Corporate social responsibility and international business: examining the nexus and gaps from a developing economy perspective (original) (raw)
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Corporate Social Responsibility and International Development: Critical Assessment
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Research into Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Ghana generally, has seen increased scholarly attention but same cannot be said of the specific area of CSR and International Business (IB), ironically though much of the data on CSR research comes from IBs. This paper therefore reviews existing literature on CSR in Ghana with the objective of identifying gaps and developing a framework to guide future research in CSR and IB because of the peculiarities. The paper underscores the varying and conflicting interests of host and home nations as well as international standards that IBs must navigate in their CSR activities, and applies Impression Management theory to develop a framework for future studies in the subject area in Africa and emerging economies.
The state of corporate social responsibility research in Ghana: A synthesis of literature
BUSINESS STRATEGY & DEVELOPMENT
There are recent calls to pay attention to the institutional requirement or the configurations of the national business system because it eventually results in the different manifestation of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in different contexts. This has led to several contestations against the suitability of transferring developed countries' CSR frameworks and ideas to developing countries. Yet literature reviews about CSR in developing countries and in Africa, in particular, are limited. This paper, therefore, contributes to this gap by systematically reviewing and synthesizing 113 CSR's studies from Ghana between 2006 and 2018. Altogether, this paper structures CSR research in Ghana into salient themes to provide the current state of knowledge and help scholars scope the field and explore value-adding avenues to further our understanding about CSR research in developing countries. Based on the findings, implication on theory, public policy, and practice are suggested.
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices of foreign and local companies in Ghana
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This article reports a comparative study of the key motives underlying corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices of foreign and local firms operating in Ghana and the societal as well as business outcomes of these practices. The results show that while the CSR decisions of foreign firms are mainly guided by legal prescriptions, those of their local counterparts are guided mostly by discretionary and social considerations. The socially oriented CSR practices of the local firms are consistent with cultural expectations in Ghana that those with extra resources should support the less privileged members of the society. But the difference in the degree of importance that the two groups of firms attach to discretionary motives for their CSR practices is not statistically significant. The article also discusses the policy, strategy, and research implications of the findings.
Journal of Global Initiatives Policy Pedagogy Perspective, 2014
The global economy offers opportunities for businesses to integrate business units and processes into seamless value-creating engines that can bring their global strength and capabilities to bear within each local market. The purpose of this paper is to suggest that proactive corporate social responsibility (CSR) by Western multinational enterprises operating in developing countries, such as those in Africa, not only serves to soften the Janus-face of globalization but enhances their long-term economic interests as well. The paper posits that CSR provides a framework for a thoughtful modus operandi that wins the trust of local customers, employees, business partners, and the communities in which Western MNEs have a presence, and thus makes good business sense. The paper highlights the main CSR practices of the Coca-Cola Company in Ghana and suggests that it could serve as a model for other Western direct investors in Ghana and other developing countries.
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) perspectives of leading firms in Ghana
Corporate Governance: The international journal of business in society, 2007
PurposeCorporate social responsibility (CSR) research has blossomed in this new millennium. This has been due to: the increasing concern expressed by policy makers about corporate social responsibility; the pressure exerted on firms to demonstrate high ethical standards; and for developing countries, the increasing demands on their firms exporting to Europe and other western countries to document adherence to high ethical standards in order to be competitive. This study sought to ascertain and document the extent of recognition, nature and content of socially responsible actions by firms located in Ghana.Design/methodology/approachThe study used a sample of companies listed in the Ghana Club 100 database, an annual ranking of the most prestigious firms in Ghana. The study adopted an in‐depth, exploratory and comparative approach in examining the CSR issues from the perspectives of local versus internationally‐connected firms in Ghana.FindingsThe key findings of the study were that, ...
Corporate Social Responsibility in Ghana: A Sectoral Analysis
Corporate Social Responsibility in Sub-Saharan Africa, 2015
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) an ethical, non-legislative, non-forcing approach to promoting responsible behaviours within organisations employs the central route of persuasion which consists of thoughtful considerations of arguments to achieve desired results. Studies suggest that attitudes that change through persuasion are more likely to persist temporally, resist counter persuasion and are more likely to predict behaviour (Petty & Cacioppo, 1986). It is therefore worthwhile examining the usage of the CSR concept in Ghana particularly in the mining industry where it enjoys some popularity. This paper defined CSR as the strategic decision of an organisation to voluntary act upon the social factors that have the potential of militating against the fulfillment of corporate goals and examines the CSR concept in the Ghanaian mining industry. In Ghana the concept has tended to focus on the external environment to the neglect of the internal environment from where employees operate.
Institutional Drivers for Corporate Social Responsibility of Ghanaian Firms
European Journal of Business and Management Research, 2021
The concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has dominated the academic space with a significant number of studies focusing on attempting to establish the relationship between corporate responsibility and firm performance. Minimal empirical attention is, however, accorded to attempting to establish what drives corporate responsibility among firms. This study sought to examine the institutional drivers for CSR practices of firms in Ghana using a mixed-method approach. An interview was conducted with personnel in charge of executing their respective firm's corporate responsibility initiatives to obtain a firsthand insight into the level of appreciation for CSR among Ghanaian firms as well as to identify the drivers for CSR. The drivers for CSR were classified into internal and external institutional drivers. The study sourced for data for its analysis by administering questionnaires to 100 respondents. Responses were quantitatively analyzed using a regression technique. Among the internal drivers for CSR, it was found that only board commitment to CSR was a significant and positive driver of corporate responsibility. International trade relations, the media, and the local community were similarly found to be significant and positive drivers of CSR among the external drivers. Regulations was found to be a significant driver for CSR but impacted on corporate responsibility negatively. It is recommended that incentives by the government, award schemes, and enforcement of CSR reporting be implemented to drive a broad adoption of CSR among firms in developing nations.
Corporate social responsibility has evolved into a crucial demand for businesses to sustain continuous organizational performance in order to acquire an exclusive position in the market as societal and ecological consciousness among the general public is expanding. The purpose of the study was to investigate the role that corporate social responsibility plays in building a company's corporate image in Oromia region, Ethiopian. In the meantime, the study used 745-respondents as sample size , drawn from the local community, employees, customers, and government officials.Meanwhile, the Kruskal-Wallis test, which indicates there is association between CSR and corporate image (P-value 0.000<0.05). Additionally, data from the local community (Ag. Mean=1.56618, Ag. S.D=0.745064), employees (Ag. Mean=2.51693, Ag.S.D=1.131091), customers (Ag. Mean=3.455555, Ag. S.D=1.157723), and government officials (Ag. Mean=3.755555, Ag. S.D=1.147723) demonstrates that the local community and employees respond negatively, whereas customers and concerned government officials respond positively to corporate image of foreign enterprises.
This paper explored the major drivers of corporate social responsibility (CSR) practice in Africa. In the process of explaining the nature of CSR it explained the evolutionary trend of CSR through the whole century and also touched on the CSR orientations and a recognized framework for determining the orientations through the four responsibilities or dimensions. The CSR orientations explained the priority accorded to some sets of activities representing the CSR practice of organizations in Africa from different literatures. The paper found out that CSR practice in Africa is determined by philanthropic responsibilities derived from cultural and religious practice in Africa. The practice of CSR as a strategy for achieving profitability, competitiveness, standard compliance, ethical and legal considerations, stakeholder management and engagement and achievement of sustainable development is less emphasized in the African context when compared to the western perspective of CSR practice.