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Business & Society
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The Risks of Enlightened Self-Interest: Small Businesses and Support for Community

Terry L. Besser

Iowa State University

Nancy J. Miller

University of Nebraska—Lincoln

This article focuses on the association between the beliefs of small business owners and managers and their support for the community. Qualitative and quantitative data are utilized in an exploratory examination of two rationales for socially responsible behavior and of two kinds of support. Analyses show that the belief in strengthening the community as an important strategy for business success is positively associated with the provision of nonrisky and risky support. Risky support may threaten short-term business success. However, the belief that a good public image is important for business success is negatively or not significantly associated with either risky or nonrisky support for the community. Findings uphold the position that there are significant variations in enlightened self-interest rationales that are differentially associated with business social performance among small business operators and demonstrate the usefulness of disaggregating social performance into risky and nonrisky variations.

Key Words: small businesses • community involvement • enlightened selfinterest • social responsibility • business-community relations

Business & Society, Vol. 43, No. 4, 398-425 (2004)
DOI: 10.1177/0007650304271140
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