 Corporate Social Responsibility That “Pays”: A Strategic Approach to CSR for SMEs *Carmen Stoian and Mark Gilman Journal of Small Business Management, 2017, vol. 55, issue 1, 5-31 Abstract: This study adopts a strategic approach to corporate social responsibility (CSR), puts forward a model of CSR activities that enhance small and medium enterprises (SMEs) growth, and argues that by aligning CSR activities with the competitive strategy of the firm, SMEs enhance firm growth. We test this model using multinomial logistic analysis and data from a survey with 211 U.K.‐based SMEs. We find that CSR activities related to the community enhance firm growth for all SMEs, but especially for firms adopting a cost leadership strategy, and that CSR activities related to the workforce are crucial to avoid sales decline, especially for SMEs adopting a differentiation or a quality‐driven strategy. We also find that environment‐related CSR activities are not beneficial for SMEs' growth and that human rights–related CSR activities slow growth for firms adopting a differentiation or a quality‐driven strategy. Finally, we put forward managerial and policy recommendations. Date: 2017 Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:ujbmxx:v:55:y:2017:i:1:p:5-31 Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from DOI: 10.1111/jsbm.12224 Access Statistics for this article Journal of Small Business Management is currently edited by Eric Liguori More articles in Journal of Small Business Management from Taylor & Francis Journals |
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