Corporate Social Responsibility in the Micro Enterprise Sector

There has been considerable debate about the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR), corporate governance and corporate and social performance but in recent years the term corporate social responsibility has gained prominence, both in business and in the press to such an extent that it seems to have become ubiquitous. There are probably many reasons for the attention given to this phenomenon not least of which is the corporate excesses witnessed in recent years. For many people the various examples of this kind of behaviour – ranging from Enron to Union Carbide to the collapse of Arthur Andersen and Madoff's hedge fund – will have left an indelible impression among people that all is not well with the corporate world and that there are problems which need to be addressed (Aras & Crowther 2008). Indeed the 2008 financial crisis, followed by the 2009 economic crisis have reinforced this impression and refocused attention upon CSR and governance and the ethics of business behaviour