*2.3. Social Development*

Social development refers to the social dimensions of a firm, community or region and can include measures of education, learning, equity and access to social resources, health and well-being, quality of life and social capital. The following list provides some examples of possible variables: female participation rate in the labor force, median income, relative poverty, percentage of employees with a post-secondary degree or certificate, organizational learning ability, interorganizational awareness share, etc. In this article, we propose an internal dimension of firms: organizational learning capacity. Organizational learning capacity is a relevant tool for SMEs because it grants access to social resources. In this way, SMEs with a high level of organizational learning ability can collect and report information on what is happening inside and outside the firm.
