University of Vaasa - Vaasan yliopisto

Accordingly, referring to Basu and Pallazzo (2008), CR can be defined as:
“…the process by which managers within an organization think
about and discuss relationships with stakeholders as well as their
roles in relation to the common good, along with their behavioural
disposition with respect to the fulfilment and achievement of these
roles and relationships.“
836
We carried out a two-part empirical study. First, generalisable findings could be
extracted from the empirical studies at hand. Although the different studies had to be
compared very carefully because of different research designs, sample sizes,
differences in focus (Sustainability, C(S)R, Corporate Citizenship) and research
objects (e.g. SMEs or family enterprises), there are robust patterns of CRengagement
of German SMEs. These findings served as hypotheses that were tested
and confirmed in a quantitative survey.
After that, the main study was carried out. Sensemaking of corporate actors,
perception patterns and structures of signification were analysed qualitatively with
narrative interviews, focusing on generating narratives as a retrospective
interpretation of past actions. It is important, that the interviewees are enabled to
report on histories they experienced themselves as involved actors. The stories are
told without being influenced by the researcher and his hypotheses. These narratives
deliver “thick descriptions” of complex situations and processes and serve as a basis
to analyse perception patterns and their structural influences (Geertz 1973). We not
only interviewed SMEs owner-managers but also employees with different
backgrounds from different departments in 16 medium-sized companies about their
perception of CR and their main decision-makers’ world-views, values, actions etc.
The interviews were recorded, transcribed and interpreted using qualitative content
analysis. Giddens’ theory of structuration (1984) provided the analytic framework.
The structures are a combination of the structural dimensions (1) legitimation (rules
of the sanctioning of social action), (2) signification (rules of the constitution of
meaning) and (3) domination (allocative and authoritative resources). Pathdependencies
can be analysed in reference to the establishment and allocation of
corporate knowledge („absorptive capacity“, Cohen & Levinthal 1990), as well as
the development of re-configurable competence („dynamic capabilities“, Teece et al.
1997) for the ability of innovation.
CR in Small-and Medium-Sized Enterprises: Empirical
Results
SMEs started dealing with CR later and less comprehensively than major enterprises.
One reason is the significantly lower stakeholder pressure they face at the moment.
By now a sufficient number of empirical studies are available to offer empirically
reliable results on motives, stakeholders and activities (e.g. UMU 2008, ZEW 2008,
Backhaus-Maul & Braun 2007, Bader et al 2007, Bertelsmann Stiftung 2007, BDI
2007, CCCD 2007, Ernst&Young 2007, GILDE 2007, sneep Hamburg 2007,
Bertelsmann Stiftung 2006, Mutz & Egbringhoff 2006, forsa 2005, Maaß & Clemens