Title: The influence of stakeholder-firm power difference on corporate social responsibility of Chinese small and medium-sized enterprises

Authors: Zhi Tang; Jintong Tang

Addresses: E. Philip Saunders College of Business, Rochester Institute of Technology, Max Lowenthal Building, 107 Lomb Memorial Dr., Rochester, NY 14623-5603, USA ' Department of Management, John Cook School of Business, Saint Louis University, 3674 Lindell Blvd, Room 406, St. Louis, MO, 63108, USA

Abstract: Recent CSR research proposed the construct of stakeholder-firm power difference, that is, the net difference between a stakeholder's power over a firm and a firm's countering power to this stakeholder and established the significant role of stakeholder-firm power difference in firms' environmental performance. Extending this line of research and drawing upon the framework of basic institutional prerequisites for CSR, we investigate how regional economic development, state ownership, neo-Confucian business style and entrepreneurial orientation impact the relationship between stakeholder-firm power difference and CSR engagement of Chinese SMEs. Implications of our propositions and suggestions for future research are offered in the end.

Keywords: CSR; corporate social responsibility; small and medium-sized enterprises; SMEs; stakeholder-firm power difference; China; institutional theory; environmental performance; regional development; economic development; state ownership; neo-Confucian business style; entrepreneurial orientation; entrepreneurship.

DOI: 10.1504/WREMSD.2015.072068

World Review of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development, 2015 Vol.11 No.4, pp.414 - 428

Received: 23 Aug 2014
Accepted: 23 Sep 2014

Published online: 30 Sep 2015 *

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