Since the survival and growth of small firms depend largely on their ability to acquire legitimacy within the institutional environment, social responsibility plays an important role in their lives. The aim of this study was to investigate how a disruption in the normal course of business can lead to an evolution and change in the social responsibility activities of small and medium‐sized enterprises. Such disruptions, called critical incidents, interrupt the normal functioning of the business. The case‐based exploratory study found that such critical events can have a positive impact. In particular, they can initiate the integration of socially responsible business practices. This is a journey from philanthropic donations to fully integrated socially responsible practices, often driven by internal triggering events such as organisational growth, unanticipated changes in management, or generational change, which allow new values to be brought on board. When such an internal event is followed by a highly critical but external event, such as the COVID‐19 pandemic, the transformation gains momentum. The findings also suggest that social responsibility can be a new source of competitive advantage.

中文翻译：

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中小企业事件驱动的社会责任

由于小企业的生存和发展在很大程度上取决于它们在制度环境中获得合法性的能力，因此社会责任在它们的生活中发挥着重要作用。本研究的目的是调查正常业务过程的中断如何导致中小企业社会责任活动的演变和变化。此类中断称为严重事件，会中断业务的正常运作。基于案例的探索性研究发现，此类关键事件可以产生积极影响。特别是，他们可以发起整合对社会负责的商业实践。这是从慈善捐赠到完全整合的社会责任实践的旅程，通常由内部触发事件驱动，例如组织发展、意外的管理变化或代际更迭，这些事件允许引入新的价值观。当此类内部事件之后发生高度关键的外部事件（例如 COVID-19 大流行）时，转型就会获得动力。研究结果还表明，社会责任可以成为竞争优势的新来源。