Perceived corporate social responsibility and its implementation in practice: the case of Lithuanian small and medium-sized enterprises

Abstract

Recent reports in media and research findings in the scientific literature suggest the growing importance of corporate social responsibility among practitioners, especially in the case of small and medium-sized enterprises that are characterised by limited resources required to adequately compete in the fast changing macro-environment. Previous research still lacks clarity about perceived corporate social responsibility, its strengths and challenges that small and medium-sized enterprises face when implementing such policies in practice. Our study aims to identify perceived corporate social responsibility initiatives among Lithuanian small and medium-sized enterprises. The contribution of our study manifests itself in developing a theoretical model based on qualitative semi-structured interviews and suggests corporate social responsibility initiatives that both encourage and prevent their implementation by small and medium-sized enterprises.