SMEs' expectations towards public policies on CSR: Empirical evidence from Tunisia

Purpose This study aims at identifying and explaining SMEs' expectations towards public policies to support their CSR commitment. Design methodology / approach Based on a survey of 79 Tunisian SMEs, a principal component analysis (PCA) was first performed. Then a multiple linear regression analysis was conducted. Findings The study results confirm the existence of two forms of expectations towards governmental approaches on CSR among SMEs. The first one is supportive, while the second one is mainly coercive. These differential expectations towards public policies are determined by the activity type and the age of the SMEs. Research limitations Because of the small sample size, our results lack generalisability. Moreover, in this study, the impact of organisational and individual variables on SMEs' coercive expectations was not addressed. Practical implications Exploring Tunisian SMEs' expectations provides useful insights into their current position in relation to their CSR expectations and commitment. Besides, it helps find out more suitable courses of actions for a better appropriation of the CSR approaches. Social implications Because of the importance of SMEs' added value to the Tunisian economy, a better understanding of their expectations would make public policies meet their needs and therefore would enable public authorities to design and implement appropriate strategies to promote these companies' CSR commitment. Originality / value Our study challenges the external validity of previous research related to SMEs' commitment to CSR in developed countries. Conducted in a developing country that adopts a strict regulatory framework related to CSR, the study contributes to the design of public policies towards the managerial world.