DR Rania CSR
DR Rania CSR
DR Rania CSR
1. Introduction:
companies now trust that whenever they do “good” for others, it will be reflected
on their shareholders, which means doing “good” for themselves as well. Good
management can be touched in the company‟s CSR activities that integrate
broader societal concerns into business strategy and performance. Acting
responsibly towards workers as well as others in society can be in the long-term
concern of firms and their shareholders. This is in addition to building trust with
the community and giving firms a frame in attracting good customers and
employees (Black, Porter, 2002).
It is obvious that the improvements made in CSR theory during the last 30
years are remarkable. However, CSR is primarily understood from the viewpoint
of large corporations and not SMEs. Therefore, it is appropriate to ask SMEs
about their understanding and implementation of CSR. In fact, the researcher
found there is a lack of exploratory research with respect to the attitude of the
SMEs middle managers in Lebanon toward CSR, in general, and the
implementation of CSR practices in their companies, in particular.
3. Research Questions:
1- Do SMEs middle managers in Lebanon have a positive attitude toward
CSR?
2- Do they apply any of the CSR practices in their company?
4. Literature Review:
In the past years, many managers and researchers tried to better understand corporate social
responsibility. They have been trying to absorb the pros and cons of business involvement in
resolving social problems. According to Carroll, there are four types of responsibilities in a
company: economic, legal, ethical, and discretionary; the construction of these
responsibilities plus the company's total concept of corporate social responsibility is helpful
for distinguishing between those responsibilities that are market or legally oriented, and
those that go beyond the law (Kenner, Smith, 1991). This pursuit has been quite productive
in advancing the theory of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Nevertheless, many
authorities still get disoriented by this noticeable gap between CSR theory and management
practices. The limited information on managing CSR in small businesses is making this
problem worse. In fact, several factors have made the understanding of small business CSR
harder. First, only modest research and discussion have paid attention to CSR in SMEs‟ the
main focus was on large scale organizations (Chrisman and Archer 1984). Second, it is
believed that SMEs lack enough influence or resources to effectively address social issues
(Spencer and Heinze 1973). Third, SMEs have been encouraged to disregard social
practices and to focus instead on avoiding irresponsible or illegal behavior (Van Auekn and
Ireland 1982) (Kenner, Smith, 1991).
According to Kenner and Smith, more than 60% of the U.S. work force is
employed by companies with fewer than 50 employees. This fact is ignored by
many of the CSR studies that were conducted mainly in large-scale corporations
(Trost 1988). Only 0.08% of all businesses provide work for 1,000 or more
people; 95.3% of all businesses employ less than 50 people (U.S. Department of
Commerce 1987). As a result, when CSR is studied only in large corporations
their findings may not be generalized to the most widespread firms where most of
the U.S. population works. As a result, there are little theoretically based
teachings upon which SMEs practitioners can draw in formulating CSR policies
(Kenner, Smith, 1991).
Concerning the cost of CSR, Shiffman wrote in his article: “Make money –
Practice social responsibility” that predictable wisdom would have many
managers consider that social responsibility is in conflict with revenue and profit
growth. It's true: Any company's responsibility is mainly to increase profits
(Shiffman, 2007). Shiffman believes that social and environmental responsibilities
are no longer just about giving money and services to deprived groups. In fact,
business process, product development, and partnerships can all be analyzed for
better, more responsible options. Moreover, if the responsible alternative saves
money in the long term, adds value to the product, and creates a optimistic
culture inside the company, then it's a good thing. Moreover, CSR should no
longer be a reflection, but a key part of how a company exists, develops its
products and services, and attracts motivated employees (Shiffman, 2007).
other resource pressures; more immediate pressures from the daily struggle to
survive commercially; lack of know-how and know-who. Finally the Round Table
has identified a number of critical success factors for SMEs that wish to embed
CSR principles into their core. Some of them are: commitment of owner/
management to running their business on these principles; enthusiastic
engagement of employees and other stakeholders; core business vision and
values based on CSR principles; availability of good practice examples for other
SMEs to learn from (European Multi-stakeholder Forum on CSR, 2004). CSR
can engage a wide variety of stakeholders: shareholders, employees, business
partners, suppliers, communities, regulators, intergovernmental bodies,
consumers, and investors (Kenner, Smith, 1991) (Refer to Figure 1).
Moreover, there are many possible benefits for SMEs when employing a CSR
perspective.
These benefits include:
Developing a good business reputation.
Attracting and retaining motivated workforce.
Offering a competitive advantage.
Enhancing the operational efficiencies.
Improved ability to deal with change.
Healthier “social license” to function in the community.
Winning and keeping consumers and customers.
Expect and be prepared for future legislation (Kenner, 1991). For
SMEs to implement CSR, they have to work on 6 tasks:
1) The first task is to perform a CSR appraisal. Present business practices
should be reviewed to recognize activities that fall under the heading of
CSR (e.g. recycling), as well as potential activities. A main resource to
exploit in this regard is “the employee”. The employees, especially the
front-line employees, are often aware of a number of ways in which the
firm's activities influence stakeholders. Moreover, they often have
recommendations for improvement; which might be beneficiary for the
organization.
Proceedings of World Business Research Conference
21 - 23 April 2014, Novotel World Trade Centre, Dubai, UAE, ISBN: 978-1-922069-48-1
2) The second task is to build up CSR tactics in different areas. Even though
SMEs don't have a lot of strategies other than growing their business, they
can still start by choosing one area to focus on based on an attainable
goal. For instance, the organization can establish its recycling program, or
it can support a children's sports team, or it can encourage its employees
to volunteer in any type of social activity (to clean up a recreational area).
3) The third task is to build up CSR loyalty. This can be reflected in a vision,
mission and statement of values for the company. CSR should be
imbedded in the center of the company‟s vision. To ensure buy-in from
employees, SMEs can include their employees in the process of
developing the vision and values, by holding, for example, a contest for
the best suggestions, encouraging employees to put some thought into
their submissions.
4) The fourth task is to execute CSR promises. SMEs should guarantee that
the employees are involved in the CSR strategy; they have to be
committed; and they have to support the proposals. Without the support of
staff the execution plan will probably be considerably delayed and may as
a result not succeed.
5) The fifth step is to monitor the CSR activities progress. The simplest way
for SMEs for reporting is to place information on the company website.
This is a practical way to provide an update on recent CSR initiatives,
including both successes and points for enhancement. Moreover, by
adding a section to the company‟s brochure, for example, small business
owners can disseminate CSR activities to their suppliers, customers and
public.
6) The final task is to evaluate and take corrective actions. The company
should evaluate the practices following pre-determined intervals. When
the evaluation shows that the results are equal to the stated CSR
objectives, this proves that the firm is most likely on the right path. When
the results are not equal to the stated CSR objectives, then the CSR
strategy may need to be adjusted (Jenkins, 2006).
(Refer to Figures 2 and 3 for examples of CSR practices in Lebanon in the
Appendix).
Furthermore, ISO has started on the development of the future ISO 26000
standard offering voluntary assistance on social responsibility (SR). ISO 26000
will target organizations of all types, equally in public and private sectors, in
developed and developing countries. ISO 26000 will add value to existing SR
initiatives by: developing an international agreement on what SR means and the
SR issues that organizations need to tackle, by providing assistance on
translating principles into effective actions, and by refining best practices that
have already evolved and communicating the information worldwide for the good
of the international public. In fact, ISO 26000 will add value to existing initiatives
for social responsibility by providing harmonized, globally relevant guidance
based on international consensus among expert representatives of the main
Proceedings of World Business Research Conference 21 - 23 April 2014, Novotel World
Trade Centre, Dubai, UAE, ISBN: 978-1-922069-48-1
Based on what was mentioned above and in all the previous chapters, the
hypotheses of this study were developed. They were studied and analyzed in this
statistical research. For this reason, the CSR practices were studied under five
different aspects: (1) workplace, (2) Environment, (3) marketplace, (4)
Community, and (5) common values. The hypotheses were divided based on
these five aspects.
5. Research Methodology:
For this purpose, a survey was conducted with SMEs middle managers.
By doing face-to-face interviews just by filling a questionnaire, a better
percentage of responses were generated, especially that the respondents were
known. In addition, another way to fill a questionnaire was by making phone
calls. By calling specific companies, mainly SMEs having at least one aspect of
CSR practices, and talking to the right person, a questionnaire was completed in
Proceedings of World Business Research Conference 21 - 23 April 2014, Novotel World
Trade Centre, Dubai, UAE, ISBN: 978-1-922069-48-1
less time needed. Moreover, the questionnaire was carefully developed, tested,
and debugged before it was administered on a large scale.
On another hand, while drawing the sample, the following steps were taken into
consideration:
1) Defining the population: The elements and sampling units of this study were
any employee working in an SME in Lebanon.
2) Identifying the sampling frame: There was only one frame in which the
research was conducted: any employee working in an SME in Lebanon, under one
condition which was that the SME should be practicing at least one aspect of the CSR.
3) Determining the sample size: Taking into consideration many factors, and
especially the necessary degree of precision, the sample included 94 elements.
For privacy and ethical reasons, the studied companies were to remain anonymous.
However, it can be stated, that the companies were chosen from different regions in Lebanon
(Beirut, Mount Lebanon, and Metn). They were from different industries (Education, Services,
and Manufacturing). The managers inside these companies were chosen randomly.
The study was carried out using a 21-item feedback form. This survey helped to calculate
some statistics concerning the attitude of the SMEs middle managers in Lebanon toward CSR,
in general, and the implementation of CSR practices in their companies, in particular. The
questionnaire was divided into 3 sections:
- General information about the SMEs and the mangers background.
This survey was conducted with only SMEs middle managers. The questionnaires were
distributed to and filled by the managers. They were chosen randomly from different companies,
different geographical locations, and different industries.
Proceedings of World Business Research Conference 21 - 23 April 2014, Novotel World
Trade Centre, Dubai, UAE, ISBN: 978-1-922069-48-1
6. Findings:
This survey studied the attitude of the SMEs middle managers in Lebanon
toward CSR, in general, and the implementation of CSR practices in their
companies, in particular. After analysing the outcomes of the questionnaire, it
was obvious that the majority (70%) of the managers believed that CSR is
beneficiary for the company, only 20% believed that CRS was extremely
beneficiary, and 10% thought that CSR is a waste of time for SMEs (Refer to
Figure 4)
70
60
50
40
30
20
10 CRS is
0
Beneficiary
xtremelybeneficiary
Extremelywasteoftime
Waste oftime
Neither /nor
Concerning the question: “Do you think any SME can have CSR
practices?”, the answers were 80% for “Yes” and only 20% for “No”. Moreover,
from the ones who answered by a “No”, 30% said that CSR costs a lot and 30%
said that they need to focus on core activities only. For the other responses, refer
to figure 5.
Costs a lot
30 30
Lack of know-how
Lack of resources
No external
10 encouragement
Focus on core activities
20 10
Figure 5: Reasons for not implementing CSR in SMEs
The last part of the theoretical section was about any suggestions that the
mangers need to give. Some of these suggestions were: “Need more
encouragement”, “Need more appreciation”, “Need more awareness”…
As for the last section about the actual implementation of CSR practises in
the companies, it was divided into 5 levels: workplace, environmental,
marketplace, community, and company values. Concerning the workplace level,
Proceedings of World Business Research Conference 21 - 23 April 2014, Novotel World
Trade Centre, Dubai, UAE, ISBN: 978-1-922069-48-1
from the below chart (Figure 6), it is obvious that the majority (40%) of the asked-
about CSR practices are not implemented in the SMEs questioned. These
asked-about CSR practices were if there are any steps taken against all forms of
discrimination, if managers consult with subordinates on important issues, if the
company has suitable arrangements for health and safety, and if the company
offers a good work-life balance for its employees.
70
60
50
40 Q1
30 Q2
20 Q3
10 Q4
0
Yes No In part Don’t Not
Know Applicable
Not Applicable
Don’t know Q5
In part Q6
Q7
No
Q8
Yes
On the other hand, the results of the survey concerning the marketplace
level were different than the previous levels. In fact, the majority (42%) of the
managers replied that they are implementing the asked-about CSR practices (fair
purchasing policy, after-sales obligations...), and only 27% replied by a “No”.
Figure 8 illustrates the results.
Proceedings of World Business Research Conference 21 - 23 April 2014, Novotel World
Trade Centre, Dubai, UAE, ISBN: 978-1-922069-48-1
140
120
100
80 Q11
60 Q10
40 Q9
20
0
Yes No In Part Don’t Not
Know Applicable
As for the last two levels, the statistics are very similar for the first two
levels, where the answer “No” has the highest percentage. In fact, on the
community level (training opportunities, apprenticeships, local purchase, local
community activities, charitable donations...), 45% of the interviewees had a
negative answer, and for the company values level (clearly defined company‟s
values and rules of conduct), 75% had a negative answer, while only 10%
answered by “Yes”.
Workplace
Figure 9: Summary chart
Proceedings of World Business Research Conference 21 - 23 April 2014, Novotel World
Trade Centre, Dubai, UAE, ISBN: 978-1-922069-48-1
4 6
28 Yes
17
No
In part
Don’t know
Not applicable
45
7. Discussion:
From the above percentages and charts, the researcher concluded that the attitude
of the SMEs middle managers in Lebanon toward CSR is positive, in general; however,
on the practical level, the SMEs are not implementing a lot of CSR practices in their
companies. Although the majority of the interviewees believed in the importance of CSR
for SMEs, and the majority believed that any SME can have CSR practices, those same
managers, on the practical level, didn‟t implement most of the asked-about CSR
practices on the workplace, environmental, community, and company values levels.
What was surprising to the researcher, however, was that although a negative
answer was given in most of the questions, it was very clear and obvious that only the
section related to the marketplace had a positive answer. It was the only exception from
the five discussed levels. In fact, the SMEs middle level managers admitted the use of
most of the asked-about CSR practices related to marketplace. Therefore, the researcher
can conclude that CSR is mostly implemented to what relates to marketing because this
is where the communication between the company and the customers mostly take place.
8. Research Limitations:
Concerning the limitations for this study, the major one was that in the
practical section, the researcher had to rely only on the answers of the
interviewees, where, in fact, a direct observation, in this case, can give a broader,
clearer, and more complete image. The other limitation was that the
questionnaires were only administered to middle level managers and not a
sample from all levels, where, in fact, their opinions might be different and maybe
contradictory.
As mentioned in the above section, and after conducting this exploratory research, a descriptive
survey should be conducted, with interviewees from all managerial levels, to analyze and study in
depth the CSR topic in SMEs in Lebanon; on the other hand, the descriptive survey can also cover
more levels – other than the five levels discussed in this research – to have a broader and more
complete image concerning the implementation of the CSR practices in the SMEs. In addition, in
order to understand deeply the CSR applications in SMEs, a very concentrated study can be done
in one particular sector or industry. The result of this intensive study can provide those SMEs in
this particular industry with a list of guidelines and attractive CSR practices.
10. References:
Baker, Mallen (2004, May 23) Finding the formula for responsible
small companies. An
article from Business Respect, Issue Number 74, dated 23 May 2004.
Black S. and Porter L. (2002), Management Meeting New Challenges, Prentice
Hall. Corporate Social Responsibility, By Business Link, Retrieved on February
10, 2014 from
http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/layer?=en&r.s=sc&r.l1=10744
04796&r.lc=en&r.l3=1075408468&r.l2=1074446322&topicId=1075408468
&r.i=1075408480&r.t=RESOURCES
Gatewood, E. and Carroll, A. B. (1981). “The Anatomy of Corporate
Social Response”. Business Horizons. September – October 1981.
Harris, D., and DeSimone, R. (1994). Human Resource Development, Dryden. Hicks
H. and Gullett R. (1981), Management, McGraw-Hill Series in Management,
th
4 edition.
Hitt M., Hoskisson R., and Ireland D. (2007), Management of Strategy Concepts
and Cases,
Thomson.
ISO and social responsibility, 2008, ISO Central Secretariat,
International Organization for
Standardization, www.iso.org
Jenkins, Heledd (2006, October 3).Small Business Champions for Corporate
Social Responsibility. Journal of Business Ethics.
Kenner, Thompson and Smith, Howard (1991). Social Responsibility and
Small Business:
Proceedings of World Business Research Conference 21 - 23 April 2014, Novotel World
Trade Centre, Dubai, UAE, ISBN: 978-1-922069-48-1
11. Appendix: