CSR Communication & SMEs

Abstract:   Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to investigate how SMEs in the Småland region define and communicate their CSR activities towards their stakeholders. Background: Corporate social responsbility is a topic that is widely discussed today. In many cases the CSR agenda has been adopted by many large corporations. However there is a demand from governmental bodies to spread this agenda further to include and engage small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs). The main reason for this approach is due to SMEs being the most frequent type of business in Europe and is often influential in the local communities (Castka, Balzarova, Bamber, Sharp, 2004). There is also a demand from stakeholders to receive information about CSR. Research within the field of CSR Communication has mostly been focused on large corporations. Recently, the focus has shifted towards SMEs and  it is still an emerging field.  The research  concerning CSR and CSR communication within the SME context is limited and therefore it is an important area that needs to be addressed. Method: The purpose of this thesis was achieved by using the case study approach. Two companies; Smålandsbygg and Sköna Hem AB were investigated. Four respondents from each company were interviewed and the outcome of the interviews was analyzed together with the frame of reference. Conclusions: According to the findings it is difficult to provide one common definition of CSR that can be applied for the two companies in the study. In general it might be difficult to provide a common definition of CSR in SMEs. According to previous research the way SMEs conduct their business is dependent on the owner and the personalities of the management. Consequently, there can be a variety of ways that SMEs are engaging in CSR or percieve CSR to be. There are three different communication strategies when communicating CSR towards the stakeholders. It could be interpreted that both companies applied different communication strategies depending on which stakeholder they were communicating with.