Investigating Status Of €˜Corporate Social Responsibility’ Policies And Practices: Case Study Of Small And Medium Enterprises In Jamshoro And Hyderabad Districts

Purpose This paper is an attempt to identify corporate social responsibility practices in Small and Medium Enterprises SMEs.It is based on the premise that most of the SMEs do not know much about the concept of corporate social responsibility as opposed to multinational enterprises.The main purpose is to look at the awareness and implementation of CSR order 2009 issued by Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan SECP.The general order provides 13 areas of socially responsible businesses.Methodology/Sampling To conduct this baseline study a closeended fully structured questionnaire was distributed in the SMEs located in Hyderabad and Jamshoro industrial areas.To analyze/evaluate the response, Statistical Package for Social Sciences SPSS is used.Findings Only 39% of the companies have information regarding CSR general order.We concluded that government should start education programs for the entrepreneurs especially for the SMEs.Communication links need be established among all the business stakeholders.The government may start incentive programs for the enterprises that are voluntarily pursuing CSR.Practical Implications This research provides a basic understanding and knowhow about CSR in SMEs to do businesses on ethical grounds.This will also prove to be a catalyst for the government in devising better strategies for CSR compliance through incentives rather than exercising regulatory instruments.