Corporate social responsibility (CSR) among small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from emerging and developing economies

中小型企业（SMEs）的企业社会责任（CSR）研究是非常必要的，因为在经济危机时期，中小企业既能促进经济增长，又能为创造就业、福利和公民做出贡献。中小企业的贡献在发展中经济体中特别重要，因为发展中经济体的政府往往未能执行基本的社会和环境标准或提供基本的社会服务。然而，对新兴/发展中国家企业社会责任的研究和对中小企业的研究往往是孤立的。我们的目的是将主流、发展中国家和中小企业社会责任的文献汇集到同一个领域，并为这些分支学科之间的交流和交叉学习创造一个环境。拟议的系列讨论会的主要目的是：-评估新兴国家和发展中国家中小企业关于企业社会责任的知识现状；-重新检讨企业社会责任与中小企业关系的预测因素、结果、调节因素和中介因素；-创造一个环境，让不同的子领域在这个主题上进行有效的交流和交叉学习-探讨如何最大限度地发挥中小企业对社会和环境的积极影响。该系列研讨会的一个重要特点是将英国的专家与来自非洲和亚洲发展中国家的专家聚集在一起。为了充分受益于发展中国家的专业知识和观点，我们建议在博茨瓦纳举办一次研讨会，以配合非洲管理学院2014年会议。我们还将把该研讨会作为我们的主要机会，尽管不是唯一的机会，以支持和发展博士生和早期职业研究人员的奖学金。鉴于供应链和市场的全球性质以及不同的经济和文化背景，我们设想从拟议的系列研讨会及其相关的学习传播和对实践的影响中可以产生大量的协同作用和增长。这个研究研讨会系列提案的特别目的是促进跨地区的学习交流，特别是从业者、政策制定者和学者之间的合作，以帮助确保学习对中小企业及其支持中介机构的相关性、影响和传播。我们预计，学习将是多边的，而不仅仅是发达国家“教”发展中国家和新兴经济体的那种常见的狭隘假设。该系列研讨会提案是专家学者和具有企业社会责任/中小企业背景经验的实践者之间的合作。领导该提案的学者因其在该提案的所有要素-企业社会责任，中小企业，发展中国家，新兴经济体和发达经济体背景下的工作而享誉国际。从业者拥有跨欧洲和全球的中小企业会员资格，他们可以利用这些会员资格，并通过这些会员资格确保相关性，并寻求支持中小企业对企业社会责任的影响。与欧盟委员会内的CSR政策顾问的联系确保了对政策产生高水平影响的机会。我们系列研讨会的特定主题旨在确保在我们与其他人协商后认为最有益的领域，包括比较观点，供应链中的中小企业，中小企业的治理框架，社会企业家精神和负责任的金融，充分建立学术和实践知识。将促进的跨学科、学术/从业者和多层次研究的国际性质将建立在现有的网络和合作基础上，并将在几个层面上为ESRC围绕可持续增长、公平社会、积极影响中小企业行为和为干预提供信息的战略目标做出贡献。正如所附的支持信所示，我们与相关利益攸关方的讨论表明，我们强烈认为有必要举办这个系列研讨会。

Research on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) among small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) is highly warranted given that SMEs are looked to, not least in times of economic crisis, to both generate economic growth and contribute to job creation, welfare and citizenship. The contribution of SMEs is of particular importance in developing economies where governments often failed to enforce basic social and environmental standards or to provide basic social services. However, research on CSR in emerging/developing countries and research on SMEs has tended to operate in silos. Our purpose is to bring together the mainstream, developing country and SME-CSR literatures into the same arena and create an environment for exchange and cross-learning between these sub-disciplines.The main aims of the proposed seminar series are: - to assess the current state of knowledge on CSR among emerging and developing country SMEs;- to re-examine the predictors, outcomes, moderators and mediators in the CSR-SME relationship;- to create an environment for effective exchange and cross-learning between different sub-fields on this topic;- to explore how the positive social and environmental impact of SMEs can be maximised.An important characteristic of the seminar series will be bringing UK-based experts together with experts from developing nations from Africa and Asia. In order to fully benefit from developing nation expertise and perspectives, we propose that one seminar will be held in Botswana to coincide with the Africa Academy of Management 2014 conference. We will also use that seminar as our leading - though not only - opportunity to support and develop PhD students and early career researchers in their scholarship.Given the global nature of supply chains and markets and the differing economic and cultural contexts we envisage a great deal of synergy and growth can be generated from the proposed seminar series and its associated dissemination of learning and impact on practice. This research seminar series proposal has the particular purpose of enabling exchange of learning across regions and, in particular collaboration between practitioners, policy-makers and scholars to help ensure relevance, impact and dissemination of the learning to SMEs and their supporting intermediaries. We anticipate that learning will be multilateral, and not just the common narrow assumption of developed countries 'teaching' those in developing and emerging economies.The seminar series proposal is a collaboration between expert academics and practitioners with experience in the CSR/SME context. The academics leading the proposal are internationally known for their work in all the elements of this proposal - CSR, SMEs, developing, emerging and developed economy contexts. The practitioners have cross-European and global SME membership on which they can draw, and through which they can ensure relevance and seek to support impact on CSR in SMEs. The association with the CSR policy advisor within the European Commission ensures the opportunity for high level impact on policy.The specific subjects of our seminar series are designed to ensure full opportunities for building academic and practical knowledge in areas which we, in consultation with others, consider to be most beneficial - which include comparative perspectives, SMEs within supply chains, governance frameworks for SMEs, social entrepreneurship and responsible finance. The interdisciplinary, academic/practitioner and international nature of the multilevel research which will be promoted will build on existing networks and collaborations and will contribute on several levels to ESRC's strategic objectives around sustainable growth, a fair society and positively influencing SME behaviour and informing interventions. Our discussions with relevant stakeholders have revealed a strongly felt need for this seminar series, as indicated by the enclosed letters of support.