Criteria for responsible business practice in SMEs: an exploratory case of UK Fair Trade organisations

Moore, Geoff, Slack, Richard and Gibbon, Jane (2008) Criteria for responsible business practice in SMEs: an exploratory case of UK Fair Trade organisations. Journal of Business Ethics, 89 (2). pp. 173-188. ISSN 0167-4544

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Abstract

This paper develops a set of 16 criteria, divided into four groupings, for responsible business practice (RBP) in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) drawn from the existing SME/RBP literature. The current lack of a general set of criteria against which such activity can be judged is noted and this deficit is redressed. In order to make an initial assessment in support of the criteria so derived, an exploratory feasibility study of RBP in U.K. Fair Trade organisations was conducted. The findings from this study show that most but not all of the RBP criteria seem to be applicable to U.K. Fair Trade organisations but it is recommended that the complete set of criteria continues to be used in further research until such time as there is a general consensus as to which criteria are appropriate. Implications for RBP in small businesses in general, and for Fair Trade organisations in particular, are drawn out and suggestions for further research are identified.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Social responsibility of business, Fair trade associations, Small business
Subjects:	N100 Business studies
Department:	Faculties > Business and Law > Newcastle Business School
Depositing User:	EPrint Services
Date Deposited:	14 Jul 2009 11:08
Last Modified:	19 Nov 2019 09:05
URI:	http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/3721

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