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Unleashing the barriers to CSR implementation in the sme sector of a developing economy : A thematic analysis approach

Mahmood, Asif ; Naveed, Rana Tahir ; Ahmad, Naveed ; Scholz, Miklas LU ; Khalique, Muhammad and Adnan, Mohammad (2021) In Sustainability (Switzerland) 13(22).
Abstract

The notion of corporate social responsibility (CSR) from the perspective of sustainability has been a part of the academic discussion in recent years. Different studies have also highlighted the inability of the SME sector to implement a CSR plan to achieve sustainability objectives. How-ever, why this sector is unable to adopt CSR is something that has not been properly attended by contemporary scholars. Against this backdrop, the current study aims to explore the major barriers that inhibit SMEs from implementing CSR and sustainability measures. The current study data were collected from the senior management of different SMEs in Pakistan and were analyzed using thematic analysis to extract different patterns of themes. The results... (More)

The notion of corporate social responsibility (CSR) from the perspective of sustainability has been a part of the academic discussion in recent years. Different studies have also highlighted the inability of the SME sector to implement a CSR plan to achieve sustainability objectives. How-ever, why this sector is unable to adopt CSR is something that has not been properly attended by contemporary scholars. Against this backdrop, the current study aims to explore the major barriers that inhibit SMEs from implementing CSR and sustainability measures. The current study data were collected from the senior management of different SMEs in Pakistan and were analyzed using thematic analysis to extract different patterns of themes. The results unveil that the “lack of finances” is the most critical barrier for CSR, followed by the “lack of CSR knowledge.” The implications for theory and practice are also discussed in detail.

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author
; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Barriers, CSR, SME, Sustainability, Thematic analysis
in
Sustainability (Switzerland)
volume
13
issue
22
article number
12710
publisher
MDPI AG
external identifiers
  • scopus:85119610242
ISSN
2071-1050
DOI
10.3390/su132212710
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
3248c546-a815-45b1-8527-60fe40de4f47
date added to LUP
2021-12-03 14:07:18
date last changed
2022-04-27 06:16:50
@article{3248c546-a815-45b1-8527-60fe40de4f47,
  abstract     = {{<p>The notion of corporate social responsibility (CSR) from the perspective of sustainability has been a part of the academic discussion in recent years. Different studies have also highlighted the inability of the SME sector to implement a CSR plan to achieve sustainability objectives. How-ever, why this sector is unable to adopt CSR is something that has not been properly attended by contemporary scholars. Against this backdrop, the current study aims to explore the major barriers that inhibit SMEs from implementing CSR and sustainability measures. The current study data were collected from the senior management of different SMEs in Pakistan and were analyzed using thematic analysis to extract different patterns of themes. The results unveil that the “lack of finances” is the most critical barrier for CSR, followed by the “lack of CSR knowledge.” The implications for theory and practice are also discussed in detail.</p>}},
  author       = {{Mahmood, Asif and Naveed, Rana Tahir and Ahmad, Naveed and Scholz, Miklas and Khalique, Muhammad and Adnan, Mohammad}},
  issn         = {{2071-1050}},
  keywords     = {{Barriers; CSR; SME; Sustainability; Thematic analysis}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{22}},
  publisher    = {{MDPI AG}},
  series       = {{Sustainability (Switzerland)}},
  title        = {{Unleashing the barriers to CSR implementation in the sme sector of a developing economy : A thematic analysis approach}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su132212710}},
  doi          = {{10.3390/su132212710}},
  volume       = {{13}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}