Supply chain pressures and SMEs' CSR practices: the moderation effect of supply chain position

Drawing from institutional and resource dependence theories, this paper investigates how supply chain pressures influence the various dimensions of CSR, i.e. environmental practices, human resources practices, community involvement practices, and marketplace practices, in SMEs. Using a structural equation modelling approach and data collected from 273 SMEs, our findings indicate that institutional pressures exerted by supply chain partners differently influence the level of CSR practices in SMEs. Notably, the study demonstrates that coercive pressures have no significant influence on CSR practices, whereas mimetic and normative pressures positively and significantly influence the level of CSR practices. Furthermore, the positive influence of normative pressures on CSR practices is stronger for SMEs situated downstream in their supply chains, whereas SMEs in further upstream positions are sensitive to mimetic pressures for their environmental, workplace and marketplace practices. Overall, this study provides unique insight on the association between supply chain pressures and CSR practices in SMEs.