Les pratiques de RSE post-COVID-19 : une étude exploratoire au sein des PME camerounaises

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is becoming increasingly important for small and medium[1]sized enterprises (SMEs) as they integrate sustainable development issues. The aim of this exploratory study is to identify the CSR practices induced by COVID-19 that have remained sustainable to this day, as well as the new CSR practices that have emerged among Cameroonian SMEs after COVID-19. Qualitative in nature, this study comprises 20 semi-structured interviews with SME managers in the agri-food, hotel and transport sectors. Data from these interviews are analyzed using thematic content analysis. This revealed that staff working conditions and customer protection are the most important practices that emerged during the pandemic and are still in place today. In contrast, staff training in information and communication technologies and online recruitment are practices that emerged after the pandemic. These results suggest that macroeconomic factors have little influence on SMEs' corporate social responsibility decisions. However, institutional pressures play a more important role in their adoption of CSR practices. It is therefore important for institutions to support SME managers in their CSR decisions.