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

中小企业的企业社会责任研究是非常必要的，因为中小企业不仅在经济危机时期，而且在促进经济增长的同时，也为创造就业机会、福利和公民身份做出了贡献。中小企业的贡献在发展中经济体中特别重要，因为在这些经济体中，政府往往不能执行基本的社会和环境标准，也不能提供基本的社会服务。然而，关于新兴/发展中国家企业社会责任的研究和关于中小企业的研究往往各自为政。我们的目的是将主流、发展中国家和中小企业的企业社会责任文献汇集到同一个竞技场，并为这些分支学科之间的交流和交叉学习创造一个环境。- 创造一个环境，使不同的分领域之间就这一主题进行有效的交流和相互学习;-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。研讨会系列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门知识和观点，我们提议在博茨瓦纳举行一次研讨会，与非洲管理学院2014年会议同时举行。我们还将利用这一研讨会作为我们的领先-但不仅仅是-机会，以支持和发展博士生和早期职业研究人员在他们的奖学金。鉴于供应链和市场的全球性质和不同的经济和文化背景，我们设想了大量的协同作用和增长可以产生从拟议的研讨会系列及其相关的传播学习和实践的影响。这一研究研讨会系列提案的特别目的是促进跨区域的学习交流，特别是从业人员、决策者和学者之间的合作，以帮助确保学习的相关性、影响和向中小企业及其支持中介机构的传播。我们预计，学习将是多边的，而不仅仅是发达国家“教导”发展中国家和新兴经济体的人的常见狭隘假设。研讨会系列提案是专家学者和在企业社会责任/中小企业背景下有经验的从业人员之间的合作。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。从业人员拥有跨欧洲和全球中小企业成员，他们可以利用这些成员，并通过这些成员确保相关性，并寻求支持中小企业的企业社会责任的影响。与欧盟委员会的企业社会责任政策顾问的联系确保了对政策产生高层次影响的机会。我们系列研讨会的具体主题旨在确保在我们与其他人协商后认为最有益的领域建立学术和实践知识的充分机会-包括比较视角，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。将促进的多层次研究的跨学科、学术/从业人员和国际性质将建立在现有网络和合作的基础上，并将在多个层面上促进经济、社会和文化权利委员会围绕可持续增长、公平社会和积极影响中小企业行为和知情干预的战略目标。我们与相关利益攸关方的讨论表明，正如所附的支持信所示，各方强烈认为有必要举办这一系列研讨会。

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.