Title: Does ownership type cause any difference in the perception of Malaysian SME owners/managers towards corporate social responsibility?

Authors: Mehran Nejati; Azlan Amran

Addresses: School of Management, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Penang, Malaysia. ' Graduate School of Business, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Penang, Malaysia

Abstract: This study aims to measure the perception of owners/managers of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) towards corporate social responsibility (CSR). It also seeks to examine whether ownership type causes any difference in the CSR attitudes of small firms' owners. The findings of this study revealed that majority of Malaysian SME owners have a philanthropic view towards CSR followed by modern view. Besides, it was found that ownership type causes a significant difference in the perception towards CSR's cost/benefit between sole proprietorship firms and private limited enterprises. The main limitation of this research is related to the geographical distribution of the sample and the issue of social desirability.

Keywords: corporate social responsibility; small and medium-sized enterprises; SMEs; CSR; perception; ownership type; Malaysia; small firms.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBGE.2012.046105

International Journal of Business Governance and Ethics, 2012 Vol.7 No.1, pp.63 - 81

Published online: 29 Mar 2012 *

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