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Small Business Social Responsibility in the Supply Chain: A Literature Review

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Ethics in Small and Medium Sized Enterprises

Abstract

The aim of the chapter is to investigate how Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) deal with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) along the supply chains to which they belong. The analysis is carried out by a literature review that aims at identifying: the role played by SMEs, both as buyers and suppliers; the practices implemented; drivers, risks, barriers to small business social responsibility in the supply chain, and the means to overcome such barriers. Most of the reviewed papers deal with small business social responsibility in general and investigate the role of SMEs only as suppliers of large customers. The most cited driver, risk, barrier, and means are: supply chain pressure, exclusion from supply chains, low power by SMEs, and partnership, respectively. The study also stresses questions that would benefit from further research, such as the effect of supply chain pressure on small business social responsibility. The study contributes to fill a gap in the literature as, to our knowledge, no literature reviews on small business social responsibility in supply chains have been developed.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Engineering and Sustainable Development, Polytechnic of Bari, via de Gasperi, 74100, Taranto, Italy

    Francesco Ciliberti, Pierpaolo Pontrandolfo & Barbara Scozzi

Authors
  1. Francesco Ciliberti
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  2. Pierpaolo Pontrandolfo
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  3. Barbara Scozzi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Francesco Ciliberti .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of London, School of Management, Royal Holloway, Egham, Surrey, TW20 0EX, United Kingdom

    Laura Spence

  2. Dept. Philosophy, DePaul University, N. Clifton Ave. 2352, Chicago, 60614, Illinois, USA

    Mollie Painter-Morland

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Ciliberti, F., Pontrandolfo, P., Scozzi, B. (2010). Small Business Social Responsibility in the Supply Chain: A Literature Review. In: Spence, L., Painter-Morland, M. (eds) Ethics in Small and Medium Sized Enterprises. The International Society of Business, Economics, and Ethics Book Series, vol 2. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9331-8_16

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