Customerowned Firms and the Concept of Regional Responsibility Qualitative Evidence from Finnish Cooperatives

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to introduce the concept of regional responsibility and to provide a deeper understanding of customerowned cooperatives and their social embeddedness. Designmethodologyapproach First, extant conceptions of corporate social responsibility are discussed, concentrating on two approaches the one employing stakeholder theory and the one employing resourcebased view of the firm. Second, cooperatives as a form of economic organization that have a natural interest in engaging in regionallyoriented corporate social responsibility practices are studied, including active participation in regional strategy processes and local and regional development. Finally, the concept of regional responsibility is illustrated by analysing qualitative data. Findings Regional responsibility is in the core of customerowned cooperatives' CSR. Cooperatives are tentative to their customerowners, employees and other regional stakeholders. Regional responsibility also means the utilization of the region's resources and advocacy of local interests. In fact, cooperatives may be considered as flagship enterprises in their regions, promoting the businesses of the whole network of economic actors linked to them. Cooperatives engage also in nonbusiness related activities to support the surrounding community. Research limitationsimplications While this study helps to understand regional responsibility of customerowned firms, as such the findings are limited to the context of this study. Originalityvalue The paper analyzes cooperatives' social responsibility from a regional perspective and introduces the concept of regional responsibility.