Family and non-family business differences in corporate social responsibility approaches

Abstract

Despite many studies on corporate social responsibility (CSR), few have analyzed the specific case of the family business. Family firms have certain characteristics that make them different from non-family ones in terms of objectives, organizational structure and strategic behavior, making it worthwhile to analyze whether these differences are also reflected in their attitude towards CSR. Given the importance of family businesses in most economies, thispaper will contribute to filling this gap in the literature identifying specific aspects that canmake a difference in the management and implementation of the family firm´s CSR policies, compared with their non-family counterparts.