Owner-manager’s profile and agreement with the business case argument of social responsibility in small businesses
Recent works on social responsibility (SR) and sustainable development in small and medium size enterprises have demonstrated that owner-managers of small businesses (SB) often adopt sustainable practices not only (or mainly) because of conviction, but also (and more particularly) because they gain, or hope to gain, economic benefits. The objective of this study is to analyse the influence of individual characteristics of SB’s owner-managers on their adherence to the business case argument for their firms’ involvement in SR. The study was conducted on a sample of 188 Canadian businesses with less than 100 employees. Results show that while the owner-managers’ gender, age, experience and training do not explain their adherence to the business case argument for their firms’ involvement in SR, personal values measured in terms of ethics and local territorial belonging, as well as an objective for the long term survival of the business, are positively linked to the business case argument for SR. More specifically, results show a significant and positive relationship with owner-manager’s ethical activism as it is perceived to help them gain legitimacy and facilitate access to new markets.