Abstracts
Résumé
Plusieurs travaux récents portant sur la responsabilité sociale et le développement durable dans les petites entreprises ont montré que les dirigeants des entreprises de petite taille adoptent souvent des pratiques durables non pas uniquement (ou essentiellement) par conviction, mais aussi (ou surtout) parce qu’ils en retirent, ou espèrent en retirer, des bénéfices de type économique. L’objet principal de cette étude est d’analyser l’influence des caractéristiques individuelles de ces dirigeants sur leur adhésion à l’argument économique de la responsabilité sociale de leur entreprise (RSE). L’observation a été réalisée sur 188 entreprises canadiennes de moins de 100 salariés. Les résultats montrent que le genre, l’âge, l’expérience et la formation du dirigeant n’expliquent pas l’adhésion à l’argument économique de la RSE. En revanche, ses valeurs personnelles, appréhendées par son éthique et son sentiment d’appartenance à un espace géographique local, de même que la recherche de pérennité de l’entreprise et la priorité donnée à la performance financière dans les objectifs de la firme, sont positivement liées à l’argument économique de la RSE. En particulier, les résultats des analyses montrent un effet positif significatif de l’éthique activiste du dirigeant sur la conviction que cela permet d’acquérir de la légitimité et d’accéder à de nouveaux marchés.
Mots-clés :
- Argument économique,
- Responsabilité sociale,
- Petite entreprise,
- PME,
- Dirigeant
Abstract
Recent works on social responsibility (SR) and sustainable development in small and medium size enterprises have demonstrated that owner-managers of small businesses (SB) often adopt sustainable practices not only (or mainly) because of conviction, but also (and more particularly) because they gain, or hope to gain, economic benefits. The objective of this study is to analyse the influence of individual characteristics of SB’s owner-managers on their adherence to the business case argument for their firms’ involvement in SR. The study was conducted on a sample of 188 Canadian businesses with less than 100 employees. Results show that while the owner-managers’ gender, age, experience and training do not explain their adherence to the business case argument for their firms’ involvement in SR, personal values measured in terms of ethics and local territorial belonging, as well as an objective for the long term survival of the business, are positively linked to the business case argument for SR. More specifically, results show a significant and positive relationship with owner-manager’s ethical activism as it is perceived to help them gain legitimacy and facilitate access to new markets.
Keywords:
- Business case,
- Corporate social responsibility,
- Small business,
- SME,
- Entrepreneur
Resumen
Varias investigaciones recientes sobre la responsabilidad social y el desarrollo sostenible en las pequeñas empresas demostraron que los directivos de empresas de pequeño tamaño adoptan a menudo prácticas sostenibles no únicamente (o esencialmente) por convicción, sino también (o sobre todo) porque así sacan, o confían sacar, beneficios de tipo económico. La finalidad principal de este estudio es analizar como influyen las características individuales de dichos directivos en la adhesión al argumento económico de la responsabilidad de su empresa (RSE). La observación se realizó en 188 empresas canadienses de menos de 100 asalariados. Los resultados muestran que el tipo, la edad, la experiencia y la formación del directivo no explican la adhesión al argumento económico de la RSE. En cambio, sus valores personales, medidas por su ética y su sentimiento de pertenecer a un espacio geográfico local, así como la búsqueda de la continuidad de la empresa y la prioridad otorgada al rendimiento financiero, son positivamente vinculados al argumento económico de la RSE. Especialmente, los resultados demuestran un efecto positivo significativo de la ética activista del directivo en la convicción que le permite granjearse legitimidad y acceder a nuevos mercados.
Palabras clave:
- Argumento económico,
- Responsabilidad social,
- Pequeña empresa,
- PyME,
- Directivo
Appendices
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