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Sustainable social responsibility toward multiple stakeholders as a trump card for small and medium‐sized enterprise performance (evidence from China)

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  • Sher Zaman Khan
  • Qing Yang
  • Najib Ullah Khan
  • Sonia Kherbachi
  • Martina Huemann

Abstract

Sustainable social responsibility (SSR) toward multiple stakeholders is proclaimed as an obligation of firms rather than a voluntary deed. Keeping in view the stipulation of sustainability, this paper examines the influence of SSR on sustainable competitive position (SCP) and firm performance (FP) in the context of 307 Chinese small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises. The results indicate a significant influence of aggregated and segregated SSR on SCP and FP. With the exception of SSR toward owners, the dimensions of SSR toward employees, the environment, the community, suppliers, and customers exhibit a significant positive influence on SCP and FP. Simultaneously, the results show that SCP has a mediating role in the relationship between SSR and FP. The findings of the study inculcate the managers to stretch substantial consideration to the interests of multiple stakeholders rather than owners only. Based on the evaluation, theoretical and practical implications are presented for managers, owners, and local governments.

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  • Sher Zaman Khan & Qing Yang & Najib Ullah Khan & Sonia Kherbachi & Martina Huemann, 2020. "Sustainable social responsibility toward multiple stakeholders as a trump card for small and medium‐sized enterprise performance (evidence from China)," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(1), pages 95-108, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:corsem:v:27:y:2020:i:1:p:95-108
    DOI: 10.1002/csr.1776
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    2. Carla Gonzales-Gemio & Claudio Cruz-Cázares & Mary Jane Parmentier, 2020. "Responsible Innovation in SMEs: A Systematic Literature Review for a Conceptual Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-27, December.
    3. Muhammad Mubushar & Shahid Rasool & Muhammad Imtiaz Haider & Roberto Cerchione, 2021. "The impact of corporate social responsibility activities on stakeholders' value co‐creation behaviour," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(6), pages 1906-1920, November.
    4. Farman Ullah Khan & Vanina Adoriana Trifan & Mioara Florina Pantea & Junrui Zhang & Muhammad Nouman, 2022. "Internal Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility: Evidence from Chinese Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-20, February.
    5. Yu Bai & Yuchen Xu & Jianling Jiao, 2022. "Can corporate environmental management benefit from multirelationship social network? An improved maturity model and text mining based on the big data from Chinese enterprises," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(4), pages 5783-5810, April.

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