Reggae, rum punch and responsibility : A multi-case study about the usage of CSR in Dominican SMEs

Abstract: This paper aims at providing a deeper understanding about how corporate social responsibility (CSR) can help small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries, looking at the case of Dominica, to strengthen their position on the international market. Different views and aspects of CSR have been found and analysed in order to show what previous scholars have contributed to the field. The literature that has been reviewed examines the different aspects of the phenomena of CSR in general but also in a more specific area, the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) region in combination with SMEs and their potential to internationalise. This has resulted in the development of a conceptual framework that shows how all these parts are connected with each other. During this research, an abductive approach has been used, as there is a lack of existing research about the specific case of Dominica in the context of CSR and internationalization. By using semi-structured interviews with local companies to collect a qualitative research, a greater understanding of how CSR is used in such a context can be gained. The collected data was then analysed through the program NVivo, which provided us with an overview of the findings and connected relevant conclusions from the respondents. This showed that the underlying reasons for acting in responsible ways are not to accomplish any CSR goals, but rather because the companies wanted to or their situation forced them, due to for example due to high import taxes and relationships with other firms. After the presentation of the findings, these are linked together with the theory in the analysis chapter, where the similarities and differences found are discussed. The final chapter includes answers to our research questions but also limitations, implications and suggestions for future research. The major finding that has derived from this thesis is that the main CSR activity conducted by Dominican SMEs are environmental. Moreover, there is a significant research gap concerning the phenomenon of CSR in the Latin America and Caribbean region combined with an even bigger knowledge gap regarding CSR among local companies in Dominica. In this thesis, we have researched a phenomenon that is new in regards to the island of Dominica and we therefore argue that this thesis can be of great value to SMEs in Dominica and other developing countries when planning to internationalize their company. Lastly, we claim that this research can aid policy makers and governments to impose regulations, which can help the companies to not only develop, but to contribute to society at the same time.