The economic interests of SMEs go according with the wellbeing of the society they are inserted, in many cases because a company cannot succeed in a chaotic environment (Quinn, 1997). The aim of this qualitative research is to understand the knowledge that the SMEs’ management has of social responsibility and identify the social responsibility actions that they put into practice in their territory.<br/> <br/> To achieve this objective, the article presents a brief overview of empirical research on the topic of social responsibility in SMEs, carried out mainly in Europe (Quinn, 1997; Spence and Lozano, 2000; Spencer and Rutherfoord, 2000; Uhlaner, Goor-Balk and Masurel, 2004, Murillo and Lozano, 2006; Jenkins, 2006; Roberts, Lawson and Nicholls, 2006, Worthington, Ram and Jones, 2006; Perrini, Tencati and Russo, 2007). After this introduction the paper presents a detailed description of the territory that was investigated, its business community, working status of the population and local initiatives related to the promotion of CSR in SMEs. The characteristics of the territory are a key factor in our analysis on the relationship of SMEs with their environment.<br/>
The collection of empirical data was carried out by using questionnaires, consisting of closed and open questions, applied by the researcher to the employer of each business. Eighty two (82) employers were surveyed, which represents 43% of all the employers in the territory. The questionnaires were applied during a period of two months.<br/> <br/> Data analysis showed a strong relationship of the SMEs with the territory it is operating in, mainly due to the fact most employers and their workers lived in the same territory. The lack of knowledge of the concept of social responsibility by managers was observed in the study, despite the actions of dissemination of the concept carried out by the local administration in the European Project “Atenea”.<br/> <br/> Despite this evidence, the employers that participated in the study are interested in the implementation of the concept. The data shows that many employers consider that paying their taxes is the most important and/or sole responsibility. <br/><br/>Finally, there are certain managers, mainly female, who implement CSR activities in their businesses, but do not recognize them as such.

Bibliography

Brown, Daniel J y King, Jonathan B.: 1982 (re-1986), Small business ethics: Influences and perceptions, Journal of Small Business Management (pre-1986); Jan; 20, 000001; 11-18

Carroll, Archie B.: 1999, Corporate social responsibility, Business and Society 38:3, 268-295.

Carroll, Archie B: 1979 (re-1986), A three-dimensional conceptual model of corporate performance, The Academy of Management Review; 4, 497-505

Cuesta, M. G y Valor, C. M: 2004, Fostering Corporate Social Responsibility Through Public Initiative: From the EU to the Spanish Case, Journal of Business Ethics 55: 275–293.

Davis, Keith: 1960 (re-1986), Can Business Afford to Ignore Social Responsibilities? California Management Review; 2, 000003; 70-76.

Davis, Keith: 1967, Understanding the Social Responsibility Puzzle, Business Horizons, 45-50.

Drucker, P. (1993). Sociedade pós-capitalista. São Paulo, Pioneira. Drucker, Peter F.: 1984, ‘Converting Social Problems into Business Opportunities: The New Meaning of Corporate Social Responsibility’, California Management Review (pre-1986); Winter 26, 000002, 53-63.

European Union: 2004, European Multistakeholders Forum on CSE: Report of the Round Table on Fostering CSR among SMEs (European Union, Brussels)

Frederick, William C.: 1960 (re-1986), The Growing Concern Over Business Responsibility, California Management Review; 2, 000004; 54-61

Fundación Valdocco: 2007, Análisis del Tejido Empresarial del Distrito V de Huelva. Documento digital.

Instituto Ethos de Empresas e Responsabilidade Social: 2007, disponible en: www.ethos.br, acceso en: 01-02-2007.

Lepoutre, Jan y Heene, Aimé: 2006, Investigating the Impact of Firm Size on Small Business Social Responsibility: A Critical Review, Journal of Business Ethics 67:257–273.

Longenecker, Justin G.; McKinney, Joseph A.; Moore, Carlos W.:1989, Ethics in Small Business, Journal of Small Business Management; Jan 1989; 27, 1; 27-31.

Longo M., Mura M. y Bonoli, A.: 2005, Corporate social responsability and corporate performance: the case of Italian SMEs, Corporate Governance, 5:4 28-42.

Ministerio de Industria Turismo y Comercio: 2006, Las PYME españolas con forma societaria: estructura económico-financiera y resultados (ejercicios 2000-2003 y avance 2004), Colección Panorama PYME, División de información, documentación y publicaciones - centro de publicaciones.

Murillo, D y Lozano, J. M.: 2006, SMEs and CSR: An Approach to CSR in their Own Words, Journal of Business Ethics 67:227-240

Paz, M. A. B., Arsensio, M. J. C. y Franco, M. I. L. (coodrs.): 2005, Plan Integral Distrito V de Huelva 2000-2003, Servicio de Publicaciones Universidad de Huelva.

Paz, M. A. B., Franco, M. I. L., Asensio, M. J.C. y Rodriguez, R. R.:2005, Estudio del Mercado Laboral del Distrito V de Huelva. Observatorio Local de Empleo. Disponible en www.ole.uhu.es, acceso en 01.11.2006.

Preston, Lee E. y Post, James E.: 1981 (re-1986), Private Management and Public Policy, California Management Review; 23:3; 56-62

Schvarstein, Leonardo: 2003, La inteligencia social de las organizaciones. Ed. Paidós, Buenos Aires, 30-95.

Spence, L. J. y Rutherfoord, R.: 2001, Social responsibility, profit maximization and the small firm owner-manager, 8:2 126-139.

Spence, L. J., Schimidpeter, R. y Habisch, A.: 2003, Assessing Social Capital: Small and Medium Sized Enterprises in Germany and the U.K. Journal of Business Ethics, 47: 17-29.

Spence, L. J.: 1999, Does size matter? The state of the art in small business ethics. Business Ethics: A European Review 8(3), 163-174.

Spence, L. y Moore, G.: 2006, Editorial: Responsibility and Small Business, Journal of Business Ethics 67:219–226.

Strand, Rich: 1983 (re-1986), A systems paradigm of organizational adaptations to the social environment, The Academy of Management Review; 8, 000001; 90-96

Thompson, Judith K; Smith, Howard L; Hood, Jacqueline N.:1993, Charitable contributions by small businesses, Journal of Small Business Management; 31, 3; 35-51.

Uhlaner, L. M. Van Goor-Balk, H.J.M. y Masurel, E.: 2004, Family business and corporate social responsibility in a sample of Dutch firms, Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 11:2, 186-194.

Wartick, S. L. y Cochran, P. L.:1985, ‘The Evolution of the Corporate Social Performance Model’, Academy of Management Review 10, 758-769.

Wilson, Erika: 1980 (re-1986), Social responsibility of business: What are the small business perspectives? Journal of Small Business Management; 18, 000003; 17-24

Worthington, I., Ram, M. y Jones, T.:2006, ‘Exploring Corporate Social Responsibility in the U.K. Asian Small Business Community’, Journal of Business Ethics 67:201–217.