Small business contributions to communities underestimated

Small business contributions to communities are underestimated

New Zealand wide survey into how socially responsible are small and medium businesses

Corporates have long been applauded for making a substantial difference to the community at large through their corporate social investments. But does that mean small businesses are not?

A survey of more than 2,600 businesses across New Zealand aims to find out.

Marketing director for BNI New Zealand, Colin Kennedy, says: “We know what corporates are doing when it comes to social responsibility activities. What we haven’t ascertained is the impact small businesses have made within their communities -- but we suspect it is significant.”

In a bid to quantify what this contribution is, BNI (Business Network International) approached researcher Alan Cadwallader to design a survey that would measure the community and social involvement of SMEs.

A Wellington academic, Mr Cadwallader has a keen interest in ethics in business practice, especially small to medium enterprises and says: “Social responsibility can be seen as a strong subset of business ethics. I believe that small to medium enterprises in this country contribute in an enormous way to their communities.”

He said that ethical practices in business play out through the stance that enterprises take in areas other than business practice, such as how they treat their employees and what their relationship is with members of the community.

The survey is similar to one conducted in Europe and will provide a basis for comparison.

BNI’s philosophy of ‘givers gain’ speaks to the principle that the more you give, the more you receive in return. The survey is aimed at assessing whether small businesses naturally live by this mantra.

“Hopefully making a difference to our community is less about size, and more about a sincere desire to contribute,” said Mr Kennedy.

Survey results are expected to be released in May and will measure everything from charitable giving to volunteering and environmentally sustainable practices.

About BNI

BNI is New Zealand’s largest structured business referral organisation for small to medium businesses, and is based on the principle of ‘givers gain’. The organisation has 127 chapters countrywide – from Dunedin to Whangarei – and more than 2,700 members who attend weekly breakfast meetings to pass business referrals to each other.

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