University of Vaasa - Vaasan yliopisto

WHEN AN AREA BECOMES AN ENEMY: THE ROLE
OF CSR IN SMEs’ DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES
Abstract
Alessandra De Chiara
University of Naples “L’Orientale” – Italy
749
The roots of this research lie in the awareness that there is a relationship of mutual
interdependence between small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and the local system. These
firms are strongly rooted in the territory from which they draw resources often not available
inside the firms.
The competitiveness of the territory positively influences the competitiveness of those enterprises
able to establish relationships with the local actors. But what happens when the territory that was
a fertile basis becomes an enemy?
This research poses the hypothesis that corporate social responsibility (CSR) is introduced as an
enterprise-level strategy to overcome the negative effects produced by the territory and to restore
the level of competitiveness of the firm. In fact if the CSR efforts are organised in a synergistic
way, they can create a virtuous path in which the enterprise efforts stimulate improvements in the
local network, which then regenerates resources and competencies usable by the enterprises
located within it.
Keywords: CSR, SMEs, Competitiveness, Resources and Competences, Territory
The Importance of the Territory for the Enterprise’s
Performance
The influence of the territory on the competitiveness of the enterprise has broadly
been discussed in theoretical debate and it is first of all contained in the concept of
comparative advantage. Since its first introduction, the comparative advantage
doctrine has explained the factors regulating international commercial exchanges –
from the early macroeconomic concept of advantage attributed to low cost of the
labour to the concept of advantage attributed to productivity of the job, to the
classical concept of advantage attributed to the availability of goods on the domestic
market and to the diversified endowment of resources, technological knowledge and
managerial ability. Theory has evolved from approaches focused on the joint
evaluation of the country, business sections, firm factors (Vernon 1966; Richardson
1977; Horst 1972; Hirsch 1976; Buckeley & Casson 1976: 116; Dunning 1977), to
more recent interpretations that overcome the traditional tie of the unmodifiablity of
the factorial endowment (Porter 1991: 978; Hunt & Morgan 1995). These newer