How startups develop CSR practices to achieve brand reputation

Abstract

This paper examines the application of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in achieving brand reputation and competitive advantage of SME startups. It seeks to explore best CSR practices adopted by startups. It further analyzes customers' impressions of startup sustainability and CSR practices and the firm's reputation. The study adopted an interpretive study design, focused on a sample of CSR specialists, advertisers, and owners of SMEs, and revealed a reflection of the theoretical dimension of CSR in the study results. Specifically, the social intensity of CSR implementation and the adoption of practices that focus on staff, the environment, and society at large, were captured in the data. CSR principles, such as the necessity for the implementation of environmental awareness programs, volunteering, and labor, were commonly agreed by the participants as relevant emerging themes of the study. The findings pointed out the importance of company ethics in shaping a healthy employee environment and highlighted the critical role of the firm's purpose in building the brand. The emphasis on achieving relationships with society and specifically with the people in which the company operates seems to be the key to appropriate implementation of CSR regarding brand reputation. Voluntary actions are a key for SME’s reputation.