La Responsabilidad Social Corporativa en las pymes

Abstract

Social responsibility is less developed in small and medium-sized companies than in large companies for two fundamental reasons: first of all, as there is less need to assume the concept in the setting of the SMEs, given that these companies have not experienced the loss of confidence suffered by the large companies and secondly, as the SMEs have to face certain initial barriers that make its implementation difficult: lack of knowledge, shortage of prepared staff, limited resources for investments whose return is in the medium or long term, etc. However, this initial differentiation should not lead us to think that the social responsibility models of the SMEs are different from those followed by the large companies, as they are based on the three basic pillars of social responsibility and on the same principles and activities that these companies apply. There are more quantitative (fewer resources) than qualitative differences. The SMEs also have certain advantages: greater flexibility, specialisation and greater relational capacity and to adapt to the needs of a changing environment and to those of its social interlocutors, etc… The development of social responsibility in SMEs and the search for suitable incentives is one of the most important issues in the future of this area. On the one hand, the consolidation of any concept in the business environment of our countries involves its being introduced and implemented in the SMEs, which represents 99% of our business fabric and contributes two thirds of our GDP. On the other hand, minimum research will show that these companies are going to need to be perceived as being social responsible, if they want to continue to be competitive, as society used to the socially responsible behaviour of the large companies is also going to require this from the SMEs, and because many of commercial relations of the SMEs are with large companies, that apply social responsibility policies and demand the assumption of those values in their service or production chains.