Abstract
Our paper aims to analyze the role played by corporate social responsibility in boosting the responsible innovation and the competitiveness of North African small and medium-sized enterprises by focusing on the commitments toward internal and external stakeholders as well as environmental management. In our study, we used a multiple regression analysis applied to a sample of 131 SMEs from North Africa. Our results showed that the mediating effects of responsible innovation in the relationship between corporate social responsibility, environmental management and the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises are driven by the inclusion of the stakeholders in the innovation process, the anticipation of the future trends in terms of socially responsible innovation, and responsiveness to potential risks. The originality of this paper lies in the choice of the field of application of the study, which is corporate social responsibility in the case of developing countries and the attempt to formulate a sustainable development model based on responsible innovation in the case of small and medium-sized enterprises.
•A model of CSR-based competitiveness for SMEs was developed.•The mediating role of responsible innovation in the CSR-based competitiveness model has been tested.•CSR towards internal and external stakeholders and environmental management have a positive impact on SME competitiveness.•Responsible innovation plays a mediating role between CSR and SME competitiveness.•The dimensions of responsible innovation playing this mediating role have been identified.