CSR in domestic and foreign SMEs in Kenya: on the relationship between the SME manager’s values, emotional commitment to long-term socio-economic development and the firm's CSR practices

Abstract

Purpose

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) remains a prevalent topic for businesses worldwide, especially for those operating in developing countries. The attention on small and medium-sized enterprises' (SMEs') CSR engagement in developing countries has been neglected, although SMEs play a vital role in socio-economic development in African countries like Kenya. This paper aims to conceptualize the relationship between the SME manager's values, ethics, emotional commitment to long-term socio-economic development and the firm's CSR practices.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted seven semi-structured interviews with Kenyan and German SMEs located in Nairobi. A deductive-inductive analysis approach was chosen, confirming previous findings and contributing new ideas to the International Business (IB) literature.

Findings

This paper develops a concept linking the values and beliefs of the SME manager with the firm's CSR practices in developing countries via the manager's emotional commitment to local long-term socio-economic development. The Kenyan managers tend to show a higher degree of emotional commitment, which the authors explain by two drivers: (1) philanthropic, self-motivated driver and (2) expectation-based, environment-motivated driver. The authors' findings add to the literature on SMEs' CSR engagement in developing countries by looking at the individual level of analysis.

Originality/value

This paper develops a concept linking the values and beliefs of the SME manager with the firm's CSR practices in developing countries.

Citation

Dziuron, C.L. and Halaszovich, T.F. (2023), "CSR in domestic and foreign SMEs in Kenya: on the relationship between the SME manager’s values, emotional commitment to long-term socio-economic development and the firm's CSR practices", International Journal of Emerging Markets, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOEM-08-2022-1210