The role of government in corporate social responsibility among SMEs in Wales

Simon Brooks, Owen Evans

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    Abstract

    The Department for the Economy and Transport (DEandT) at the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) has taken on leadership of the Corporate Social Responsibility policy agenda in Wales. The key aim of DEandT is to establish a clear, focused and accessible policy on CSR that is relevant and appropriate to the economy and people of Wales. This paper reports on four key research objectives of a study undertaken to inform CSR related policy in Wales, with particular reference to Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs). The paper sets out to make a contribution not only to policy and practice in this field but to the building of theory. Research into CSR among SMEs is growing, but still under represented in relation to work on larger firms. In addition, research on the role of governments in this agenda is scarce. This qualitative study of 114 SMEs in Wales shows that there is a large variety of CSR undertaken, and that although awareness is high, there is an appetite for 'light touch' government intervention. The contribution of this paper to theoretical development is evaluated and tentative recommendations for policy development are set out.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)135 - 160
    Number of pages25
    JournalContemporary Wales
    Volume24
    Issue number1
    Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2011

    Keywords

    • corporate social responsibility
    • government
    • SMEs
    • small and medium sized enterprises
    • CSR

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