Title: Corporate social responsibility and corporate governance in Italian SMEs: towards a 'territorial' model based on small 'champions' of CSR?

Authors: Mara Del Baldo

Addresses: Department of Business Studies, University of Urbino 'Carlo Bo', Via Saffi, 42, Urbino 61029, Italy

Abstract: Does a positive relationship between the adhesion to a culture of social responsibility and evolved systems of governance exist? And is such correlation more or less significant for small- and medium-sized firms with respect to large-sized firms? This paper winds itself around these questions and describes the principle findings that have emerged from the qualitative investigation focused on a selected group of |cohesive| Italian small- and medium-sized businesses (SMEs), in which the nexus between the evolution of corporate governance and socially responsible management practices were examined. The concluding reflections trace the features of a territorial model of socially responsible orientation centred on the best practices of SMEs, |convivial enterprises| who are excellent examples of |spirited businesses|.

Keywords: corporate governance; CSR champions; corporate social responsibility; small and medium-sized enterprises; SMEs; sustainable territorial model; Italy.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSSOC.2010.034762

International Journal of Sustainable Society, 2010 Vol.2 No.3, pp.215 - 247

Published online: 21 Aug 2010 *

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