Exploring the infl uence of social embeddedness and micro accountability on regional corporate responsibility

Literature on corporate social responsibility (CSR) is yet vague concerning who is being held responsible; for what, by whom. Corporations are commonly treated as the focal actors of interest. We explore the notion of micro accountability to shed light on how an individual’s multiple roles and memberships (e.g. as private person; business owner and/or manager, community inhabitant, or business network member) translate to regional corporate responsibility. Stakeholder theory and interpretive accounting literature constitute the basis of our discussion. Illustrations derived from fieldwork on Swedish SMEs support our conclusions. We conclude that the accountability of owner-managers to a range of local stakeholders influences the company’s CSR activities. The paper adds to current research by emphasizing and exemplifying the importance of people and their social embeddedness for CSR activities and outcomes