An alternative conceptualisation of corporate social responsibility - a comparison of SME in China and UK

Various differences in CSR practices in different countries have captured the attentions of media, academic researchers and business practitioners. However knowledge for causing such divergence in CSR practices remains limited. This paper discusses the definition of CSR from the ethical and stakeholder perspectives under a conceptual framework of three influential dimensions of CSR: Society, Organisation and People. This three-dimension framework has restructured the Carroll’s theory of four CSR components and repositioned relevant stakeholder groups according to their spheres of influence, providing an alternative viewing angle to conceptualise relevant issues about corporate social responsibility from an integrative perspective. It also highlighted the interactions of stakeholder groups and interdependency of corporate responsibilities. This research examines the effects of cultural influence, CSR development pattern and globalization on CSR attitudes and performance. Through survey and secondary data collection, it compares the attitudes towards and actual motivation of CSR practice to examine the extent to which SMEs in two contrasting countries, UK and China, react differently to corporate social responsibility. The empirical data reveals that Chinese SMEs focus more on CSR dimension of Society while British SMEs emphasize more on CSR dimension of People. It is also found that CSR development within domestic boundary exerted varied influences on CSR attitudes and performances significantly. Meanwhile, the globalisation factor affects the two other factors, culture and CSR development pattern, and indirectly influenced the attitudes and practices of CSR at less significant level. In addition, the results indicate the sharp differences, estimated by Hofstede, in certain cultural dimensions between UK and China might not be valid.