The process of appropriation of a CSR program by SMEs’ owners
This study examines the trajectories of appropriation of a CSR program by SMEs’ owners. It is based on the theoretical and conceptual framework of appropriation developed by De Vaujany (2005), with particular attention to the mechanisms at work. In this qualitative and exploratory research, the authors analyse the experience of four SME’s owners who took part in the CSR program proposed by the CJD network, an association of young managers. Each SME owner was questioned about the reasons of his participation in the CSR program and the way he experienced this responsible collective action. The results of this research lead the authors to distinguish two different appropriation dynamics : a dynamic of awareness and another dynamic of commitment, according to socio-political but also cognitive mechanisms.