The programming committee for the 78th Annual SAM International Business Conference is pleased to announce the acceptance of the presentation Business Social Responsibility And Community Crisis Response: Perceptions Of Small Business Owners In Small To Midsized Communities by Amber Chatelain from Marshall University.
Presentation Abstract: It is common for small businesses to support their local communities through social responsibility and citizenship behaviors. Small business response to local crisis events and participation in relief efforts can serve as an indicator of the company’s awareness of community events and signal to customers their embeddedness in the local community. Notwithstanding, small business owners perceive a responsibility to support their local communities through charitable acts and service (Besser, 2012).
Business social responsibility suggests businesses and communities are interconnected and not interdependent entities; therefore, society has expectations of the functions of businesses outside of standard operational procedures (Wood, 1991). Further, business social responsibility suggests that firms have an obligation to pursue societal betterment by devoting resources (e.g., products, services, etc.) to the communities in which they operate (Besser, 2012; Davis, 1973). A relatively small literature explores small business social responsibility, creating an impression that small business’ community contributions are limited and participation in social responsibility is nominal. Further, comparative to large firms, small businesses are more economically and socially tied to their communities (Besser, 2012). As this research is focused on small businesses in small to midsized communities, particular attention will be paid to the self-regulated, philanthropic behaviors and activities that contribute to local community well-being.
Social responsibility orientation has been studied extensively in the literature in relation to large corporations (Jenkins, 2006). While there is an area of literature dedicated to examining this phenomena in small and family business enterprises (e.g., Besser, 2012; Besser & Miller, 2004; Jenkins, 2006; Lahdesmaki & Suutari, 2011; Miller & Besser, 2000), investigation of the literature shows these phenomena are often examined from the business owner / manager viewpoint. Scant literature exists examining business social responsibility and response to community crisis from a customer perspective.
Further, much of the empirical research on crisis management is more of a “how to” guide for small businesses to persist and remain resilient in the face of a crisis (e.g., Herbane, 2010; Runyan, 2006; Spillan & Hough, 2003, etc.). At the time this abstract was written, no empirical research could be found on small business response to local community crisis (e.g., provincial natural disasters, tragic school shootings, injury or death of a community member, etc.) or social events (e.g., workers strikes, the Black Lives Matter movement, community protests, etc.). Accordingly, scant empirical research exists examining customer perceptions of small business’ responses to local and community crisis. Thus, this is an understudied and underdeveloped topic in the literature that deserves consideration.
This paper begins by critically examining the existing literature on business social responsibility and business social responsibility from the consumer lens. This is paramount in assessing what gaps in the current scientific literature need to be filled. Using primary data, this research examines customer perceptions of small business’ social responsibility and response to community crisis. Specifically, this study examines customer perceptions of trust, purchase intention, and loyalty to small businesses that participate in socially responsive behaviors in the face of community crisis.
Join us online to see this great paper and many more March 13 – March 18, 2023. For registration information visit www.samnational.org/conference.