With the growing importance of CSR in SMEs, CSR activities are no longer an option but a prerequisite for their sustainable growth. However, research into SMEs’ CSR remains limited. In particular, the CSR activities in the social field have insufficient legal restrictions and the voluntary participation of SMEs is low, which requires great efforts in comparison to that of larger corporations.
Based on the CSR theory and the international CSR standards, ISO 26000 and GRI Standards, this study analyzed the impact of CSR activities in the social field of SMEs on stakeholder-centered organizational governance and the impact of organizational governance on CSR performance. In addition, the mediating effect of stakeholder-centered organizational governance in the relationship between CSR activities in each social field and CSR performance proved statistically significant. To test hypotheses, a survey using a questionnaire was conducted on SMEs in Daegu Metropolitan City. Statistical analyses were performed with data collected from 104 samples. Results are as follows.
First, it was confirmed that CSR activities in the supplier sector and CSR activities in the consumer sector had a significant relationship with the stakeholder-centered organizational governance. Second, it was found that stakeholder-centered organizational governance was positively related to CSR performance. Finally, it was confirmed that stakeholder-centered organizational governance played a mediating role in the relationship between CSR activities in the supplier sector and CSR activities in the consumer sector and CSR performance.
The theoretical contribution of the study was that the scope of CSR research centered on large corporations was expanded to SMEs, and not only that it presented research methods and results on CSR activities in the SME social field, but also provided a more convincing CSR mechanism for SMEs.
However, this research had several limitations. Since SMEs are complex and diverse in nature, discussions may vary, depending on ways to measure CSR activities in the social field of SMEs and stakeholder-centered organizational governance. Therefore, research to systematize the guidelines of international standards suitable for SMEs would be meaningful. In addition, the relatively small sample size of 104 would limit the findings of the study. Future studies are recommended to use a larger sample size to ensure that the result of the study is more reliable.