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Corporate Social Responsibility in SMEs: A Shift from Philanthropy to Institutional Works?

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Abstract

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) amongst Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) is often characterised in the literature as unstructured, informal and ad hoc discretionary philanthropic activities. Drawing insights from recent theoretical/analytical frameworks (i.e. Crane et al., in Corporate social responsibility: Readings and cases in a global context, 2013; and Valente and Crane, in Calif Manag Rev 52(3):52–78, 2010), and on empirical data collected from both Nigeria and Tanzania, we found that CSR practices in SMEs are much more nuanced than previously presented. In addition, SMEs undertake their CSR practices to varying degrees in multiple spaces—i.e. the workplace, marketplace, community and the ecological environment. These CSR practices go beyond philanthropy and in some instances involve institutional works aimed at addressing some of the institutional gaps in the environments where these SMEs operate. The paper makes a contribution by drawing attention to the multiple spaces of CSR practices amongst SMEs, and the institutional works they do, which are often taken for granted in the extant literature. We provide a unique perspective—by arguing that what is frequently conceptualised as philanthropic CSR in Africa is (or may include) ‘institutional works’.

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Notes

  1. It is important to note that Tanzania's efforts to take into account SMEs on development issues go back to the 1970s with the Small Industries Development Organization (SIDO) Act of 1973.

  2. Where the pressures to go along with unethical practices are very strong and positive peer pressure is rare.

  3. In contrast, Jenkins (2004) has argued that SMEs do not necessarily have greater ties to the local community; rather they simply maintain a different relationship from that of larger businesses.

  4. The president at the point of independence, Julius Kambarage Nyerere, implemented a socialist development policy entitled “ujamaa” in an attempt to foster sustainable development in the country. Although Tanzania is considered a democracy, the same party has been in power since 1977. Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) was established during the first president’s rein in office and the party has won every single election since a multi-party system was introduced in 1995 including the most recent election in 2010 which re-instated the current president Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete.

  5. We ran three different focus group sessions which took around 2 h each to give room for in-depth discussions.

  6. It is important to note that although employees can work 50 h of over-time within a four-week period, 63 % of Tanzanians tend to work more than this allowance (International Labour Organization 2010).

  7. “Africapitalism, a term coined by Mr Tony O. Elumelu C.O.N.—a Nigerian banker and economist is an economic philosophy that embodies the private sector's commitment to the economic transformation of Africa through investments that generate both economic prosperity and social wealth.” He argues that “Africa’s renaissance lies in the confluence of the right business and political action.” The concept is fast becoming a buzz word in Africa and expected to gain recognition even beyond the continent. It has continued to attract significant attention in both business and policy circles” (Amaeshi and Idemudia in press).

  8. The importance of the institutional context is made visible when Nigerian and Tanzanian SMEs are compared to UK SMEs. Based on Jenkins (2006)’s findings, the UK environment for SMEs is enabling. For instance, most SMEs in the UK would not generate their own electricity, water or even construct their own road because these have all been provided by the government. The government interfaces with the private sector, so small businesses can therefore focus on CSR relevant initiatives such as providing alternative sources of energy flow to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels. There is also the presence of a strong civil society which forms part of the motivation for UK small businesses to engage in responsible business practices. Taking all of these into consideration, the question would be if the contextual factors were different for SMEs in Nigeria and Tanzania, would that change the way that they would understand, implement and be motivated towards CSR? This question serves as a starting point to promote further research.

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Acknowledgments

We wish to thank Chinedu Okoro, Cosmas Okeke, and Godson Ikiebey at the Lagos Business School, Nigeria for their data collection assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Edinburgh Business School, Edinburgh, UK

    Kenneth Amaeshi

  2. Cranfield School of Management, Bedford, UK

    Kenneth Amaeshi

  3. Lagos Business School, Lagos, Nigeria

    Kenneth Amaeshi & Chris Ogbechie

  4. Durham University Business School, Durham, UK

    Emmanuel Adegbite

  5. York University, Toronto, Canada

    Uwafiokun Idemudia

  6. Toulouse Business School, Toulouse, France

    Konan Anderson Seny Kan

  7. First Bank, Lagos, Nigeria

    Obianuju I. J. Anakwue

  8. Abax Corporate Services Ltd., Ebène, Mauritius

    Mabumba Issa

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  1. Kenneth Amaeshi
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Correspondence to Emmanuel Adegbite.

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Amaeshi, K., Adegbite, E., Ogbechie, C. et al. Corporate Social Responsibility in SMEs: A Shift from Philanthropy to Institutional Works?. J Bus Ethics 138, 385–400 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-015-2633-1

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