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Corporate Social Responsability and SMEs in Aruba: a potentially benficila practice to overcome an economic crisis.
Arango, Julian
Arango, Julian
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Keyword
Small and medium enterprises
Strategic corporate social responsibility
Tactical corporate social responsibility
Stakeholder theory
Economic crisis
Strategic corporate social responsibility
Tactical corporate social responsibility
Stakeholder theory
Economic crisis
Location research
Date
2021
Language
English
ISSN
ISBN
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Abstract
This research aimed to determine whether Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Aruba make use of and can benefit from Corporate Socially Responsible (CSR) practices during an economic crisis. This thesis may help business owners discover new strategies to
benefit both their companies and the local community where they operate in while, at the same time, it can help other organizations create an environment more conducive to CSR in the SME sector. The main research question in this paper was “to what extent do SMEs in the sectors of retail and trade, hotels and restaurants and real estate in Aruba adopt CSR practices and can they benefit from CSR practices during an economic crisis?” The chosen research method was the qualitative research method and consisted of fifteen interviews conducted with members of the Aruban hotel and restaurant, real estate and wholesale and retail industries. Analysis of data was conducted through a thematic analysis in Excel. The findings showed that, while awareness of CSR had increased among SMEs in Aruba, there was still room for improvement in this aspect. Most participating companies engaged in CSR activities with philanthropy being the most favored type. Furthermore, findings also showed that there were CSR activities which can benefit companies during an economic crisis such as providing employees with training, offering higher commissions to employees, offering wheelchair-accessible accommodations, making use of eco-friendly alternatives among others. Lastly, challenges such as a lack of incentives from the government and financial institutions were identified and solutions such as a triple helix platform were offered.
Citation
Arango, J. (2021). Corporate Social Responsability and SMEs in Aruba: a potentially benficila practice to overcome an economic crisis. Bachelor dissertation. University of Aruba. 98 pp.
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University of Aruba
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URI
https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14473/900