Small Business Political Responsibility

While significant research addresses social responsibility in small businesses, studies on small business social responsibility (SBSR) overlook its political aspects. This gap persists despite a noticeable ‘political turn’ in corporate social responsibility research, which focuses on large multinationals tackling societal challenges amid ineffective state regulation. However, micro- and small businesses also engage with the political dimensions of social responsibility, albeit differently. This conceptual article introduces the concept of small business political responsibility (SBPR) and develops an original SBPR model centred on the political identities of owner-managers. It suggests that SBPR is dynamic, shaped by individual agency and highlights the importance of analysing the private sector’s political role from a small business perspective. Here, SBPR depends on managerial discretion rather than normative evaluations from civil society or local communities.