Les pratiques de développement durable et de RSE en région PACA : la spécificité des petites entreprises en question

The ISO 26000 standard, which has been applicable worldwide since 2010, puts into light the link between corporate social responsibility and global sustainable development. Nevertheless, it is doubtful that small businesses, which, incidentally, have been poorly involved in the standard's elaboration process, are in a position to face demands based on such ambitious objectives as corporate social responsibility and sustainable development. It may be suggested, on the contrary, that small businesses should be regarded as a case apart. Admittedly, a lot of research has hitherto focused on the specificities of small businesses in the field of corporate social responsibility. However, the link between small businesses and sustainable development (as regards both perception and practice) has generally been addressed through qualitative studies that rarely consider they that feature specificities of their own. This study tries to explore this peculiarity by using quantitative methodologies and it is based on data collected from 156 organizations in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur area (in southeastern France). It reaches contrasting results but partially validates the hypothesis of a specific practice of corporate social responsibility and sustainable development in small businesses.