Implementation of the Caux Round Table’s Principles for Business in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises

Izabela Ścibiorska-Kowalczyk

Abstract

The article presents results of a study which employed the criteria matrix developed at the Caux Round Table. The choice of method was driven by the multicultural approach used in the study. The study was conducted in Polish and German small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in line with the preamble of the Coux Round Table’s Principles for Business (CRTPs). The article attempts to provide answers to the following questions: 1) Are the Coux Round Table’s Principles for Business universal enough to be adopted by the small and medium-sized enterprises? 2) Do SMEs from various countries, or from various economic cultures, demonstrate a similar approach to implementing the rules of corporate social responsibility? This article attempts to quantify the Principles for Business developed during the Caux Round Table and to test them at the Polish and German small and medium-sized enterprises. The hypothesis to be verified was that as a result of the intensification of business contacts between German and Polish small and medium-sized enterprises, both business cultures become alike with regard to corporate social responsibility. To verify the hypothesis, an original method developed by the author was applied. The method is based on an assessment of the degree of similarity of selected features using an opinion convergence index (WZO) and the results presentation takes the form of a convergence matrix. The analysis covered the data obtained through an empirical study, conducted by the author of the article in the years 2006-2009 with a scholarship offered within the framework of the Integrated Regional Development Operational Programme.