Beyond CSR: the virtues-based approach to corporate responsibility and sustainability in Italian SMEs Online publication date: Tue, 21-Jun-2016
by Mara Del Baldo
International Journal of Environment and Health (IJENVH), Vol. 7, No. 4, 2015
Abstract: The work addresses the issues of authentic corporate sustainability and social responsibility (CSSR) orientation, focusing on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with the aim to enquire if and how values and virtues foster CSSR strategies and activities and influence the effectiveness and authenticity of this orientation. Therefore, in a global context where CSR and sustainability are often used opportunistically, the study intends to verify if the shift from values to virtues can be considered a driver of innovative CSSR-oriented strategies, capable of fostering social innovation and to build a model of sustainable development. The study has been developed by adopting both a deductive and an inductive approach. After presenting the literature review, the second part analyses a case-study relative to an exemplary Italian company, which has been distinguished for its authentic CSSR-orientation, deriving from a set of shared human and transcendental virtues diffused inside and outside the organisation.
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