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Corporate Social Responsibility, Sustainability & Social Innovation: a study on Dutch small and medium-sized construction enterprises

Ekelhof, T.J.G. (2022) Corporate Social Responsibility, Sustainability & Social Innovation: a study on Dutch small and medium-sized construction enterprises.

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Abstract:Studies on SMEs in the Dutch construction sector on CSR and innovation practices state that research is lacking, because the focus is on larger firms. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the CSR commitment of SMEs in this sector, how this commitment influences social innovation, and what the barriers are to actually work on both principles. A qualitative study research using semi-structured interviews was performed, where six Dutch SMEs were interviewed to gain in-depth insights into the subject. After the interviews, the most important and useful findings were described and analysed across the different enterprises to find similarities and differences among them, and between the interviews and the literature. The findings indicate that the commitment towards CSR influences social innovation in such as way that the focus, investments, and motivation that are being put into the activities regarding CSR eventually increase the need and drive to work on social innovation activities. There were some contradictive views among the different enterprises that were interviewed, which led to some barriers that mostly small enterprises in the construction sector have to overcome in order to work on CSR and social innovation. Making people aware of potential solutions regarding CSR and social innovations could open the eyes of people or enterprises that only see the barriers, which could be seen as an important tip for future research and practical use. A limitation of the research is that the data can not be generalized because the small sample of six interviews, plus the interviews could lead to biased results because of interpretation of both the interviewee and the interviewer. After all, this study offers insights on how future research could examine how to gain knowledge about the concepts of this study and how to create awareness within a company, which eventually leads to a better and future-proof enterprise.
Item Type:Essay (Master)
Faculty:BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences
Subject:85 business administration, organizational science
Programme:Business Administration MSc (60644)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/93288
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