Abstract

Although CSR has traditionally been associated with big business, the SME business sector is such a significant sector worldwide in terms of the economic, environmental and social impact it makes, that attention has been turned to discussion and analysis of principles and practice of CSR in small and medium size businesses. SMEs are not merely small versions of big businesses, so as a result a particularly fast-growing body of academic work has become focused on commitment to CSR in the sector. As a result, the aim of this article is to set out an analysis of the main work carried out on the subject of CSR in SMEs. The analysis is a four part summary. In the first part, we explore the definition and the main CSR practices found in SMEs. The second part relates to determining characteristics of commitment to CSR within SMEs. Next we set out the challenges for SMEs and the constraints made upon them by CSR. Finally, the last section deals with positive examples of CSR in SMEs. Taking this literature review summary as a structural basis we then go on to demonstrate 3 research methodologies.

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