effective environmental management practices, is less strongly driven by economic motivations and more directly linked to individual decision makers' personal values and motivation (see also Hammann et al. 2009). Some qualitative studies such as Spence and Rutherfoord (2001) and Dincer and Dincer (2013) show that decision makers in SMEs often act based on their personal values, rather than based only on business considerations, and that many of them do have a pronounced concern for social and environmental issues. This may be relevant to consider when attempting to increase CSR, sustainability, or environmental management practices in SMEs. ...
... Each of us is motivated by something different; there are also hidden motives. The diversity in the process of motivation is probably in the aspect of people who are just entering the labor market and those who are already working (Spence and Rutherfoord, 2001;Wojtaszek and Miciuła, 2019). A young employee usually considers a significant remuneration. ...
Purpose: The study aims to determine whether the achievement of the cardinal objective of employment is motivated by more sophisticated preferences for the broad aspect of working conditions articulated by labor market adepts. The study aims to indicate what factors influence the achievement of a given general objective. The publication also assesses whether a given factor stimulates a person to formulate a goal or a de-stimulant. Approach/Methodology/Design: The subject of the analysis results from a survey carried out on a group of 400 people aspiring to, or partially present on the labor market. Respondents have the status of a student or will obtain higher education in a short time. The survey was carried out on representatives of various faculties and universities in Poland. The survey included 73 Likert scale questions concerning such aspects: expected features of the future direct superior, selected elements of the respondent's self-assessment, and key motivators to take up employment. Findings: As the analysis of the collected statistical material shows, three dimensions of the broad phenomenon form an orthogonal system: uncorrelated. They bring some unique knowledge about the analyzed group of respondents. The structure of 73 detailed questions creates an overly complicated picture of the issue. Practical Implications: The analysis of survey results indicated no measurable relationship between the expectations profile of a young person and the fact that he or she wants to earn satisfactorily. This objective applies to all respondents equally, regardless of their expectations or preferences. However, it is different in the case of promotion and professional development. Originality/Value: Research originality focuses on narrowing research to a specific group of workers with a broad view of the problem. The study of one of the most important management functions, which is motivation from various aspects and the pursuit of cause and effect relationships, will always be important for further developing the management discipline.
Dalam dunia bisnis yang semakin kompetitif, kinerja perusahaan pelaku usaha kecil, dan menengah (UKM) menjadi indikator penting dari sektor ekonomi suatu negara. Penelitian ini mengeksplorasi model kinerja UKM dengan menilai peran krusial dari sumberdaya keuangan dan orientasi kewirausahaan untuk mempengaruhi dua dimensi utama kinerja: profitabilitas dan pertumbuhan penjualan. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa baik sumberdaya keuangan maupun orientasi kewirausahaan memiliki dampak signifikan dan positif terhadap profitabilitas dan pertumbuhan penjualan UKM. Penemuan ini menggarisbawahi pentingnya akses yang memadai terhadap modal dan orientasi kewirausahaan yang inovatif dalam meningkatkan kinerja usaha. Menariknya, interaksi antara sumberdaya keuangan dan orientasi kewirausahaan menunjukkan efek positif, namun tidak signifikan secara statistik, menandakan bahwa dampak kombinasi dari kedua faktor ini dapat dipengaruhi oleh konteks spesifik UKM. Penelitian ini menawarkan wawasan baru bagi praktisi dan pembuat kebijakan dalam merancang strategi dan kebijakan yang mendukung UKM. Dengan memahami bagaimana modal dan orientasi kewirausahaan berkontribusi terhadap kinerja usaha, diharapkan dapat dikembangkan pendekatan yang lebih efektif untuk memfasilitasi pertumbuhan dan keberlanjutan UKM di Indonesia.
This qualitative research investigates the influence of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) on Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) within the e-commerce sector. Through semi-structured interviews and secondary data analysis, the study explores motivations, challenges, impacts, and strategic outcomes of integrating CSR practices into supplier relationships. Motivations for adopting CSR include ethical considerations, regulatory compliance, and meeting stakeholder expectations, reflecting a strategic alignment with corporate values and societal demands. Challenges such as resource constraints, regulatory complexities, and cultural differences highlight operational hurdles and strategic considerations e-commerce firms face in implementing CSR initiatives effectively. The study reveals that CSR enhances trust, collaboration, and risk mitigation within e-commerce supply chains through transparent communication, shared values, and ethical practices. Strategically, CSR contributes to enhanced brand equity, competitive advantage, and long-term value creation by differentiating firms in competitive markets and attracting socially conscious consumers and investors. However, economic trade-offs, stakeholder divergence, and operational complexities require firms to adopt adaptive strategies that balance short-term financial goals with long-term sustainability objectives. The findings suggest avenues for future research exploring longitudinal impacts of CSR on supplier relationships, cross-sectoral comparisons, and technological advancements in CSR-driven SRM practices. Practically, e-commerce firms should prioritize strategic alignment of CSR initiatives with core business objectives, engage stakeholders in CSR strategy development, and embrace continuous improvement to foster ethical conduct, stakeholder trust, and sustainable business practices.
Purpose
This paper explores the drivers and inhibitors of the transition of entrepreneurial family firms from small to large firms. We adopt two contrasting theoretical perspectives, i.e. agency and stewardship, to explore the effects of family power on size transition.
Design/methodology/approach
We adopted an original research design that leverages a unique longitudinal database built starting from the list of the 500 best Italian manufacturing family firms published by the AUB Monitor in 2018. Specifically, we tested our hypotheses using a comprehensive set of financial and governance data from 89 Italian manufacturing family firms covering a 10-year period. To test our hypotheses, we conducted a survival analysis using a Cox regression.
Findings
We find an inverted U-shaped relationship between family involvement in ownership and size transition: size transition is more likely to happen at intermediate levels of family involvement in ownership. Additionally, our analysis shows that family involvement in the board of directors negatively impacts size transition, while the presence of a family CEO has a positive influence.
Originality/value
To the best of our knowledge, this study represents the first exploration of the phenomenon of size transition within entrepreneurial family firms. We believe it was worthwhile for two reasons. First, small size is frequently regarded as a weakness when competing in international markets, investing in R&D, or rewarding shareholders. Second, since small family firms are the major contributors to the world economy, understanding the factors that facilitate their transition to large firms can have a significant impact on overall economic development and prosperity.
The social responsibility of business is a topical theme, which is of interest to both the researchers and the leaders of the companies. This paper aims to respond to the following problem: if the family companies adopt CSR then what about the social dimensions to their counterparts among non-family members? The study that the authors conducted with 141 enterprises shows that the adoption of the social responsibility of the small business family is progressive and slow. The authors find that the family SME is characterized by societal choices that differ from those of the non-family business. Our results have a considerable professional contribution. In this paper the authors provide to the manager an analysis of the behavior of leaders in a family SME around their CSR commitments. This paper is organized as follows: first, there is presented an introduction and review of literature and research hypotheses. The third section describes the study's sample and methodology choice where the authors briefly describe the main methods or treatments applied. The fourth section presents the discussion of results, and the last section concludes the study.
The social responsibility of business is a topical theme, which is of interest to both the researchers and the leaders of the companies. This paper aims to respond to the following problem: if the family companies adopt CSR then what about the social dimensions to their counterparts among non-family members? The study that the authors conducted with 141 enterprises shows that the adoption of the social responsibility of the small business family is progressive and slow. The authors find that the family SME is characterized by societal choices that differ from those of the non-family business. Our results have a considerable professional contribution. In this paper the authors provide to the manager an analysis of the behavior of leaders in a family SME around their CSR commitments. This paper is organized as follows: first, there is presented an introduction and review of literature and research hypotheses. The third section describes the study's sample and methodology choice where the authors briefly describe the main methods or treatments applied. The fourth section presents the discussion of results, and the last section concludes the study.
This paper seeks to shed some light on the elements of internal and external stakeholder effects in ensuring socially responsible business
practices of the SME clusters. Hit Gap Map analysis is employed to
systematically review available secondary sources of information on
the business responsibility of Indian clusters in economic, social
and environmental dimensions. Evidence suggests that most of the socially responsible initiatives are clustered within the economic dimensions. However, availability of evidence on the intervention of educational institutes and the core firms in the socially responsible
practices is high, on the participation of voluntary organizations is
moderate, and on the involvement of government in implementing a
sound PPP-CSR in social and environmental sectors is scanty.
There is a recognition that corporate social responsibility (CSR) by smaller firms could have greater social and environmental impacts if these engagements are meaningful. Small firms are players in the global eco‐system as they supply to larger global firms as subcontractors or suppliers. However, do they practice CSR with a conviction or as a compliance measure? Using stakeholder theory, in‐depth interviews were carried out with 31 firms in Singapore. We found that these firms in highly normative sectors practice CSR due to compliance in the interests of stakeholders. But in less‐normative sectors, where regulations and norms are minimal, a majority of firms practice CSR out of conviction. All firms acknowledged that their businesses have a responsibility toward society and our results further revealed the importance of careful stakeholder involvement in these firms.
Purpose: Bymobilizing the sociological approach of action logic, this research aims to understand the articulation between the various dimensions of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and the conditions for the emergence of an overallcommitment towards stakeholders in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in an emerging country: Tunisia. Design/methodology: A qualitative study was carried out through multiple case studies of Tunisian SMEs. Findings: The research findings tend to reveal that an overall CSR commitment requires an interaction between individual and contextual dimensions. However, predispositions coming from the individual manager dimension would play the role of a catalyst for a proactive CSR approach. As for the SMEs transition from weak to global commitment, this would primarily stem from contextual dimensions. In addition, each of the hedonistic, entrepreneurial or managerial action logic could be conducive to this type of commitment. Research Limitations:The number of explored cases could constitute a limitation of this work as it does not allow a statistical generalization of the results based on the criterion of frequency. Originality: Few of the CSR studies focused on a multi-dimensional commitment in SMEs In this research we aim to avoid an over-representation of the manager, and approach his action logics most conducive to a multi-stakeholder approach to CSR.
Etik kavramı sürekli tartışılagelmiş bir konudur. Tarihsel sürece bakıldığında kaynağı çok eskilere dayansa da hakkettiği hassasiyet ve önemi son dönemde elde ettiği görülmektedir. İçinde bulunduğumuz bilgi çağının getirdiği bilgi iletişim ve sosyal medya olgularıyla birlikte; uluslararası işletmeler küresel çapta göz önünde olmalarından dolayı etik hususunda gösterecekleri zafiyetlerin veya hassasiyetlerin çok ciddi geri dönüşleri olmaktadır. Çalışmada uluslararası işletmeciliğin ve etik kavramının tarihsel gelişimi ele alınmış, etik kavramının farklı tanımları, boyutları ve yaklaşımları bir araya getirilmiştir. Erdem konusu da etiğin çizdiği yolda davranışların yönlendirmesidir. Ayrıca özellikle uluslararası işletmelerde etik kavramına yaklaşımların gelişiminde temel etkenlerden biri olarak kabul ettiğimiz, whistleblowing davranışına değinilerek örnek vakalarla konu desteklenmiştir.
Scholarly discourses on CSR in SMEs are rapidly growing in volume in recent years; yet knowledge in this field of inquiry is fragmented across scientific journals, sectors, disciplines, and cultural and geographical contexts. This study aims to synthesize and summarize the divergent literature by proposing a state-of-the-art review for a period of 50 years (1970–2019). Using a systematic review, specifically content and cross-analyses techniques, we reviewed 166 scholarly articles, categorizing them into journal outlets, publication trends, research methods, themes of study, geographical and sectoral distributions, and theoretical usage to identify significant trends in the field. Findings show that (1) CSR research in SMEs is rapidly growing with over 136 peer-reviewed articles published in the last decade, appears significantly in top tier journals, and empirically based; (2) quantitative surveys and panel study designs dominate the field over other methodological designs such as qualitative case studies and conceptual models; (3) firm performance (financial, non-financial, and both) is the topic/theme frequently investigated, followed by drivers/antecedents, perception/knowledge awareness, and CSR green practice and ethics, in that order (4) studies are preponderately Europe-centric, multi-sectoral, and atheoretical; (5) there is a limited adoption and development of novel theories and linkage between the conceptual and empirical studies. These results shed significant insights on the theoretical, methodological, and contextual landscapes of CSR research in SMEs, thereby offering a synthesis of the fragmented knowledge in this vital research stream to researchers and journal editors, and tutors whose curriculum includes CSR. The study concludes with managerial insights about CSR adoption mechanisms for SME executives and practitioners and an innovative and relevant research agenda for future researchers.
Institutional settings in emerging markets are often plagued by state actors exploiting the vulnerability of resource-constrained small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). Whilst we know a great deal about how large firms use non-market strategies (NMS) to navigate such institutional spaces, current knowledge of such strategies in connection with SMEs remains limited. Using in-depth interview data from a wide range of actors in Russia, we reveal the predatory behavior of state actors and how, in response, SMEs develop NMS to respond to fluctuating institutional conditions. We underline four forms of institutional predatory behaviors comprising shifting the rules of the game; privatizing power; selectively using/abusing laws; and normalizing informalities. In turn, we identify how SMEs variously adopt NMS to tackle these predatory strategies; namely deflection, alliance, concealment and internationalization. We highlight how SMEs learn to navigate, and ultimately to overcome, dysfunctional and fragile institutional conditions of emerging markets through the pursuit of particular NMS.
The aim of this paper is to identify and gain insights into small and medium-sized enterprises' (SMEs) rationales ('why') for engaging in sustainable social and environmental practices (SEPs) that influence social and environmental policy and sustainability changes. Specifically, we depart from the predominately quantitative-orientated SEPs literature by conducting in-depth interviews and analysis of owners and managers of SMEs in the UK within a legitimacy theoretical framework. Our findings from a comprehensive number of interviewees show that SMEs employ a complex mix of both symbolic and substantive SEPs with the aim of enhancing the legitimacy and sustainability of their operations. The results emphasise the strengths of social engagement, reputation and image, environmental embeddedness, industry differentiation and education facilitators. In particular, the paper shows that legitimating strategies can have a dual purpose of being symbolic in nature, but also inferring a substantive legitimacy claim. Evidence of SMEs maintaining their legitimacy position stretches further via either a moral and/or a pragmatic standpoint.
This article explores empirically the choice rationales for voluntary adoption of the Living Wage (LW) by managers of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK. Framed analytically by related concerns within the fields of employment relations/HRM in SMEs, business ethics and signalling, interviews with owners/directors from 23 SMEs identified a four-fold typology of choice rationales for the LW as: an expression of care for employees, the basis for a high quality service business model, a marker of corporate social responsibility, and a signal to challenge the practice of other economic actors. Opportunities and barriers for voluntary adoption of the LW in SMEs are considered, in addition to their economic effects. The practical implications for LW movements and SME managers are drawn out, and avenues for further research identified.
Militancy is a continuing process in many developing regions where entrepreneurial activities in the informal economy have the potential to transform lives leading to sustainable development through local initiatives. Often militancy originates in protest against global encroachment and defending the livelihoods of local communities. Yet this leads to detrimental effects on such initiatives. The study focuses on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Niger Delta in Nigeria and looks at how the lessons learned may be used in other developing regions facing similar issues. Findings suggest how violent conflict resulting in an adverse impact on enterprise development can be mediated by collective actions.
In 2015, Italy introduced a new legal form—“benefit corporation” (società benefit)—that provides legal status to companies that have one or more common benefit objectives in addition to the profit‐seeking goal. Italian benefit corporations are obligated by law to operate in a responsible, sustainable, and transparent way and to include the interests of different stakeholders in their corporate strategy. This study examines the Italian case by applying textual statistical analysis on benefit corporations' public mission statements using the IRaMuTeQ software. Performing hierarchical cluster analysis and correspondence factor analysis identifies the “benefit” concept emerging from the mission statements in terms of promotion of individual skills, development of a new business model, and service to society. This study contributes to the debate on the content of mission statements by giving empirical evidence about this new form of business, and it provides some practical implications for managers, entrepreneurs, and policymakers.
D R. MONDER RAM IS PROFESSOR OF Small Business and Director of' the Enterprise Research Centre at the University of Central England Buisiness School, United Kingdom. An inicreasingly noted feature of the small business population is the rise of the small professional service firm, yet comparatively little is known of the niature of employment relations in such enterprises. This paper aims to explore the maniner in which work is regulated in such settings by examining the internal management processes of three firms engaged in the provision of business and 'professional' services. The study, which is based on an ethnographic investigation over a year-long period, examines three particular processes that are deemed to be distinctive in this sector: recruitment, performance and supervision. Much of the rhetoric associated with social relations in such firms, for example collegialitv, person-centredness, trust, was evident in the study. BuLt it was clear that emiployee autonomiv still had to bc imanaged' and this process xwas a contingent and fluid one that often- contained a harsher edge thaIn existing accouints suggest.
Allthough small business accounts for over 90% of businesses in U.K. and indeed elsewhere, they remain the largely uncharted area of ethics. There has not been any research based on the perspective of small business owners, to define what echical delemmas they face and how, if at all, they resolve them. This paper explores ethics from the perspective of small business owner, using focus groups and reports on four clearly identifiable themes of ethical delemmas; entrepreneurial activity itself, conflicts of personal values with business needs, social responsibility and the impact of owners' personality on business ethics. The mechanisms for resolving ethical dilemmas is not at all clear, as there appears to be a web of filters which are used in an inter-connected way. However a common starting point for resolving an ethical delemma which involves others is based on identifying who it is (e.g., a friend or institution) and the quality of the relationship with that person. The research yielded a rich source of material on business ethics and it is clear that future researchers must focus on this sector if business ethics is to make significant advances.
This book presents a unique, real-life' analysis of the organization of production in small firms, centring the discussion around three detailed case studies.
In order to have a society based on the principles of ethical behavior may be inevitable. It can be argued that them oral elements of society that keeps the sticky. There is a need for ethics in society is important, and it is for this reason that the law usually in corporates ethical values. Not all values cannot be included in legislation and due to the nature of this judgment is of particular value. Asa CPA expertor professional, that is a responsibility to the public, client, colleagues or her professional endeavors, and betreated with dignity. The main reason for such behavioris that the quality of the work of an expert and professional service, which provide strust. If people do not trust the official account of their ability to provide services to the people of the considerably reduced. Considering the importance of ethics, this paper discusses the ethics audit.
This paper argues that the personal interview method is particularly appropriate for the kind of exploratory and complicated theory-building research that ethical decision-making, as a topic, represents at present. In doing so, it examines the key tasks of the ethics researcher, the suitability of interviews for obtaining the kind of data needed to accomplish these tasks, and the ensuing problems faced by the interview methodologist. It concludes with suggestions for enhancing the validity and reliability of interview-based ethics research.
Recalling several profound disagreements about business ethics as it is currently discussed in Western societies, I emphasize the need for business ethics as an academic discipline that constitutes the "backbone" for both teaching business ethics and improving business practice (section 1). Then I outline a conceptual framework of business ethics that promotes a "bottom-up" approach (section 2). This "problem-and action-oriented" conception appears to be fruitful in terms of both practical relevance and theoretical understanding. Finally, I argue for (section 3) the relevance of discussing goals at all levels of human action (i.e., individuals, organizations, systems) as well as the indispensability of human rights, and propose Amartya Sen's "goal-rights-system" approach as a normative-ethical framework for business ethics that integrates these two fundamental aspects.
This paper suggests that environmental impacts can be reduced in the SME sector through more detailed, less generic model developments for each industrial sector based on best practices and not on strategic management systems. It also suggests simplification of environmental support organisations and advocates the development of the concept of Energy Performance Contracting to Environmental Performance Contracting. There are undoubtedly many ways in which SMEs can improve their environmental performance but it is questionable that within the present economic system environmental sustainability will ever be achieved. Increased environmental regulation would certainly level the playing field but would not change the fundamental attitudes towards the environment as a generator of maximum wealth for the sole purpose of short term consumption. Self regulation is certainly the ultimate goal, where individuals and businesses recognise and respect the environment on more of an holistic level and where other individual utilities are gained from work aside from financial gain. The argument is that this radical (used here in its true sense to mean from the root) change of economic priorities could be achieved through a fair trading system run on a bioregional level. However at the moment self regulation within the present economic system seems ineffective as the environment is simply not a priority for SMEs. Small scale environmental improvements may occur but results from this research suggest that commitment to the environment on a practical rather than theoretical level needs to exist for substantial change to take place. This commitment is unlikely to increase substantially within an economic system that does not attach higher value to the environment. The attainment of environmental sustainability would require a fresh analysis of the economic system and our own individual consciousness.
To date, the study of business ethics has been largely the study of the ethics of large companies. This paper is concerned with owner/managers of small firms and the link between the personal ethics of the owner/manager and his or her attitude to ethical problems in business. By using active membership of an organisation with an overt ethical dimension (for example, a church) as a surrogate for personal ethics the research provides some, though not unequivocal, support for the models of Trevino and others that suggest a link between personal ethics and business ethics.
When I hear businessmen speak eloquently about the “social responsibilities of business in a free-enterprise system”, I am
reminded of the wonderful line about the Frenchman who discovered at the age of 70 that he had been speaking prose all his
life. The businessmen believe that they are defending free enterprise when they declaim that business is not concerned “merely”
with profit but also with promoting desirable “social” ends; that business has a “social conscience” and takes seriously its
responsibilities for providing employment, eliminating discrimination, avoiding pollution and whatever else may be the catchwords
of the contemporary crop of reformers. In fact they are — or would be if they or anyone else took them seriously -preaching
pure and unadulterated socialism. Businessmen who talk this way are unwitting puppets of the intellectual forces that have
been undermining the basis of a free society these past decades.
Sumario: Introduction: perspectives of managing change -- Textbook approches to strategic change and notions of fit -- Capabilities, excellence and structural fit -- Flexibility-related, institutional and interpretive explanations of change -- Awareness of environmental change -- Re-engineering business processes in practice -- Organizational restructuring and the management of human resources -- Ledership and organizational change
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