CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN THE OPINION OF MANAGERS OF SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES IN THE FOOD INDUSTRY FROM THE WARMISKO-MAZURSKIE PROVINCE IN POLAND

Abstract

The aim of this article is to present the assumptions underlying the corporate social responsibility concept, and to evaluate its perception by managers of small and medium-sized enterprises in the food industry in the Warmisko-Mazurskie Province in Poland. Contemporary managers face the challenges arising from operating in an unpredictable and high volatile environment. Changes are often revolutionary in character, creating completely new conditions for business activities. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has enriched the world of management with other than economic values. It promotes building a new type of relations with key stakeholders of an organisation. The implementation of actual CSR in an organisation is a difficult, time-consuming and risk-prone process. To a large extent, it depends on the level of awareness of its importance among the managerial staff. The research object consisted of decision-making persons employed in the analysed SMEs. The study was conducted in 2019 and in 2022, using a customised survey. The companies included in the survey focus on internal stakeholders, where the activities undertaken are mostly proactive in character. Regarding external stakeholders, such activities do not typically go beyond the legal norms. Most of the CSR-related activities tend to have an informal character. The importance of socially responsible values according to the surveyed managers working in the food industry is higher than the average value assigned by the sector of small and medium-sized enterprises.