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Journal of Business Ethics

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01.12.2013

The Relevance of Stakeholder Theory and Social Capital Theory in the Context of CSR in SMEs: An Australian Perspective

verfasst von: Suman Sen, James Cowley

Erschienen in: Journal of Business Ethics | Ausgabe 2/2013

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Abstract

The concept of business responsibility, usually termed as corporate social responsibility (CSR), originated in the early 1930s after the Wall Street crash of 1929 exposed corporate irresponsibility in large organisations. The understanding of CSR has evolved since then and its scope has now broadened from mere compliance to corporate laws to active alignment of internal business goals with externally set societal aspirations. Unfortunately, the significance of this multidimensional concept within the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector has continued to be overshadowed by its application in large and multinational organisations. More importantly, this has led to the practice of judging SMEs, which are experiencing increasing pressure to engage in social activities, as if they are no different from their larger counterparts. This study therefore investigates CSR from the perspective of SMEs in Australia without any theoretical presumptions and then comments on the relevance and applicability of the two theories that have been commonly used to investigate business responsibility, namely, stakeholder theory (ST) and social capital theory (SCT). The research findings indicate that CSR within the SME sector is more aligned to the fundamentals of SCT, mainly owing to the unique resource and survival challenges that they face, and which are, arguably, not so pronounced in large organisations.

Vorheriger Artikel Corporate Social Responsibility and Its Impact on Firms’ Investment Policy, Organizational Structure, and Performance

Nächster Artikel Managing the Risks of Corporate Political Donations: A Utilitarian Perspective

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Titel: The Relevance of Stakeholder Theory and Social Capital Theory in the Context of CSR in SMEs: An Australian Perspective
verfasst von: Suman Sen
James Cowley
Publikationsdatum: 01.12.2013
Verlag: Springer Netherlands
Erschienen in: Journal of Business Ethics / Ausgabe 2/2013
Print ISSN: 0167-4544
Elektronische ISSN: 1573-0697
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-012-1598-6

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