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Aim – The aim of this study is to investigate the role that business strategy plays in theimplementation of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). This research will enable us to answerthe questions of why SMEs get involved in CSR and How is CSR implemented/incorporated inthe business strategy of the company?Method – The study is based on an abductive research approach, which enables the theoreticalframework, empirical data as well as the analysis to evolve simultaneously. Information wascollected through semi-structured interviews from four representatives of three companies. Apurposive sampling is used to select the studied companies. Axial coding is used to analyze thedata and draw conclusions.Findings – The study shows SMEs are also very interested in CSR practices. There are severalmotivations behind SMEs involvement in CSR practices. These motivations include: theirinterest in doing good to other stakeholders (fulfillment of personal values), their image andreputation, an increase in employee involvement, and a stronger market position etc. The studyalso shows that business strategy has a significant role in the implementation of CSR.Conclusion – The results of this research show that CSR practices have an explicit noteworthyconnection with SME reputation. Incorporating your CSR strategy and your business strategyhas a positive effect in the implementation of CSR practices.

The Covid19-pandemic may have impacted the environmental strategies of firms as it has had a major impact on the world economy and businesses. In particular Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) as during prolonged economic downturns they suffer disproportionately which could be due to lack of key resources which bigger firms naturally have more of, such as access to bank loans, technological, managerial, and human resources. Nevertheless, the Covid19-pandemic does not make the current environmental crises any less important therefore it is imperative to explore how firms’ environmental strategies have adapted during this time. The purpose of this study was to examine what happens to environmental strategies when firms experience harsher financial conditions. This have led us to construct the following research question:“How do SMEs adjust their environmental strategies during crises?”In this paper we answer the research question by analyzing the effect Covid19 has had on the environmental strategies of Swedish SMEs’ environmental strategies during Covid19. In order to achieve the purpose of this study we performed a qualitative study with an exploratory approach by interviewing seven different Swedish SMEs within the construction industry. The key findings this our study produced was that the firms’ environmental strategies remained resilient as no firm decreased their focus on environmental strategy nor did they view this aspect less important. Rather some firms intensified their environmental strategies suggesting that this might be a viable strategy to survive a crisis.

Introduction: Vietnam is a developing country that has had rapid economic growth during the last 25-30 years. Alongside, the waste and pollution of the country has increased where both the economy and pollution is expected to grow even further in the upcoming years. Simultaneously is the challenge of protecting the environment, especially for businesses to take responsibility through implementing Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in their business. Furthermore, Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) make up 90% of the businesses in the world and therefore have great influence. CSR is well researched in developed countries, but the developing countries are as important in the work towards sustainable development, where specifically SMEs in developing countries are not as researched. Purpose: The purpose of this research is to explore the implementation of CSR activities of SMEs in Vietnam as a developing country. Research questions: How is CSR perceived by SMEs in Vietnam? How do SMEs in Vietnam engage in CSR activities? What are the reasons behind SMEs engagement in CSR activities in Vietnam? Methodology: The methodological approach of this research was based on a qualitative nature with an ontological perspective. Furthermore, the sample consisted of five SMEs in Vietnam and data was gathered through email-interviews. Conclusion: It was found that SMEs in Vietnam do have a somewhat clear perception of what CSR involves and that the SMEs engage in several CSR activities. Although, vague regulations and guidance from the government, alongside with scarce financial resources makes it more challenging for the SMEs in Vietnam to engage in CSR activities.

The basic aim of the article is to evaluate the extent of a companies’ engagement with CSR as well as to uncover the nature and type of CSR activities in the agro-food companies operating in the Slovak Republic. In order to fulfill the basic aim, we set the partial aims which involve several research questions. Primary information and data were obtained by the questionnaire survey in order to assess the level of companies’ engagement with CSR policy and activities they carry out within this policy. Secondary data consist of various publications, web-pages of selected companies, their annual general statements and statements concerning CSR policy. To every company, one questionnaire was distributed - in some case, it was possible to send it directly to person responsible for CSR activities. To graphically display our results, we used MS Excel and for other statistical processing SAS and SPSS. According to the results and findings from the questionnaire survey, the authors of the article finds it appropriate to offer several recommendations and ideas dealing with support of CSR in the Slovak Republic.

In the 21st century, CSR along with other social issues (such as corporate philanthropy and social enterprise) has become one of the key business trends all over the world. Companies have begun to realize certain commitment to society and its values, and have understood the importance of their contribution into social, environmental and economic issues. Globally, CSR is considered as narrower part of international business ethics and with regard to accession of multinational companies as well as small and medium sized enterprises, and its importance is increasing. Many of those companies perceive CSR as the factor increasing their competitiveness in the business environment. From this point of view, we stated the main goal of submitted article like the evaluation how can we see the corporate social responsibility within its application in business practice. For the evaluation, we used the material, which consists from primary data and secondary data. All data were elaborated by the statistical methods. The main part of this article includes the description of the questionnaire evaluation including tables, graphs and statistical evaluation of our three set research hypotheses. In conclusion, we evaluate the overall results of our practical research and propose recommendations for the future. The research results show how the interviewed people in the company have been evaluated according to the characteristics, benefits, reasons and consideration of CSR.

The aim of this article is to investigate the relationship between the budget related to corporate social responsibility (CSR), Innovation and Training, defined as sustainable factors, and the financial results of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). The investigation is made by analysing the financial results from a sample of 200 SMEs from the South-West Region of Romania. The findings prove that SMEs can use training and innovation to improve the impact of CSR on their sustainability with a focus on positive financial indicators. The findings prove that corporate social responsibility (CSRBi), innovation (InnovBi), and training (TrainingBi) as sustainable factors are significantly and positively correlated with the following indicators: profit (Profiti), profit per employee (ProfitEi) and total expenditure (Expensesi), and it is negatively correlated with debt ratio (DebtRi).

Antecedent research has recognized a difference in the participation in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices between big companies and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Certain characteristics of SMEs create challenges which influence the manner with which they treat the CSR topic. However, literature has failed to provide solutions as to how these challenges can successfully be overcome or avoided by SMEs. In an attempt to contribute to these solutions, this paper explores the reasons why some SMEs face challenges as well as how such problems can be mastered. Furthermore, this article provides input that could encourage more SMEs to incorporate CSR practices into their business strategies. The research follows a qualitative approach, data being collected in 2018 through a total of 12 interviews with managers of SMEs in the food industry within the DACH-region as well as with experts in the field of study. The paper reveals that if the managers and owners of SMEs become committed towards CSR and if sufficient resources are allocated and advice on how to implement CSR is obtained, the opportunity certainly exists to persuade larger numbers of SMEs to adopt CSR practices as a core company strategy.

There is a lack of attention and understanding of how smaller hotel businesses understand and engage with social responsibility. The lack of understanding has led to a situation where the knowledge of how hotel corporations operate regarding Corporate social responsibility unproblematically is applied across scales onto Small and medium sized hotels behaviour regarding social responsibility. This thesis examines this lack of understanding by analysing discourses related to social responsibility that can be found in online reviews written by former guests of SME hotels in Tällberg, Sweden. The results of the discourse analysis show that SME hotels mainly perform social responsibility through the performance of hospitality and by acting as cultural brokers allowing socialisation to happen. They suggest that the notion most SMEs have of hospitality links into social responsibility without them realising it. However, the unreflective conflation of knowledge across scales regarding social responsibility and the term Corporate social responsibility risk disrupting this performance, as it makes SME hotel owners and managers act counterproductively to this. Thus, this thesis suggests that the very use of the term CSR when talking about SMEs in the hotel sector is problematic. Furthermore, the findings also suggest that the creation and performance of social responsibility in hotel SMEs are mainly dialogic, unlike previously assumed, as it is created in the interaction between two persons.

ResumenEs indiscutible el creciente interés que están despertando las cuestiones asociadas a la responsabilidad social (RSE), no solo desde el plano académico sino también desde una dimensión social. En este contexto pretendemos, con el presente trabajo, analizar el nivel de desarrollo y de desempeño que las pequeñas y medianas empresas pueden tener en relación con las actividades de RSE. Igualmente, se pretende indagar sobre la relación que estas actividades pueden guardar con diversos factores organizativos como diversidad de género, nivel de formación del propietario/gerente, estructura de la propiedad, el tamaño y el sector. Los resultados, de carácter exploratorio, permiten sostener que las empresas españolas tienen una actitud positiva hacia la RSE y que, por término medio, se involucran en numerosas actividades socialmente responsables, siendo el nivel de formación del gerente/propietario, el tamaño y el sector los factores que más contribuyen en la explicación del desempeño socialmente responsable de las Pymes.AbstractThere is, without a doubt, an increasing awareness of the questions associated with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), not only from an academic point of view, but also from a social dimension. Within this framework, this paper analyzes the level of development of CSR in Small and Medium Sized Enterprises, and the relationship that this level of performance may have on organizational factors such as gender, educational level of the owner/manager, the ownership structure, size and industry. The findings of this exploratory study support the view that Spanish companies have a positive attitude towards CSR and they seem to be engaged in a numerous of socially responsible activities, with size, industry and the educational level of the owner/manager being determinant factors for its development.

Bakgrund och problem: Tidigare forskning kring CSR-implementering har i större utsträckning fokuserat på stora företag. Dock tyder tidigare forskning på att CSR är ett koncept som även förekommer inom små och medelstora företag. Det finns emellertid bristande forskning om hur små och medelstora företags tillämpning av strategi påverkar graden av CSR-implementering. Vidare är informell kontroll en aspekt som, enligt tidigare forskning, är väsentlig inom små och medelstora företag. Syfte: Studien syftar till att undersöka till vilken grad små och medelstora företag implementerar CSR och hur implementeringen påverkas av vilken strategi företaget tillämpar. Varför ett företag implementerar CSR kan förklaras med hjälp av intressentteorin samt legitimitetsteorin. Vidare är syftet att testa och förklara hur relationen mellan graden av CSR-implementering och den strategi som tillämpas, påverkas av graden av användning av informell kontroll. I enlighet med contingency teorin påverkas variablers samband av andra faktorer. Metod: Studien är genomförd med en kvantitativ forskningsstrategi med en deduktiv ansats. Hypoteser har formulerats utifrån vedertagna teorier och data har samlats in genom en tvärsnittsstudie. 108 svenska små och medelstora företag utgör studiens urval. Resultat och slutsats: Resultaten visar på att strategin prospector för SME har ett positivt samband med graden av CSR-implementering. Vidare visar studien på informell kontroll har en stark positiv relation till graden av CSR-implementering oberoende av vilken strategi små och medelstora företag tillämpar. Studien tyder även på att företag som tillämpar strategierna prospector för SME och reactor för SME i hög grad implementerar CSR. Det finns däremot inget samband mellan att tillämpa strategierna defender för SME samt analyzer för SME och graden av CSR-implementering i förhållande till användning av informell kontroll. Slutligen visar studien på att små och medelstora företag i hög grad implementerar CSR i sina verksamheter. Background and problem: Previous studies on CSR to a large extend have so far focused on its implementation on large firms. However, other research also states that CSR is a concept that is provided in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as well. There is, however, lack of research among SME companies and how their strategy affects the degree of the CSR-implementation. Furthermore, informal control is an aspect that according to earlier studies is essential within small and midsized companies. Purpose: The purpose of the study is to investigate in what extent SMEs implements CSR and how this implementation is affected by the strategy these companies applies. The reason why a company implements CSR can be explained by using the stakeholder and legitimacy theories. Furthermore, the purpose is also to try to test and explain the correlation between the strategy applied and if this is affected when using informal control. In accordance to the contingency theory, variables in this equation are affected by other factors. Method: The study is conducted with a quantitative research strategy with a deductive approach. Hypotheses are based on established theories, and data has been added from a cross-sectional study. 108 Swedish SMEs constitutes the study´s collection. Results and conclusions: The result of the study shows that the strategy prospector for SMEs has a positive connection with the extent of CSR-implementation. Furthermore, the study shows that informal control has a strong positive correlation to the degree of CSR-implementation independently of what strategy the SMEs are applying. The study also shows that companies who apply the strategies prospector for SMEs and reactor for SMEs is very prone to implement CSR. However, there is no correlation between the defender for SMEs and analyzer for SMEs strategies, and the extent of CSRimplementation for the use of informal control. As final, the study also shows that SMEs implement CSR to a large degree in their businesses.

Hållbarhetsfrågor är ett ämne vilket är ständigt aktuellt och aldrig varit mer aktuellt än idag. Med negativa klimatförändringar som konsekvens av mänskliga aktiviteter är det mer viktigt än någonsin att motverka detta och arbeta mot en bättre morgondag. Detta uppnås genom balanserade åtgärder av miljömässig, ekonomisk och social karaktär. Teori säger att små och medelstora tjänsteföretag bör involvera sig inom hållbarhet på en strategisk nivå, genom att inkludera hållbarhet som en del av företagets kärnverksamhet - integration av hållbarhet i företagets strategi. Denna studie studerar åtta små och medelstora tjänsteföretag i Umeå. Huruvida de integrerar hållbarhet i sin respektive företagsstrategi, samt vilka drivkrafter och utmaningar som ligger till grund för integrationen. Deltagande respondenter är anställda på företagen i chefspositioner, i vissa fall också delägare till företagen - samtliga innehar en position där de deltar i företagets strategiska arbete. Studiens tvådelade problemformulering lyder: “I vilken utsträckning integrerar svenska små och medelstora tjänsteföretag hållbarhet i sin företagsstrategi?” “Vilka drivkrafter respektive utmaningar har svenska små och medelstora tjänsteföretag till att integrera hållbarhet i sin företagsstrategi?” Resultaten visar att de studerade företagen integrerar hållbarhet i olika utsträckning. Detta har genererat tre olika kategorier för graden av integration, låg, medel och hög. Av de åtta studerade företagen innehar två företag en låg grad av integration, fyra företag kategoriseras till nivån medel och två av företagen en hög grad av integration. Vidare besvarades problemformulerings andra del genom en kartläggning av flertalet drivkrafter och utmaningar till denna integration. Fyra drivkrafter och fyra utmaningar har identifierats som de huvudsakliga faktorerna till att företagen integrerar eller inte integrerar hållbarhet i sin företagsstrategi. De fyra främsta utmaningarna till att integrera hållbarhet är; kunskap, finansiella incitament, knyta hållbarhet till kärnverksamhet och formulering & planering. Vidare identifierades följande fyra drivkrafter som de främsta; vara en god samhällsmedborgare, medarbetares välmående, företagets anseende och konkurrensfördelar. Slutsatserna presenteras i en modell för integration av hållbarhet i företagsstrategi för små och medelstora tjänsteföretag. Studien påvisar ett utrymme till att företag ska kunna integrera hållbarhet ytterligare. Detta kan leda till en högre ekonomisk lönsamhet för företaget själv och en ökad nytta för samhället.

When discussing large companies, it is widely known that social responsibility became a form of self-regulation integrated in a business model. This paper presents the preliminary results of a study on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Romania. This research emphasizes the gap between CSR behaviour of large and small firms, and between theory and practice in the case of the SMEs under study. The manager's knowledge about CSR is surveyed. Also, the way managers make decisions regarding social issues is thoroughly analyzed. The study focuses mostly on decisions regarding the responsibility related to employees, more particularly on occupational illnesses and health conditions. The research analyses if the CSR concept is used as a marketing/PR tool, or whether it is simply an irregular philanthropic act without any integration to the business strategy or to the core business processes. The research presented in the paper is based on a survey realized in a region from the centre of Romania. The studied sample consists of 300 enterprises.

Es indiscutible el creciente interés que están despertando las cuestiones asociadas a la responsabilidad social (RSE), no solo desde el plano académico sino también desde una dimensión social. En este contexto pretendemos, con el presente trabajo, analizar el nivel de desarrollo y de desempeño que las pequeñas y medianas empresas pueden tener en relación con las actividades de RSE. Igualmente, se pretende indagar sobre la relación que estas actividades pueden guardar con diversos factores organizativos como diversidad de género, nivel de formación del propietario/gerente, estructura de la propiedad, el tamaño y el sector. Los resultados, de carácter exploratorio, permiten sostener que las empresas españolas tienen una actitud positiva hacia la RSE y que, por término medio, se involucran en numerosas actividades socialmente responsables, siendo el nivel de formación del gerente/propietario, el tamaño y el sector los factores que más contribuyen en la explicación del desempeño socialmente responsable de las Pymes. There is, without a doubt, an increasing awareness of the questions associated with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), not only from an academic point of view, but also from a social dimension. Within this framework, this paper analyzes the level of development of CSR in Small and Medium Sized Enterprises, and the relationship that this level of performance may have on organizational factors such as gender, educational level of the owner/manager, the ownership structure, size and industry. The findings of this exploratory study support the view that Spanish companies have a positive attitude towards CSR and they seem to be engaged in a numerous of socially responsible activities, with size, industry and the educational level of the owner/manager being determinant factors for its development.

The article deals with corporate social responsibility in specific area of small and medium sized enterprises. Corporate social responsibility as a way of global advocated sustainable development can be characterised as an integration of not only economical aspects but also social and environmental ones to the corporate decision making. The aim of the article is to analytically describe motivate factors related with engagement to the corporate social responsibility and especially to analyse the most important social responsible activities of small and medium sized enterprises. Primary data were obtained via grant project GAJU 047/2011/S-Dalíková through the quantitative method of electronic questionnaire survey on random sample of 100 small and medium sized enterprises reside in Havlíčkův Brod district. The results show five main social responsible activities which small and medium sized enterprises should follow.

The aim of the dissertation thesis is to evaluate the concept of corporate social responsibility in management and economics of surveyed small and medium sized enterprises. In the same time, to assess whether corporate social responsibility in current business environment represents benefit by analysing the relationship between the level of corporate social responsibility and the surveyed enterprises' financial situation within. The present dissertation thesis characterizes current social responsibility practice of surveyed small and medium sized enterprises with the help of the created composite indicator of corporate social responsibility level evaluation consisting of 14 selected indicators. The essential results represent statistical analysis of the causal effect of corporate social responsibility level on the financial health of surveyed companies. As the summary of the processed analyses and overall results, there was created model covering the key elements of social responsibility with ties to the management and economics of surveyed small and medium sized enterprises.

Purpose: Corporate social responsibility communication by small and medium sized enterprises is theorized to form the concept of Small Business Social Responsibility (SBSR) Communication.Design/methodology/approach: This is a conceptual paper that draws on Foucault’s theory of governmentality to develop a theoretical explanation for SBSR communication.Findings: Our analysis conceptualizes the ‘governmentality dilemma’ as SBSR managers face two simultaneous and potentially counterproductive expectations: responding to externally prescribed expectations, norms and standards such as branding, codes of conduct and CSR reporting (i.e. CSR as a “regime of truth”, Foucault) and an internally prescribed ethos of a personal philosophy of ethics and norms such as family identity and employee values, concern for local community and legacy of the company (i.e. CSR as personally held values). We contribute to conceptualization of SBSR communication as we develop a framework which suggests a spectrum of disciplining effects of social responsibility in relation to implicit and explicit CSR. We analyse these from the perspectives of surveillance, examination and normalization.Research limitations/implications: The conceptualization of SBSR communication would be enhanced by in-depth, nuanced empirical research.Practical implications: This paper has policy implications for those seeking to understand CSR among SMEs using formal communication mechanisms as a metric and control. Our paper suggests this to be an inadequate approach and we propose for SME managers to investigate Foucault’s notion of “care of the self”.Originality/value: We conceptualize how SBSR is caught in a ‘governmentality dilemma’ where simultaneous expectations to govern others (e.g. through standards) and the self (e.g. through intrinsic motivations) are confronting owner-managers’ ethos. We explain theoretically how small business managers respond to the challenge when they are required to formalize and display for external surveillance that which would otherwise be informal and part of the non-public or private sphere.

Within this paper we analyze a state-of-the-art type of corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication, communication via social media. This type of communication with stakeholders is of growing importance. Opportunities and challenges of communication through social media channels are identified with special emphasis on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the agri-food sector. 8 expert interviews were conducted on the basis of a broad literature review. The results of the qualitative interviews are analyzed by means of a comprehensive computer aided qualitative content analysis. The study enables the reader to get insights into the current situation regarding the implementation of CSR communication through social media channels in SMEs. Opportunities and threats of the application of social media are identified. The results are compared with relevant findings from literature.

Most corporate social responsibility (CSR) standards have not been designed to be implemented in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). Given that 99% of Spanish companies are SMEs, this study aims to propose a selection of basic CSR material issues that, because of their usefulness and significance, should be adapted to Spanish SMEs and their stakeholders. This study provides a CSR model for SMEs that includes the most important social, environmental, and corporate governance issues. This model, which is based on expert knowledge, is useful for integrating sustainability in the management of SMEs and enhancing the management of stakeholders.

Much research has been conducted within Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), and it is currently a highly debated topic. Today, CSR is not only pursued in response to public pressure, but is also seen as a source of competitive advantage and differentiation. The problem that this thesis deals with is that many SMEs do not use CSR as a proactive competitive tool in a strategic manner. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is to develop an evaluation framework for SME‟s CSR projects, and to use this framework to analyze Casall‟s CSR projects in order to provide recommendations for Casall regarding strategic CSR. CSR as a concept is first discussed with the use of previous literature. This leads to the development of an evaluation framework for SME‟s CSR projects. The methodology is carefully considered, and a qualitative case study is chosen to be conducted at Casall. The results and analysis are presented in accordance with the theoretical framework and method. An in-depth analysis is conducted with the help of the evaluation framework. This leads to recommendations on Casall‟s existing and future engagement in CSR projects. The five recommendations are to simplify the guidelines for producers, adapt the guidelines for producers, get engaged in the local community, implement an internal code of conduct, and raise customer awareness of their engagement in CSR. This thesis contributes to the academic society by combining theories into a practical framework for evaluating SMEs‟ CSR projects. More specifically, the framework is used to guide Casall in their future CSR involvement. The framework can also be useful for other SMEs to evaluate and integrate suitable CSR projects into corporate strategy.