A qualitative study of Argentine small and medium enterprises: Factors driving social responsibility

Abstract

Small and medium‐sized enterprise (SMEs) social responsibility has recently begun to gain greater importance in Argentina due to a variety of contextual factors. The main area of inquiry investigated in this study was the motivation for adopting social responsibility initiatives at Argentine SMEs. Exploratory, qualitative methods were employed to evaluate social responsibility initiatives at six firms across several industries. Semistructured interviews served as the primary source of data. Data were analyzed and interpreted using open coding to develop categories and themes. Results indicate that the chief motivation for SMEs to engage in social responsibility rests primarily in the values of company owners or managers. Additional external factors such as labor demands and the economy also influence a firm's choice of corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative. The findings also provide the broader business community with several lessons that could be applied to enhance CSR efforts. Similar to prior research, it was found that both internal and external factors influence the adoption of CSR by SMEs, demonstrating strong support for the roles of an owner's values and the community as key drivers.

Advancing transcendent development: An in‐depth review of developmental corporate social responsibility’s value proposition, inhibitions, and inclusive sustainable development prospects

“…South America, Africa, and Asia are some examples of continental synonymic terms use instead of “DO” without specific reference to their sub‐contextual nation states or regional blocks. This disregard of continental sub‐contexts may explain DCSR’s plateau given the vagueness that accompanies analyzes that focus on continents at the macro‐aggregate level of analysis (Colaço & Simão, 2018; Massoud et al., 2020; Vincent et al., 2019).…”

Mediating role of internationalization readiness in the adoption of social sustainability practices: Evidence from Vietnamese handicraft companies

“…Stakeholder pressures refer to organizations' concerns about the expectations of and the requirements for SSP adoption from individual stakeholders (Govindan et al, 2020;Massoud et al, 2020).…”

“…Stakeholder pressures refer to organizations' concerns about the expectations of and the requirements for SSP adoption from individual stakeholders (Govindan et al, 2020; Massoud et al, 2020). Among them, government, laborers, market, and suppliers are the most prominent in exerting pressures, tangible and intangible alike, on companies to adopt SSP (Sodhi et al, 2022; Tran et al, 2021).…”

“…It should be embedded in businesses' long‐term and broader strategies with positive social outcomes for individuals and the society as a whole (Clube & Tennant, 2022; Mani et al, 2020; Vildåsen, 2018). SSP, thus, cover a broad categories of actions addressing issues ranging from labor welfare, human rights, working environments, community development, diversity support, ethical behavior, and product responsibilities to supply chain responsibilities (Govindan et al, 2020; Massoud et al, 2020; Nakamba et al, 2017). These categories of SSP are widely adopted by companies around the world to meet expectations and requirements of stakeholders (Andersson et al, 2022; Huq & Stevenson, 2020), to mitigate pressures from competitors (Chen & Chen, 2019; Leonidou et al, 2015), and to align with increasing global economic integration (Aguilera‐Caracuel et al, 2012).…”

Corporate Social Performance and Firm Location

“…A comprehensive review of existing literature has revealed that enterprises operating within the same geographical location are subject to isomorphic pressures and tend to engage in similar CSP (Marquis and Tilcsik, 2016;Massoud et al, 2020). These enterprises are bound by a unique social activity that is specific to their respective locations and communities, owing to similarities in economic, regulatory, and legal environments (Ding et al, 2019).…”