The aim of this paper is to study the influence of corporate social responsibility (CSR) over small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) innovation and the effect of two mediating variables, debt terms and human capital. Based on a sample of 2825 Spanish SMEs and applying a structural equations modeling, the results demonstrate that the effect of CSR on innovation is mediated by debt terms and by good human resource practices. Part of the positive effect of CSR on innovation occurs through these two variables, which, alone, positively and significantly affect innovation in SMEs. Consequently, the positive effect of CSR practices on debt terms through a decrease in asymmetric information goes further, also having repercussions on innovation. Additionally, the suitable development of human resource practices based on strategies oriented toward CSR allow companies to carry out greater and more efficient innovative activities. This paper contributes to the CSR literature considering the human resource management and the debt access in the relationship between CSR and innovation. The findings reveal important implications for policy makers and managers. For the former, the results show that it would be interesting to carry out actions aimed at assisting SMEs, especially those with fewer resources available, to implement a suitable CSR strategy, supporting sustainable development in SMEs. And, for the latter, CSR-oriented innovation has proven to be a valuable strategy for more efficient SMEs management because of the multiple competitive advantages it generates.

中文翻译：

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企业社会责任对中小企业创新的影响：债务期限与人力资本的中介作用

本文的目的是研究企业社会责任 (CSR) 对中小企业 (SME) 创新的影响以及两个中介变量、债务条款和人力资本的影响。基于 2825 家西班牙中小企业的样本并应用结构方程模型，结果表明企业社会责任对创新的影响受债务条款和良好的人力资源实践的调节。企业社会责任对创新的部分积极影响是通过这两个变量产生的，这两个变量单独对中小企业的创新产生了积极而显着的影响。因此，企业社会责任实践通过减少信息不对称对债务条款的积极影响进一步扩大，也对创新产生了影响。此外，以企业社会责任为导向的战略基础上适当发展人力资源实践，使企业能够开展更多、更有效的创新活动。本文对考虑人力资源管理和企业社会责任与创新关系中的债务获取的企业社会责任文献做出了贡献。研究结果揭示了对决策者和管理者的重要影响。对于前者，结果表明采取旨在帮助中小企业，尤其是那些可用资源较少的中小企业实施合适的企业社会责任战略，支持中小企业可持续发展的行动将是有趣的。而且，对于后者，以企业社会责任为导向的创新已被证明是提高中小企业管理效率的重要战略，因为它产生了多种竞争优势。