Leader commitment: owner’s motivations for involvement in their small business

Purpose This study explores the motivations and decision-making processes of small business leaders engaging in societal commitment, using sensemaking theory as a conceptual framework. While existing research has extensively examined corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies, the role of individual decision-makers in initiating and structuring these engagements remains underexplored. This study addresses this gap by investigating how leaders interpret, construct meaning, and integrate their personal values into their company's societal strategy. Design/methodology/approach Adopting a qualitative approach, the study draws on semi-structured interviews and shadowing conducted with 22 small business leaders, capturing their perceptions, motivations, and the strategic processes underlying their commitment. The findings highlight that the alignment between personal values and corporate societal objectives is critical in shaping authentic and impactful engagement. Leaders do not engage in societal causes solely for economic or strategic benefits, such as market differentiation and consumer expectations, but also as part of a deeply personal and retrospective process that integrates identity, past experiences, and collective sensemaking within their organizations. From a managerial perspective, the research provides practical guidance for business leaders seeking to design genuine and sustainable societal commitments in small businesses. Findings This study contributes to theory by demonstrating how sensemaking process's structure managerial decisions on societal engagement, bridging individual identity construction with strategic organizational outcomes. The findings challenge traditional perspectives on corporate activism by showing that commitment can be visible, discreet, or even hidden, depending on perceived risks, legitimacy concerns, and stakeholder dynamics. Research limitations/implications Given the exploratory nature of our study, it presents certain inherent limitations, which in turn open up avenues for future research. First, while the qualitative methodology adopted provides an in-depth understanding of managerial motivations, it does not allow for a comprehensive assessment of the evolution of these dynamics from a temporal perspective. Accordingly, our current research is part of a longitudinal study aimed at analyzing the evolution of executives' societal engagement over several years. This work will deepen the understanding of the relationship between societal engagement and committed managerial practices, with a particular focus on the resilience of such engagement in the face of adversity and the strategies implemented to manage dilemmas inherent to corporate social responsibility. Second, the issue of generalizing the results represents another limitation of our work. The sample, while relevant to our analysis, is limited to executives currently in position, without considering future decision-makers, namely students in management and entrepreneurship. However, academic training plays a fundamental role in shaping values and managerial practices (Lobre-Lebraty and Heimann, 2024; Ratten and Jones, 2021; Secundo et al. , 2019). A promising research avenue would thus be to examine how management students perceive and integrate societal issues into their strategic vision. Research could specifically analyze the impact of sustainable education (Wyness et al. , 2015) on their future behaviors regarding societal engagement. Likewise, observing young entrepreneurs in the early stages of their ventures would help identify whether and how societal engagement is embedded in their initial strategic decisions, as well as its influence on sustainable business practices (Di Prima et al. , 2023). In sum, our future research aims to provide a temporal and dynamic perspective on the role of leadership in societal engagement. Practical implications Most executives perceive their company's societal engagement as a risk factor. As founders and initiators of these commitments, their personal history often heightened this perception. This can lead them to adopt a discreet approach or even maintain a certain level of confidentiality around their societal actions. However, they must navigate between the risk of inaction, which can limit the impact of societal initiatives, and the risk of excessive discretion, which may hinder stakeholder mobilization and reduce the reach of their commitments. A too-cautious approach, driven by fear of controversy or financial consequences, can weaken the effectiveness of actions implemented within the organization. To maximize the impact of their commitments, executives must actively engage stakeholders in the definition and implementation of their societal initiatives. By co-constructing strategies with employees, customers, and suppliers, they foster collective ownership, ensuring the longevity of these commitments. This dynamic extends beyond current stakeholders to include future audiences, such as potential customers or evolving teams, contributing to embedding engagement within a sustainable and evolving perspective. Finally, the alignment between personal values and corporate social engagement creates a bridge between their individual commitment and that of their company. This alignment develops within a temporal process that connects the personal and the collective and is essential for anchoring societal engagement in a lasting and meaningful way. Social implications In terms of theoretical implications, the results of the study also enrich Weick's social dimension of sensemaking and complement the concept of the "parliament of selves". Historically, Weick evokes the idea of multiple aspects or facets of a person who coexist and may have different opinions or desires, like different parliament members. We develop this concept by integrating and classifying these dimensions: self in relation to its ideology (1), self in relation to other real or supposed (2), and self in relation to its individual-organizational dialectic (3). Our work reinforces the idea that there are internal discussions between leaders who are torn between the initial desire for commitment and the achievable desire, between the ideal commitment and the confrontation with economic reality and the market. The understanding of the dimension of self in relation to ideology (1) allows giving elements on the perception of the meaning of their values, of what they say they want to transmit through the societal commitment of the organization and to give a reading of the results. These results are to be read under this prism. Originality/value The originality of our research lies in the fact that it explains and explores in greater depth the notion of how commitment is made. In this way, managers wishing to take part in a societal approach will be able to understand how this can be done and how it gives meaning to their actions at work.

Ludivine Query & José Ramón Saura & José Manuel Guaita Martínez, 2025. "Leader commitment: owner’s motivations for involvement in their small business," Post-Print hal-05221800, HAL.

Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05221800

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