Corporate Social Responsibility and SMEs Impacts and Institutional Drivers

The world’s people and their leaders face a complex and multifaceted set of ‘eco-social questions’. As the productivity of humanity increases, the negative external environmental effects of production and consumption patterns become increasingly problematic and threaten the human welfare. As the regulating power of national and international governments is limited, this challenge has generated a strong interest in thecorporate social responsibility (CSR) of companies. Firms find it increasingly important to meet the expectations of stakeholders with respect to the company’s contribution to profit, planet, and people. The primary aim of this book is to introduce the reader to the impacts and drivers of CSR, with a special focus on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Research into the social and environmental impacts of CSR is rare. This is a serious gap because if CSR were to fail to have favourable social and environmental impacts on society, the whole concept may become redundant. If societal impacts of CSR are substantial, it is important to know the drivers of CSR. This book considers (1) factors internal to the company, (2) the competitive environment of the company, (3) institutions external to the company, and (4) how the impacts of institutions are mediated or moderated by company internal factors. This book will fill this gap by estimating various types of models that integrate external and internal factors driving CSR and its impacts on environment, innovation, and reputation, making it a valuable resource for researchers, academics, and students in the fields of business management and CSR.

1 Introduction Part I Impacts of Corporate Social Responsibility 2 Environmental impacts of formal management instruments 3 Environmental impacts of ISO 14001 and the mediating role of networks 4 Impacts of corporate social responsibility on innovation 5 Does corporate social responsibility put reputation at risk? Part II Internal Drivers of Corporate Social Responsibility 6 Intrinsic versus extrinsic motivations and company size 7 Family business ownership, family management, and company size 8 Women in management and relational environmental management instruments 9 Business culture and corporate social responsibility Part III Impacts of Competition on Corporate Social Responsibility 10 Price competition, short-termism, and corporate social responsibility 11 Technological competition, innovation motive, and corporate social responsibility 12 Competition in innovation, intrinsic motivation, and environmental policy Part IV Institutional Drivers of Corporate Social Responsibility 13 Reconsidering the relevance of social licence pressure and government regulation for environmental impacts of SMEs 14 How NGO and media pressure influence intrinsic motivation of corporate social responsibility 15 Government regulation, business leaders’ motivation, and environmental impacts 16 Economic freedom and CSR: moderation by intrinsic motivations 17 Economic freedom and corporate social responsibility: the role of long-term orientation 18 Collective agreements and equal opportunities for women and minorities Part V Integration and management lessons 19 Overview of results and integration 20 Policy and management implications

Johan J. Graafland is Professor in Economics, Business, and Ethics at Tilburg University, The Netherlands, and Fellow of the Tilburg Sustainability Center.