IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/corsem/v28y2021i3p992-1001.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Difference in stakeholder engagement approach of small & medium enterprises and large companies and its performance implications

Author

Listed:
  • Kamalesh Kumar
  • Rishtee Batra
  • Giacomo Boesso

Abstract

Using the explicit and implicit Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) framework, this study investigates how small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and large companies differ in their approach to CSR and what association these differing approaches to CSR have with a company's financial and social performances. We develop and validate a stakeholder engagement approach (SEA) scale and then present the results of data collected from 211 SMEs and 179 large companies. The results indicate that while large companies rely more on explicitly articulated and formally enacted approaches to CSR, SMEs integrate social responsibility into their company activities in informal and implicit ways. The results also show that the explicit approach has a positive association with financial performance measures, while the implicit approach has a positive association with social performance. The findings of this study provide a more nuanced and theoretically grounded understanding of differences in the CSR practices of SMEs and large companies.

Suggested Citation

  • Kamalesh Kumar & Rishtee Batra & Giacomo Boesso, 2021. "Difference in stakeholder engagement approach of small & medium enterprises and large companies and its performance implications," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(3), pages 992-1001, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:corsem:v:28:y:2021:i:3:p:992-1001
    DOI: 10.1002/csr.2100
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.2100
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/csr.2100?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kamalesh Kumar & Giacomo Boesso & Giovanna Michelon, 2016. "How Do Strengths and Weaknesses in Corporate Social Performance Across Different Stakeholder Domains Affect Company Performance?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(4), pages 277-292, May.
    2. Gregory G. Dess & Richard B. Robinson, 1984. "Measuring organizational performance in the absence of objective measures: The case of the privately‐held firm and conglomerate business unit," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 5(3), pages 265-273, July.
    3. Maria Santos, 2011. "CSR in SMEs: strategies, practices, motivations and obstacles," Social Responsibility Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 7(3), pages 490-508, August.
    4. Giuseppe Sannino & Manuela Lucchese & Giovanni Zampone & Rosa Lombardi, 2020. "Cultural dimensions, Global Reporting Initiatives commitment, and corporate social responsibility issues: New evidence from Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development banks," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(4), pages 1653-1663, July.
    5. Guo‐Ciang Wu, 2017. "Effects of Socially Responsible Supplier Development and Sustainability‐Oriented Innovation on Sustainable Development: Empirical Evidence from SMEs," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 24(6), pages 661-675, November.
    6. Dorothée Baumann-Pauly & Christopher Wickert & Laura Spence & Andreas Scherer, 2013. "Organizing Corporate Social Responsibility in Small and Large Firms: Size Matters," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 115(4), pages 693-705, July.
    7. repec:eme:srjpps:v:6:y:2010:i:2:p:490-508 is not listed on IDEAS
    8. Joseph E. Coombs & K. Matthew Gilley, 2005. "Stakeholder management as a predictor of CEO compensation: main effects and interactions with financial performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(9), pages 827-840, September.
    9. Stacy H.N. Lee & Jung Ha‐Brookshire & Pui‐Sze Chow, 2018. "The moral responsibility of corporate sustainability as perceived by fashion retail employees: a USA‐China cross‐cultural comparison study," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(8), pages 1462-1475, December.
    10. Silvia Cantele & Alessandro Zardini, 2020. "What drives small and medium enterprises towards sustainability? Role of interactions between pressures, barriers, and benefits," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(1), pages 126-136, January.
    11. Stephen Brammer & Chris Brooks & Stephen Pavelin, 2006. "Corporate Social Performance and Stock Returns: UK Evidence from Disaggregate Measures," Financial Management, Financial Management Association, vol. 35(3), Autumn.
    12. Amy J. Hillman & Gerald D. Keim, 2001. "Shareholder value, stakeholder management, and social issues: what's the bottom line?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(2), pages 125-139, February.
    13. Ludovic Cassely & C. Revelli & Sami Ben Larbi & Lacroux A., 2020. "Sustainable development drivers of companies: An international and multilevel analysis," Post-Print hal-03082814, HAL.
    14. Fabricio Stocker & Michelle P. de Arruda & Keysa M. C. de Mascena & João M. G. Boaventura, 2020. "Stakeholder engagement in sustainability reporting: A classification model," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(5), pages 2071-2080, September.
    15. Ludovic Cassely & Christophe Revelli & Sami Ben Larbi & Alain Lacroux, 2020. "Sustainable development drivers of companies: An international and multilevel analysis," Post-Print hal-03511371, HAL.
    16. Sami Ben Larbi & Ludovic Cassely & Christophe Revelli & Alain Lacroux, 2020. "Sustainable development drivers of companies: An international and multilevel analysis," Post-Print hal-03563957, HAL.
    17. Ludovic Cassely & Christophe Revelli & Sami Ben Larbi & Alain Lacroux, 2020. "Sustainable development drivers of companies: An international and multilevel analysis," Post-Print hal-03511383, HAL.
    18. Walid Ben‐Amar & Mohamed Chelli, 2018. "What drives voluntary corporate water disclosures? The effect of country‐level institutions," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(8), pages 1609-1622, December.
    19. Heledd Jenkins, 2006. "Small Business Champions for Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 67(3), pages 241-256, September.
    20. Giovanna Michelon & Giacomo Boesso & Kamalesh Kumar, 2013. "Examining the Link between Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility and Company Performance: An Analysis of the Best Corporate Citizens," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 20(2), pages 81-94, March.
    21. Angeloantonio Russo & Antonio Tencati, 2009. "Formal vs. Informal CSR Strategies: Evidence from Italian Micro, Small, Medium-sized, and Large Firms," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 85(2), pages 339-353, April.
    22. Jaepil Choi & Heli Wang, 2009. "Stakeholder relations and the persistence of corporate financial performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(8), pages 895-907, August.
    23. Ted Fuller & Yumiao Tian, 2006. "Social and Symbolic Capital and Responsible Entrepreneurship: An Empirical Investigation of SME Narratives," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 67(3), pages 287-304, September.
    24. Vanessa Prieto‐Sandoval & Carmen Jaca & Javier Santos & Rupert J. Baumgartner & Marta Ormazabal, 2019. "Key strategies, resources, and capabilities for implementing circular economy in industrial small and medium enterprises," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(6), pages 1473-1484, November.
    25. Ludovic Cassely & Christophe Revelli & Sami Ben Larbi & Alain Lacroux, 2020. "Sustainable development drivers of companies: An international and multilevel analysis," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(5), pages 2028-2043, September.
    26. Pavel Castka & Michaela A. Balzarova & Christopher J. Bamber & John M. Sharp, 2004. "How can SMEs effectively implement the CSR agenda? A UK case study perspective," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 11(3), pages 140-149, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Hildegunn Mellesmo Aslaksen & Clare Hildebrandt & Hans Chr. Garmann Johnsen, 2021. "The long-term transformation of the concept of CSR: towards a more comprehensive emphasis on sustainability," International Journal of Corporate Social Responsibility, Springer, vol. 6(1), pages 1-14, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Kamalesh Kumar & Giacomo Boesso & Rishtee Batra & Jun Yao, 2021. "Cross‐national differences in stakeholder management: Applying institutional theory and comparative capitalism framework," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(5), pages 2354-2366, July.
    2. Kamalesh Kumar & Giacomo Boesso & Rishtee Batra & Jun Yao, 2019. "Explicit and implicit corporate social responsibility: Differences in the approach to stakeholder engagement activities of U.S. and Japanese companies," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(6), pages 1121-1130, September.
    3. Giacomo Boesso & Barbara Fryzel & Marco Ghitti, 2023. "Corporate social responsibility and comparative capitalism frameworks: Evidence from the United States, Poland, and Italy," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(2), pages 531-547, March.
    4. Jean-Marie Courrent & Sonia Chassé & Waleed Omri, 2018. "Do Entrepreneurial SMEs Perform Better Because They are More Responsible?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 153(2), pages 317-336, December.
    5. Ki‐Hoon Lee & David M. Herold & Ae‐Li Yu, 2016. "Small and Medium Enterprises and Corporate Social Responsibility Practice: A Swedish Perspective," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 23(2), pages 88-99, March.
    6. Dongsoo Kim & Jongseon Lee & Nami Kim, 2023. "Engaging CSR in SMEs by exporting: The critical factors of CEOs and markets," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(4), pages 1953-1964, July.
    7. Niccolò Nirino & Enrico Battisti & Alberto Ferraris & Stefano Dell'Atti & Massimiliano Farina Briamonte, 2022. "How and when corporate social performance reduces firm risk? The moderating role of corporate governance," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(6), pages 1995-2005, November.
    8. Nuttaneeya Torugsa & Wayne O’Donohue & Rob Hecker, 2012. "Capabilities, Proactive CSR and Financial Performance in SMEs: Empirical Evidence from an Australian Manufacturing Industry Sector," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 109(4), pages 483-500, September.
    9. Magrizos, Solon & Apospori, Eleni & Carrigan, Marylyn & Jones, Rosalind, 2021. "Is CSR the panacea for SMEs? A study of socially responsible SMEs during economic crisis," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 39(2), pages 291-303.
    10. Gregorio Sánchez-Marín & Gabriel Lozano-Reina & Mané Beglaryan, 2022. "HRM Policies and SMEs Performance: The Moderating Role of CSR Orientation," Central European Business Review, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2022(1), pages 85-110.
    11. Andrea Stübner & Svenja Jarchow, 2023. "Family oblige: the link between CSR and succession intention in small and medium family firms," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 93(3), pages 389-431, April.
    12. Laura Broccardo & Elisa Truant & Lèo‐Paul Dana, 2023. "The sustainability orientation in the wine industry: An analysis based on age as a driver," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(3), pages 1300-1313, May.
    13. Mercedes Rubio‐Andrés & María del Mar Ramos‐González & Miguel Ángel Sastre‐Castillo & Ignacio Danvila‐del‐Valle, 2020. "Exploring sustainability, good governance, and social responsibility in small and medium enterprises," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(2), pages 852-869, March.
    14. Herrera Madueño, Jesús & Larrán Jorge, Manuel & Lechuga Sancho, María Paula & Martínez-Martínez, Domingo, 2016. "Responsabilidad social en las pymes: análisis exploratorio de factores explicativos," Revista de Contabilidad - Spanish Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 19(1), pages 31-44.
    15. Manuel Larrán Jorge & Jesús Herrera Madueño & María Paula Lechuga Sancho & Domingo Martínez-Martínez, 2016. "Development of corporate social responsibility in small and medium-sized enterprises and its nexus with quality management," Cogent Business & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 3(1), pages 1228569-122, December.
    16. Maria Jesus Bonilla‐Priego & Juan‐José Nájera‐Sánchez & Xavier Font, 2022. "Beyond ethics: The transformational power of overlapping motivations in implementing strategic sustainability actions," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(3), pages 685-697, March.
    17. Mª de la Cruz Déniz-Déniz & Mª Katiuska Cabrera-Suárez & Josefa D. Martín-Santana, 2020. "Orientation Toward Key Non-family Stakeholders and Economic Performance in Family Firms: The Role of Family Identification with the Firm," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 163(2), pages 329-345, May.
    18. Maria J. Charlo & Ismael Moya & Ana M. Muñoz, 2017. "Financial Performance of Socially Responsible Firms: The Short- and Long-Term Impact," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-15, September.
    19. Leon Guillén & Afcha Sergio & Chu Manuel, 2022. "Research on social responsibility of small and medium enterprises: a bibliometric analysis," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 72(3), pages 857-909, September.
    20. Silvia Cantele & Alessandro Zardini, 2020. "What drives small and medium enterprises towards sustainability? Role of interactions between pressures, barriers, and benefits," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(1), pages 126-136, January.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:corsem:v:28:y:2021:i:3:p:992-1001. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://doi.org/10.1002/(ISSN)1535-3966 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.