IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v11y2019i17p4758-d262659.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Solutions for SMEs Challenged by CSR: A Multiple Cases Approach in the Food Industry within the DACH-Region

Author

Listed:
  • Angélique Catharina Elford

    (School of Business, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, Riggenbachstrasse 16, 4600 Olten, Switzerland)

  • Claus-Heinrich Daub

    (Institute of Management, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, Bahnhofstrasse 6, 5210 Windisch, Switzerland)

Abstract

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Angélique Catharina Elford & Claus-Heinrich Daub, 2019. "Solutions for SMEs Challenged by CSR: A Multiple Cases Approach in the Food Industry within the DACH-Region," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(17), pages 1-31, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:17:p:4758-:d:262659
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/17/4758/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/17/4758/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Maria Santos, 2011. "CSR in SMEs: strategies, practices, motivations and obstacles," Social Responsibility Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 7(3), pages 490-508, August.
    2. Stephen Brammer & Stefan Hoejmose & Kerry Marchant, 2012. "Environmental Management in SMEs in the UK: Practices, Pressures and Perceived Benefits," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(7), pages 423-434, November.
    3. Stefan Hirsch & Adelina Gschwandtner, 2013. "Profit persistence in the food industry: evidence from five European countries," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 40(5), pages 741-759, December.
    4. Fawzi Halila, 2007. "Networks as a means of supporting the adoption of organizational innovations in SMEs: the case of Environmental Management Systems (EMSs) based on ISO 14001," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 14(3), pages 167-181, July.
    5. Graafland, J.J. & Ven van de, B. & Stoffele, N., 2003. "Strategies and instruments for organising CSR by small and large businesses in the Netherlands," MPRA Paper 20754, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Heledd Jenkins, 2006. "Small Business Champions for Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 67(3), pages 241-256, September.
    7. repec:eme:srjpps:v:6:y:2010:i:2:p:490-508 is not listed on IDEAS
    8. Angeloantonio Russo & Antonio Tencati, 2009. "Formal vs. Informal CSR Strategies: Evidence from Italian Micro, Small, Medium-sized, and Large Firms," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 85(2), pages 339-353, April.
    9. Michael Maloni & Michael Brown, 2006. "Corporate Social Responsibility in the Supply Chain: An Application in the Food Industry," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 68(1), pages 35-52, September.
    10. Yeonsoo Kim, 2017. "Consumer Responses to the Food Industry’s Proactive and Passive Environmental CSR, Factoring in Price as CSR Tradeoff," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 140(2), pages 307-321, January.
    11. Zhi Tang & Clyde Eiríkur Hull & Sandra Rothenberg, 2012. "How Corporate Social Responsibility Engagement Strategy Moderates the CSR–Financial Performance Relationship," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(7), pages 1274-1303, November.
    12. Fridolin Simon Brand & Verena Berger & Katharina Hetze & Jörg E. U. Schmidt & Marie-Christin Weber & Herbert Winistörfer & Claus-Heinrich Daub, 2018. "Overcoming current practical challenges in sustainability and integrated reporting: insights from a Swiss field study [Die Bewältigung der aktuellen praktischen Herausforderungen in der Nachhaltigk," NachhaltigkeitsManagementForum | Sustainability Management Forum, Springer, vol. 26(1), pages 35-46, December.
    13. Francesco Perrini & Angeloantonio Russo & Antonio Tencati, 2007. "CSR Strategies of SMEs and Large Firms. Evidence from Italy," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 74(3), pages 285-300, September.
    14. You-Hua Chen & Xiao-Wei Wen & Ming-Zhong Luo, 2016. "Corporate Social Responsibility Spillover and Competition Effects on the Food Industry," Australian Economic Papers, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(1), pages 1-13, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Hui Sun & Dan Xu & Lu Wang & Kai Wang, 2023. "How Does Public Opinion Influence Production Safety within Small and Medium Enterprises in the Sustainability Context?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-18, February.
    2. Cosmina Lelia Voinea & Marcel Logger & Fawad Rauf & Nadine Roijakkers, 2019. "Drivers for Sustainable Business Models in Start-Ups: Multiple Case Studies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(24), pages 1-25, December.
    3. Lance Wentzel & Julius Ayodeji Fapohunda & Rainer Haldenwang, 2023. "A Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Model to Achieve Sustainable Business Performance (SBP) of SMEs in the South African Construction Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-28, June.
    4. Concetta Nazzaro & Marcello Stanco & Giuseppe Marotta, 2020. "The Life Cycle of Corporate Social Responsibility in Agri-Food: Value Creation Models," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-18, February.
    5. Jasmin Wiefek & Kathrin Heinitz, 2021. "The Common Good Balance Sheet and Employees’ Perceptions, Attitudes and Behaviors," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-30, February.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Silvia Cantele & Alessandro Zardini, 2020. "What drives small and medium enterprises towards sustainability? Role of interactions between pressures, barriers, and benefits," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(1), pages 126-136, January.
    2. Matthew P. Johnson, 2015. "Sustainability Management and Small and Medium‐Sized Enterprises: Managers' Awareness and Implementation of Innovative Tools," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 22(5), pages 271-285, September.
    3. Andrea Stübner & Svenja Jarchow, 2023. "Family oblige: the link between CSR and succession intention in small and medium family firms," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 93(3), pages 389-431, April.
    4. Maria Jesus Munoz-Torres & Maria Angeles Fernandez-Izquierdo & Luisa Nieto-Soria & Juana Maria Rivera-Lirio & Elena Escrig-Olmedo & Raul Leon-Soriano, 2009. "SMEs and corporate social responsibility. The perspective from Spanish companies," International Journal of Sustainable Economy, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 1(3), pages 270-288.
    5. Leon Guillén & Afcha Sergio & Chu Manuel, 2022. "Research on social responsibility of small and medium enterprises: a bibliometric analysis," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 72(3), pages 857-909, September.
    6. Herrera Madueño, Jesús & Larrán Jorge, Manuel & Lechuga Sancho, María Paula & Martínez-Martínez, Domingo, 2016. "Responsabilidad social en las pymes: análisis exploratorio de factores explicativos," Revista de Contabilidad - Spanish Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 19(1), pages 31-44.
    7. Dongsoo Kim & Jongseon Lee & Nami Kim, 2023. "Engaging CSR in SMEs by exporting: The critical factors of CEOs and markets," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(4), pages 1953-1964, July.
    8. Maria Jesus Bonilla‐Priego & Juan‐José Nájera‐Sánchez & Xavier Font, 2022. "Beyond ethics: The transformational power of overlapping motivations in implementing strategic sustainability actions," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(3), pages 685-697, March.
    9. Uzhegova, Maria & Torkkeli, Lasse & Saarenketo, Sami, 2019. "Corporate Social Responsibility in SMEs: Implications on Competitive PerformanceDate submitted: October 12, 2017Revised version accepted after double blind review: December 15, 2018," management revue - Socio-Economic Studies, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 30(2-3), pages 232-267.
    10. Carla Gonzales-Gemio & Claudio Cruz-Cázares & Mary Jane Parmentier, 2020. "Responsible Innovation in SMEs: A Systematic Literature Review for a Conceptual Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-27, December.
    11. Luis Enrique Valdez-Juárez & Dolores Gallardo-Vázquez & Elva Alicia Ramos-Escobar, 2018. "CSR and the Supply Chain: Effects on the Results of SMEs," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-27, July.
    12. Alexandra ZBUCHEA & Florina PÎNZARU, 2017. "Tailoring CSR Strategy to Company Size?," Management Dynamics in the Knowledge Economy, College of Management, National University of Political Studies and Public Administration, vol. 5(3), pages 415-437, September.
    13. Gregorio Sánchez-Marín & Gabriel Lozano-Reina & Mané Beglaryan, 2022. "HRM Policies and SMEs Performance: The Moderating Role of CSR Orientation," Central European Business Review, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2022(1), pages 85-110.
    14. Francesco Perrini & Angeloantonio Russo & Antonio Tencati & Clodia Vurro, 2011. "Deconstructing the Relationship Between Corporate Social and Financial Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 102(1), pages 59-76, March.
    15. Brigitte Hoogendoorn & Daniela Guerra & Peter Zwan, 2015. "What drives environmental practices of SMEs?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 44(4), pages 759-781, April.
    16. Minna Halme & Maria Korpela, 2014. "Responsible Innovation Toward Sustainable Development in Small and Medium‐Sized Enterprises: a Resource Perspective," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(8), pages 547-566, December.
    17. Angeloantonio Russo & Francesco Perrini, 2010. "Investigating Stakeholder Theory and Social Capital: CSR in Large Firms and SMEs," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 91(2), pages 207-221, January.
    18. Gangi, Francesco & Meles, Antonio & Monferrà, Stefano & Mustilli, Mario, 2020. "Does corporate social responsibility help the survivorship of SMEs and large firms?," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 43(C).
    19. Dolores Gallardo-Vázquez & Luis Enrique Valdez-Juárez & Ángela María Castuera-Díaz, 2019. "Corporate Social Responsibility as an Antecedent of Innovation, Reputation, Performance, and Competitive Success: A Multiple Mediation Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(20), pages 1-28, October.
    20. Mercedes Rubio‐Andrés & María del Mar Ramos‐González & Miguel Ángel Sastre‐Castillo & Ignacio Danvila‐del‐Valle, 2020. "Exploring sustainability, good governance, and social responsibility in small and medium enterprises," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(2), pages 852-869, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:17:p:4758-:d:262659. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.