Corporate Social Responsibility of SMEs in Global Supply Chains:A Dynamic Capabilities Perspective

Abstract

This explorative case study investigates the dynamic capabilities of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to manage corporate social responsibility (CSR) in globalized supply chains. A common pattern of six SME-specific dynamic capabilities has been identified among the studied companies and may help explain why the seven studied SMEs are able to manage supply chain CSR in a highly effective way. Both size-specific characteristics and the context of global supply chains emerge as important boundary conditions that can shape small companies’ dynamic capabilities, most notably the importance of interorganizational collaboration and the influence of non-financial motives. Results suggest that the dynamic capabilities perspective should not remain restricted to study the quest for competitive advantage, but is also a promising approach to explain variation in the achievement of ethically or socially oriented objectives. The paper follows an inductive approach and develops six testable propositions that can help frame future empirical and “size-aware” research.