Responsible Commercial Activity Of Smes And Specific
Values Of Sustainable Development In Terms
Of The European Excellence Model
Author:Marieta Olaru, Vasile Dinu, Ghiorghiţa Stoleriu, Diana Sandru şi Violeta Dincă
JEL:M10
DOI:
Keywords:responsible commercial activity, sustainable development, demands of society,
social responsibility, SMEs in trade, the EFQM excellence model
Abstract:
The paper underlines part of the value of the research based on survey results conducted on
SMEs in Romania, in 2007-2008, within the national research project IDEAS 856
"Increasing the competitiveness of SMEs in Romania by implementing a model evaluation
and improvement of their performance in accordance with the European model of quality
management.” One of the research objectives was the assessment of the satisfaction degree
of requirements relating to protection of human health and environmental protection by
SMEs from Romania, including those in trade, in terms of an integrated approach to
sustainable development values within the European Excellence Model as defined by the
European Foundation for Quality Management - EFQM).
As a consequence of the study it appears that there is a correlation between the degree of
meeting these requirements and mature quality management system of enterprises. Thus, it
was found that for SMEs in trade, whose interests in implementing a quality management
system is in its early stages, the degree of satisfaction of the requirements of society, from
the perspective of an integrated approach to sustainable development values in the EFQM
Excellence Model, is relatively low.
On the other hand, research carried out showed that data obtained by SMEs in trade in the
process of evaluating and monitoring the impact on the environment are used mainly to
establish corrective actions, following the complaints occurred, and less to define
continuous improvement programs to meet these requirements.