ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses the fi rst case within the Astra case study. It discusses the roles of a major company in alleviating poverty by empowering micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) along and outside its supply chain. With the MSME program, Astra directly contributes to the United Nation’s sustainable development goal in poverty eradication (Goal 1) and promotion of lifelong learning (Goal 4). The empirical fi ndings from the MSME development program reveal that the corporate social responsibility (CSR) program can actually build prosperity for society beyond the company’s supply chain. The MSME program is driven by the company’s aspirations to fulfi l its business needs by developing MSMEs to support its automotive supply chain. Through the MSME program, which started in 1980, the company builds social capital that improves the capabilities of owners and workers of 8,106 MSMEs, accounting for 55,191 employees in 2013 (Widjaja, 2014). This chapter starts with an overview of MSMEs in Indonesia, showing that the capacity building of small enterprises plays key roles in economic development and poverty reduction in the country. The subsequent sections present an analytical chronology of the MSME program of Astra, followed by an evolution of the interrelations of CSR programs, social capital and sustainability of the company. The case analysis of the MSME program supports the theoretical framework (presented as Figure 4.1 in Chapter 4) about the linkages between sustainable development, CSR, social capital and corporate sustainability.
