Philip Lattauer is a Freight forwarder & logistician since 2006, started his career in freight forwarding at the international company Panalpina Welttransport GmbH.
He is currently Head of Logistics for a manufacturer of carrying solutions and deals with topics and solutions of the company’s global logistics, such as distribution, consolidation, warehousing, sea, air and land freight and the supply chain.
In September 2023, he will be defending his Executive Doctorate in Business Administration (EDBA) on the topic of “International implementation possibilities of Corporate Social Responsibility in small and medium-sized enterprises” under the supervision of Professor Ulrike Mayrhofer, Professor at IAE Nice – University Côte d’Azur.
Thesis Direction
Pr Ulrike Mayrhofer
Thesis Title
International implementation possibilities of Corporate Social Responsibility in small and medium-sized enterprises
Abstract
In the recent past, topics or cases that are becoming increasingly common in society and the press, such as the Rana Plaza disaster or the diesel scandal in the automotive industry, have shown that the need for corporate social responsibility (CSR) in companies is becoming increasingly important. For example, in 2021 the German government passed a supply chain law that has now been in force since 1 January 2023 (Supply Chain Duty of Care Act), but this topic has also become established in European politics, for example the European Green Deal and the sustainability obligations for companies were developed and adopted. This also shows the increasing importance in society. Stakeholders are putting more and more pressure on companies. The present research work takes this increasingly topical issue into account. However, unlike in politics, the study does not deal with multinational corporations or large companies, but with multinational small and medium-sized enterprises. As these have featured less in the literature so far, but account for almost 90% of global companies.
In contrast to the literature published so far, this research does not only cover individual areas of CSR, but the entire supply chain, from suppliers to customers, and all subject areas, such as social and environmental issues, etc. This way, the individual interrelationships are clarified. In this way, the individual interrelationships are clarified.
The qualitative methodology is composed of a single case study, accompanied by inductive action research, using a total of 23 interviews (nine external interviews, which show an external dimension and how other companies proceed or have proceeded in implementing CSR, and 14 internal interviews, which give an insight into how the example company is currently viewed on CSR in the different countries) as data collection. With the help of currently available guidelines, e.g. of the OECD, ISO 26000 or SA8000, which are not analysed in this work, but are intended to illustrate the variety of different certifications, etc., and the analysis of the current ACTUAL state of the example company (internal & external), a handout for managers (e.g. through checklists, etc.) of multinational SMEs is developed in order to clarify a possible approach and the possible process steps.
It could be found out that a generality cannot be achieved by this work, but also that the theoretically presented models of the current literature reach their limits for SMEs and multinational SMEs. Furthermore, a distinction between different countries could be found or confirmed, so that even within Europe different levels of knowledge and acceptance can be found. This shows that SMEs and multinational SMEs sometimes have a very pragmatic and intuitive way of implementing CSR in the company.