How can Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Innovation Enhance Enterprise Performance?: Possible Pathways for the Romanian SMEs in the Context of the Global Economic Crisis
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and innovation, reinforcing priorities according to the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable, and inclusive growth, are more relevant than ever in the context of the economic crisis, as they can help in shaping the kind of competitiveness model that Europe wants. Nowadays, it is imperative for companies to integrate concepts such as CSR and innovation into their strategies in order to be competitive. The first intervention helps to build (and rebuild) trust in business by enhancing sustainable and inclusive growth (i.e. resource efficiency, responsiveness towards the environment, and fostering high-employment), while the second initiative enhances market performance and profitability, by transforming ideas into new and improved products, services, or processes. By analyzing the experience in Romania, this study aims to provide insight into the relationship between SMEs’ CSR activities and their economic competitiveness in the light of innovation, mandatory in times of economic crisis, and emphasize the idea that business as usual is no longer acceptable. In addition to providing research on the general situation of CSR in Romania, this case is also describing the most relevant (public) actors engaged in this issue, the level of deployment of CSR among SMEs, as well as the characteristics of these activities. In order to prove that innovative CSR initiatives are a positive investment resulting in an economically beneficial outcome for the businesses, that can be disseminated via open innovation networks, a number of five Good Practice case studies have been identified and described in-depth. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-3886-0.ch086