CSR as a Strategic Tool for Sustainability- Focused Innovation in Small and Medium Sized Enterprises

Corporate Social Responsibilty (CSR) has emerged over the last decade and a half as a central business agenda, developing into a business megatrend with a global outreach. The CSR agenda has been dominated by large companies, and in spite of an emerging l iterature, there is a need for increased focus on how CSR contributes to sustainable innovation in small and medium sized enterprises, but also how innovation may facilitate CSR. Through a study and analysis of Norway's rapidly growing SMEs informed by a review of the research literature, this project will enhance our knowledge and contribute to the research field, to business strategy and to public policy. The study will explore how various forms of CSR relate to growth and innovation. Secondly the study will explore the compatibility between CSR and innovation. Thirdly the study will focus on the challenges specific to SMEs. Finally, it will explore the robustness of our findings confronted with the critical debate on the business case for CSR, and whet her CSR, in fact, does further growth and innovation? The project will analyze possible CSR-based innovation in highly successful innovation and growth SMEs by making a selection from companies identified as "gazelles" by the Norwegian business daily DN . A selection will be made in the Oslo, Trondheim and Stavanger regions. The concept "gazelle" is constructed by the leading Norwegian business-paper Dagens Næringsliv to provide an overview of companies experiencing strong growth. By comparing the outst anding and the less impressive performers, the project will analyze whether differences in economic performance go together with differences in CSR and sustainability engagement. However, the project will also investigate whether other "control group" com panies can be used to benchmark the innovation and growth winners.