This chapter deepens the knowledge of inter-firm collaborations to address sustainability issues between SMEs in adopting small business social responsibility (SBSR) approaches. The study investigates the role of formal network contracts (FNCs), where aspects of SBSR are formalized into legal agreements between the networkers. For this purpose, the authors identify three management implications declined as sub-variables: control, consensus, and consistency. Institutional theory and, specifically, isomorphism and normative theory of CSR are used as lenses through which to analyze the results. The methodology applied is a deductive qualitative content analysis, while results are shown using an Euclidean perspective. The study discovers the use of FNCs to clearly govern consistency and consensus, more than to control and audit sustainability herein the network. In addition, it demonstrates a relation between network size and use of the tool.
The Standardization of Down-Streamed Small Business Social Responsibility (SBSR)