Socially responsible business
The objective of the SRBs involves more than just maximizing profits for the shareholders; it is also about creating positive changes and making valuable contributions to the stakeholders such as the local community, customers, and staff.
[1] In other words, the SRB is both profit-oriented and socially responsible as these companies seek to make financial gains, and at the same time, aim to improve the well being of the community.
It holds a similar concept to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in terms of having a common goal to make positive contributions, minimizing harmful effects, and being a force for good in society.
This approach is focused on forming a relationship and working with the business partners to exchange ideas and develop a socially responsible project in the local community.
[7] The Body Shop, a global leading cosmetics and beauty brand, is well known for proactively being a force for good and creating many positive changes to the society.
[8] For example, the Body Shop participates in the ECPAT’s three years campaign to support the movement against child prostitution, trafficking of children and young people.
[11] Due to the lack of resources and the business size of the SMEs, these enterprises approach in a socially responsible manner by creating values and positive contributions towards employees, customers, and local community.
The SRB needs to enhance an innovative thinking to create efficiency internally and support social causes and the development of community positively.
Open innovation is defined as the accumulation of internal and external ideas and knowledge as a means to expand and advance the businesses into the competitive market.
This process requires collaborations from different sectors that are interested and related to the activities to develop a relationship and form a partnership with other organizations.
These types explain a different societal level of expectations, concerning the conditions and characteristics a socially responsible business must conform to.
A strong institutional environment, on the contrary, is when the businesses are expected to adhere to certain standards or structures in order to sustain a quality of the maintenance.
[13] This framework describes the ‘champion’ as a person who applies the relevant skills such as persuasion and persistence as ‘tactics’ to make changes and influence others.
As such, it can help in evaluating which approach (Organizational identity or Champions’ Tactics) can be more effective in the maintenance of the practice when the following conditions of weak, strong, and heterogeneous institutional environment is present.
[13] In this cross-level framework, it has been proposed that: The first proposition illustrates that organizational identity will be more effective in ensuring maintenance in a weak institutional environment because there are fewer regulations for a company to conform with.
The champions will be more effective in this environment because the individual are able to understand, respond quickly and persuade other members to support and maintain a socially responsible practice.
For instance, due to various views in the heterogeneous environment, the champions can become an important asset by making its value and practices clear to organizational members through his or her persuasiveness.
