Responsibility and Social Capital

Social responsibility and social capital are high on the agenda of governments and corporations. But what of the small firm? Little is known about the small firm response to social issues, despite their domination of the business landscape. This book brings empirical research on social responsibility from Germany, the UK and the Netherlands together with the theoretical concept of social capital. It makes fascinating and sometimes surprising reading for all those concerned with the role business plays in society.

Author Biography

Laura J. Spence is a Senior Lecturer at Brunel University, UK, and member of Brunel Research in Enterprise, Sustainability and Ethics (BRESE). She was an executive member of the European Business Ethics Network (EBEN) from 1998-2002. Dr Spence has published widely on the Ethics of Small Firms and Comparative European Business Ethics. Andre Habisch is Director of the Center for Corporate Citizenship, University of Elchstatt, Germany. In 2000, he was a member of the Inquiry Commission of the German Bundestag on the Future of Civic Engagement. Professor Habisch’s research interests include social capital and corporate citizenship, on which he has published extensively. Rene Schmidpeter is General Manager of the Center for Corporate Citizenship, University of Eichstatt, Germany. He was educated in Germany and the UK. Mr Schmidpeter’s research interests include social capital, family issues and corporate citizenship. He is currently completing his doctoral studies.