1 This is an accepted manuscript of the article Fafaliou R., Lekakou M. and Theotokas, I. (2006), «Is the European shipping industry aware of corporate social responsibility? The case of Greek-owned short sea shipping companies», Marine Policy, vol. 30, no. 4, 412-419, published by Elsevier on 2006, available online at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308597X05000308 Is the European Shipping Industry aware of corporate social responsibility? The case of the Greek-owned short sea shipping companies Irene Fafaliou*, Maria Lekakou**, Ioannis Theotokas** *Department of Economics, University of Piraeus, Greece **Depratment of Shipping, Trade and Transport, University of the Aegean, Greece ABSTRACT This paper attempts to clarify the meaning of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the context of the European maritime sector and examines its application in the case of the Greek-owned short sea shipping companies. CSR is assessed in terms of a number of variables such as employees’ satisfaction, corporate productivity and effi- ciency, social welfare, awareness and social accountability of managers and directors, et alia. Focus is given on the applicability of CSR to shipping companies of small and medium size. For this purpose a survey has been conducted. Based on the findings of the qualitative research performed, it is concluded that the application of CSR is re- stricted only to companies that either are subsidiaries of international conglomerates or owned by ship-owners personally aware of the corporate benefits derived from social responsible behavior. Based on improved knowledge of managers’ and direc- tors’ attitudes and views towards CSR solutions, the paper offers some ways forward for policy informing. Key words: corporate social responsibility, responsible business behavior, short and medium size firms in shipping. 1. Introduction It is increasingly recognized that expanding international markets and growing glob- alisation consciousness since the 80s, have raised consumers’ and wider society’s awareness of social and environmental needs, thus resulting in a powerful trend to- wards socially responsible consumerism and investing 1 . Europe’s changing face, 1 See for example the results on consumer’s behaviour suggested in a study undertaken by MORI, the largest independent research agency in the UK; the study commissioned for the CSR Europe and was the first European-wide study on CSR. The results revealed in November 2000; for more details see, “www.mori.org”. Businesses in the Community (BITC) and Research International LTD in the UK have conducted similar studies. Those show that when price and quality are equal, more than half of