When Managerial Values Become CSR Practices: A Configurational Analysis of Activation Conditions in SMEs

ABSTRACT Corporate social responsibility (CSR) engagement varies considerably across small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs), yet the conditions under which owner‐managers' values are associated with organisational practices remain insufficiently understood. This study examines how biospheric and altruistic values combine with activation conditions in configurations associated with environmental practices (EP), sustainable human resource management practices (HRMP) and community practices (CP). Using survey data from 409 SMEs in Quebec, Canada, and qualitative comparative analysis (QCA), we identify multiple sufficient configurations and alternative models associated with high levels of CSR engagement. The findings reveal distinct domain affinities for biospheric and altruistic values without confining either value orientation to a single CSR domain. Biospheric values feature prominently in EP but also appear in HRMP and CP configurations, while altruistic values appear across domains and are particularly salient in CP. By disaggregating both self‐transcendence values and CSR engagement, the study reveals value–domain affinities and domain‐specific activation patterns that remain obscured when either side is treated as homogeneous. The findings advance the micro‐foundations of CSR by showing that SME CSR heterogeneity has a configurational basis and that the organisational relevance of managerial values depends on the configurations in which they are embedded.