How the managing directors of French SMEs perceive social responsibility

Based on an article published with the title, “An investigation into the perception of social responsibility by SME managing directors: Evidence from French context”,
by Kamel Mnisri, Olga Ivanova Ruffo, Christine Morin-Esteves and Corinne Gendron
in Recherches en Sciences de Gestion, 2022, 5(152), 209-232.

Issue

Articles in the media about business ethics tend to concentrate on very large listed companies. Yet small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can also act irresponsibly when it comes to the environment, society and governance. Since these SMEs play a key role in the economy of European countries such as France, looking closely at how SME managing directors perceive their social responsibility is crucial.

Research questions

How do managers of SMEs perceive their social responsibility and how to they integrate this responsibility into their leadership? What lessons can we learn from a survey of these SME managing directors in the Lorraine region of France?

Data and methods

The study is based on a qualitative survey in the form of semi-structured interviews lasting 45 to 60 minutes with 24 managing directors effectively controlling SMEs employing 10 to 200 people in the Lorraine region. The data resulting from the interviews are coded and analysed to establish the occurrence and co-occurrence frequency of words which are indicators of perception, like leadership, responsibility, stakeholder, value, team, employee, creativity, client, etc.

Messages clés

SME managing directors are fully aware of their social responsibility.
They perceive their leadership as a top-down process that involves giving orders to their teams and strengthening cohesion. They are the main drivers of the strategic vision, even if they do not make it part of their social responsibility.
The role of a good leader is to encourage employees’ creativity and innovation, which are SMEs’ main assets in a competitive environment.
Managers of SMEs perceive their responsibility globally, vis-à-vis their company and vis-à-vis their clients. Their responsibility concerns strategic issues along with staff well-being, on both professional and personal levels.
However, the consideration of stakeholders (employees, clients, suppliers) is not based on an inclusive approach aligning company strategy with the expectations of all stakeholders.
The values conveyed by SME managing directors play a crucial role in their responsibility. They include rigour, setting an example, trust, fairness, courage, respect, and protecting employees.
Due to the small size of the sample, the authors are aware that their study cannot be extrapolated to all regions and sectors of activity. Nevertheless, it is useful for local public decision-makers, in particular due to the reticence expressed by some leaders to engage in concrete action on local development.

Key words: social responsibility, SME, leadership, France