Recommended actions to foster the adoption of Corporate Social ...

ethical behavior or the application of internationalstandards, but they have not been broadlydisseminated. All actors –government, MDIs, civilsociety and business associations- have beenidentified as major players in the development ofCSR. Regarding the CSR areas, SMEs perceive themarketplace, workplace, and environment asimportant factors for their economic development,whereas community is not seen as an essential factor.The majority of SMEs in Colombia do not perceiveCSR as a competitiveness tool for their company.There are, however, a number of SMEs that act assuppliers for larger domestic and international firmswhich have already recognized CSR as providing acompetitive edge in the market. IDB experts feelthat SMEs are not likely to become more engaged inCSR in the near future, because SME productivity isquite low and most of them are merely surviving.MDIs were identified as the main actor forfurthering CSR in the country, howevergovernments, business associations and MDIs canalso play important roles. Regarding the areas ofCSR, SMEs perceive the marketplace andenvironment as very important for improving theireconomic development, while workplace andcommunity are not considered very relevant.In El Salvador only a few exporting SMEs, acting assuppliers for larger firms, have recognized CSR asan important factor for competitiveness in themarket. The majority of SMEs in the country still donot perceive CSR as a tool to improve their businesscompetitiveness. However approximately half of theenterprises interviewed for this research perceiveCSR as a priority and most of them are consciousthat society is demanding more socially andenvironmentally responsible behavior. The mainreasons why SMEs do not practice CSR are, lack offinancial resources and lack of information. MDIswere identified as the main actor for furthering CSRin the country, while government, civil society andbusiness associations should get more involved asthey can also play a vital role. Regarding the areasof CSR, SMEs in El Salvador perceive theenvironment as the only important factor forimproving their economic development, whilemarketplace, workplace and community are notconsidered very relevant.In Mexico, the concept of CSR is quite new andthere is no knowledge about CSR among themajority of SMEs, which often confuse the conceptwith the terms philanthropy and ethics. Someexporting SMEs already recognize CSR as animportant factor to improve their competitiveness.There is, little integration of CSR activities betweenlarge companies and SMEs. MDIs and businessassociations were identified as the main actors forfostering CSR among SMEs, however governmentand civil society also have important roles to play.Regarding the areas of CSR, SMEs in Mexicoperceive the marketplace, community andenvironment as very important for improving theireconomic development, while only the workplace isnot considered very relevant.SMEs in Peru show mixed behaviors, while mediumenterprises highly implement CSR activitiesregarding environment and workplace areas, microand small enterprises are more involved at thecommunity level. MDIs together with local publicauthorities and civil society, were identified as themain actors in fostering CSR among SMEs, howeverthe role of business associations is also veryimportant to further its development. Regarding theareas of CSR, SMEs in Peru perceive the marketplaceand community as very important for improvingtheir economic development, while the workplaceand environment are not considered very relevant.The new constitution in Venezuela, whichemphasizes social inclusion and access toeducation, may lead to an increase in responsiblepractices among SMEs. The administration ofPresident Chavez has prioritized social policies andExecutive Summary 5