CSR and SMEs’ competitive advantages—Results from a Hungarian city of Győr based on managing directors’ personal perception

Adrienn Reisinger, Norbert Kovács

Article ID: 8588
Vol 8, Issue 12, 2024

VIEWS - 11 (Abstract) 5 (PDF)

Abstract


Today it is obvious that corporate social responsibility (CSR) is more than just a volunteer activity, it is also related to the operation of the firms and to competitive advantages. Many factors influence CSR and CSR-competitiveness relations; firm size could be the most crucial one. Originally CSR is related to large companies, although smaller firms can be active in CSR mainly in different ways with different background. Based on this idea the paper aims to explore the correlation between small and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs) corporate social responsibility (CSR) and competitive advantages. An interview research was conducted among thirty SMEs in a Hungarian city of Győr in 2021/22 to reveal how owner-managers interpret CSR, competitiveness and their relations. As SMEs cannot provide exact data on this topic the personal perception method was used to explore the CSR-competitiveness relation. A moderate relation was observed between CSR and competitiveness and the research revealed that different methodologies have to be applied for SMEs than large companies which results from the fact that SMEs’ CSR is less formal and lacks exact data.


Keywords


competitiveness; competitive advantages, corporate social responsibility (CSR), personal perception, small- and medium sized companies (SMEs)

Full Text:

PDF


References


Angyal, Á. (2009). Vállalatok társadalmi felelőssége, felelős társaságirányítás. Kossuth Kiadó, Budapest.

Barauskaite, G., Streimikiene, D. (2021). Corporate social responsibility and financial performance of companies: The puzzle of concepts, definitions and assessment methods. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 28(1), 278–287. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.2048

Bevan, E. A. M., Yung, P. (2015). Implementation of corporate social responsibility in Australian construction SMEs. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, 22(3), 295–311. https://doi.org/10.1108/ECAM-05-2014-0071

Bowen, H. R. (1953). Social Responsibilities of the Businessman. No. 3. Harper & Brothers, New York.

Cambra-Fierro, J., Hart, S., Polo-Redondo, Y. (2008). Environmental Respect: Ethics or Simply Business? A Study in the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Context. Journal of Business Ethics, 82, 645–656. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-007-9583-1

Carroll, A. B. (1979). A Three-Dimensional Conceptual Model of Corporate Social Performance. Academy of Management Review, 4(4), 497–505.

Carroll, A. B. (2021). Corporate Social Responsibility: Perspectives on the CSR Construct’s Development and Future. Business & Society, 60(6), 1258–1278. https://doi.org/10.1177/00076503211001765

Carroll, A. B., Shabana, K. M. (2010). The Business Case for Corporate Social Responsibility: A Review of Concepts, Research and Practice. International Journal of Management Reviews, 12(1), 85–105. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2370.2009.00275.x

Commission of the European Communities (EC) (2011). A renewed EU strategy 2011-14 for Corporate Social Responsibility. Brussels.

Csáfor, H. (2009). Társadalmi felelősségvállalás és regionális gazdaságfejlesztés az Európai Unióban. PERIODICA OECONOMICA, május, 142–155.

Davis, K. (1960). Can Business Afford to Ignore Social Responsibilities? California Management Review, 2(3), 70–76. https://doi.org/10.2307/41166246

De Bakker, F. G. A., Groenewegen, P., Den Hond, F. (2005). A Bibliometric Analysis of 30 Years of Research and Theory on Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Social Performance. Business and Society, 44(3), 283–317. https://doi.org/10.1177/0007650305278086

Deutsch, N., Pintér, É. (2018). A társadalmi felelősségvállalás és a pénzügyi teljesítmény közötti kapcsolat a magyar bankszektorban a globális válságot követő években. Hitelintézeti Szemle, 17(2), 124–145. https://doi.org/10.25201/HSZ.17.2.124145

Evangelinos, K. I., Halkos, G. E. (2002). Implementation of environmental management systems standards: important factors in corporate decision making. Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management, 4(3), 311–328. https://doi.org/10.1142/S1464333202001030

Fuller, T., Tian, Y. (2006). Social and Symbolic Capital and Responsible Entrepreneurship: An Empirical Investigation of SME Narratives. Journal of Business Ethics, 67, 287–304.

Graafland, J. J., Mazereeuw-van der Duijn Schouten, C. (2012). Motives for Corporate Social Responsibility. De Economist, 160, 377–396.

Hohnen, P. (2007). Corporate Social Responsibility an Implementation Guide for Business. International Institute for Sustainable Development. http://www.iisd.org/pdf/2007/csr_guide.pdf

Jenkins, H. (2004). A Critique of Conventional CSR Theory: An SME Perspective. Journal of General Management, 29(4), 37–57. https://doi.org/10.1177/030630700402900403

Jenkins, H. (2006). Small Business Champions for Corporate Social Responsibility. Journal of Business Ethics, 67, 241–256. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-006-9182-6

Kitzmueller, M., Shimshack, J. (2012). Economic Perspectives on Corporate Social Responsibility. Journal of Economic Literature, 50(1), 51–84. https://doi.org/10.1257/jel.50.1.51

Knudson, H. (2018). Making the business case: The effects of corporate social responsibility on SME competitiveness. Department of Industrial Economics and Technology. Management NTNU – Norwegian University of Science and Technology. Available online: https://www.interregeurope.eu/fileadmin/user_upload/tx_tevprojects/library/file_1523518061.pdf (accessed on 10 April 2024)

Kotler, P., Lee, N. (2005). Corporate Social Responsibility: Doing the Most Good for Your Company and Cause. Hoboken, NJ, John Wiley & Sons.

Kotler, P., Lee, N. (2007). Vállalatok társadalmi felelősségvállalása. HVG Kiadó Zrt., Budapest.

Lepoutre, J., Heene, A. (2006). Investigating the Impact of Firm Size on Small Business Social Responsibility: A Critical Review. Journal of Business Ethics, 67(3), 251–273.

Lu, J., Ren, L., Yao, S., Qiao, J., Mikalauskiene, A., Streimikis, J. (2020). Exploring the relationship between corporate social responsibility and firm competitiveness. Economic Research, 33(1), 1621–1646. https://doi.org/10.1080/1331677X.2020.1761419

Madsen, H., Ulhøi, J. P. (2016). Corporate environmental initiatives in small and medium-sized enterprises and their outcomes: a longitudinal study. Business Strategy and the Environment, 25(2), 92–101.

Margolis, J. D., Walsh, J. P. (2001). People and Profits? The Search for a Link Between a Firm’s Social and Financial Performance. Lawrence Erlbaum Publishers, Mahwah, NJ.

Margolis, J. D., Walsh, J. P. (2003). Misery Loves Companies: Rethinking Social Initiatives by Business. Administrative Science Quaterly, 48(2), 268–305. https://doi.org/10.2307/3556659

McWilliams, A., Siegel, D. (2001). Corporate Social Responsibility: A Theory of the Firm Perspective. Academy of Management Review, 26(1), 117–127. https://doi.org/10.2307/259398

Perrini, F. (2006). SMEs and CSR Theory: Evidence and Implications from an Italian Perspective. Journal of Business Ethics, 67, 305–316.

Porter, M. E. (1985). Competitive Advantage – Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance. Free Press, New York.

Porter, M. E., Kramer, M. R. (2006). Strategy & Society: The link between competitive advantage and corporate social responsibility. Harvard Business Review, 84(12), 79–92.

Radácsi, L. (2021). Felelős és fenntartható vállalat. Saldo, Budapest.

Rasche, A., Morsing, M., Moon, J. (2017). The Changing Role of Business in Global Society: CSR and Beyond. In: Rasche, A., Morsing, M., Moon, J. (editors). Corporate Social Responsibility – Strategy, Communication, Governance. Cambridge Univesrity Press, Cambridge. 1–28.

Salavou, H., Avlonitis, G. (2008). Product innovativeness and performance: A focus on SMEs. Management Decision, 46(7), 969–985. https://doi.org/10.1108/00251740810890168

Sarkar, S., Searcy, C. (2016). Zeitgeist or chameleon? A quantitative analysis of CSR definitions. Journal of Cleaner Production, 135, 1423–1435. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.06.157

Spence, L. J. (1999). Does Size Matter? The State of the Art in Small Business Ethics. Business Ethics: A European Review, 8(3), 163–174. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8608.00144

Tantalo, C., Caroli, M. G., Vanevenhoven, J. (2012). Corporate social responsibility and SME’s competitiveness. International Journal Technology Management, 58(1/2), 129–151. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJTM.2012.045792

Tomšič, N., Bojnec, Š., Simčič, B. (2015). Corporate sustainability and economic performance in small and medium sized enterprises. Journal of Cleaner Production, 108(Part A), 603–612. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.08.106

Turyakira, P., Venter E., Smith, E. (2014). The impact of corporate social responsibility factors on the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises. South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences, 17(2), 157–172. https://doi.org/10.4102/sajems.v17i2.443

Vallentin, S., Spence, L. J. (2017). Strategic CSR: Ambitions and Critiques. In: Rasche, A., Morsing, M., Moon, J. (editors). Corporate Social Responsibility – Strategy, Communication, Governance. Cambridge Univesrity Press, Cambridge. 63–85.

van Beurden, P., Gössling, T. (2008). The Worth of Values – A Literature Review on the Relation Between Corporate Social and Financial Performance. Journal of Business Ethics, 82, 407–424. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-008-9894-x

Vives, A. (2006). Social and Environmental Responsibility in Small and Medium Enterprises in Latin America. The Journal of Corporate Citizenship, 21, 39–50.

Whetten, D. A., Rands, G., Godfrey, P. (2002). What are the responsibilities of business to society? In: Pettigrew, A. M., Thomas, H., Whittington, R. (editors). Handbook of Strategy and Management. SAGE, London. 373–408.

Zastempowski, M., Cyfert, Sz. (2021). Social responsibility of SMEs from the perspective of their innovativeness: Evidence from Poland. Journal of Cleaner Production, 317(128400). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.128400




DOI: https://doi.org/10.24294/jipd.v8i12.8588

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2024 Adrienn Reisinger, Norbert Kovács

License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

This site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.