Establishing strategic CSR in SMEs: an Austrian CSR quality seal to substantiate the strategic CSR performance

Integrating CSR into their strategy system can help enterprises to produce a competitive advantage. This can both add to their long-term prosperity and help increase overall sustainability, provided they use a broad, dynamic approach to CSR that is compatible with strategic management. SMEs in particular often feature excellent responsibility performance, without realizing it and without trying to benefit from it. In Austria, as in other countries, SMEs often suppose CSR to be a domain of large enterprises: too bureaucratic, expensive, time-consuming and complex. This paper presents a case from Austria, the development of an official CSR Quality Seal directed at SMEs to help them communicate their sustainability performance effectively and display a visible sign for their stakeholders. The seal was devised to meet objections to the application of standardized CSR tools in industry, especially in SMEs. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.