UNDERSTANDING CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY OF THE SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES IN BIHOR COUNTY

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the predominant form of enterprise in the European Union as well as in Romania. Although most research in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) focuses on large companies, there are some studies dealing with CSR of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), recognizing that we cannot generalize our understanding of CSR in large organizations and the difficulties in achieving it for SMEs. Both the academic and the corporate sector face uncertainty when defining CSR, which leads to difficulties in its implementation and research; still, there are several examples of its manifestation. The term "CSR" is unknown by SMEs, but their corporate activity presents several examples of social responsibility, this often meaning that they have a naturally responsible approach to business and society. For most SM-Es, the process by which they meet their social responsibility is likely to remain informal and intuitive. This paper presents the main results of the research conducted in Bihor county on this topic, showing examples of how CSR is perceived by managers and highlighting the challenges that local SMEs may encounter. The findings are aiming at providing help for these companies in designing, developing and reporting their CSR activities according to their own world in the local context.