Corporate social responsibility of a multinational bank and its South African subsidiary (original) (raw)
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Africa has become increasingly attractive to foreign investors, but the establishment of operations in emerging markets poses challenges for multinationals. One such challenge is implementing of corporate social responsibility (CSR) effectively across all subsidiaries. This study aims to determine whether there are differences in CSR expectations and praxis between a multinational bank and its subsidiary operating in South Africa. Through qualitative research methods, a case study research design approach was utilized to study CSR activities in the parent company and CSR activities in its South African subsidiary. Data collected from ten interviews are analyzed using open, axial and selective coding procedures. The study concludes that there are nuanced gaps in CSR expectations, and between the parent company and its South African subsidiary. Global CSR strategies may be applied consistently across subsidiaries, but they do not necessarily address core issues faced in emerging economies, placing doubts upon the practicality of these efforts.
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CSR definitions and models originated from North America and Western Europe, (Hoppit, 2011; Crane et al., 2008), however, important CSR initiatives are emerging in the management practices across the globe, (Hamann, 2003; 2004). Given differential institutional contexts and conflicting stakeholder expectations, the key question is how organisations identify and prioritise CSR material issues (Sethi, 1979). A comparative case study approach was used to analyse organisations practising CSR in the United Kingdom (UK) and South Africa (SA) in order to provide deeper insights into the key factors that are most likely to influence organisational decisions towards social responsiveness. Based on institutional and stakeholder theories, this research study investigates the key factors that influence organisational CSR initiatives in the UK and SA. Employing a case study approach, semi-structured questionnaires and content analysis of annual reports were used to analyse and explain the instit...
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The issues of poverty and inequality, unemployment and the poor living conditions of employees in communities where local and multinational corporations operate have reemerged on the development agenda as a result of growing labour unrest in South Africa, particularly in the mining sector. This article aims to contribute to the conceptualisation and understanding of corporate social responsibility (CSR), including how the philosophy of a developmental state is understood by different stakeholders. A qualitative study was conducted of the CSR initiatives of ten listed national and multinational companies. Interviews were conducted with multiple stakeholders, including the labour force, government, business representatives and community members. The findings suggest that CSR remains an underdeveloped field of enquiry in development studies, underpinned by diverse ideological perspectives among stakeholders regarding its direction and implementation. Despite this situation, an emerging...
Corporate social responsibility in a multinational enterprise: a new DNA for business
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This aim of this study is to investigate the corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices of a multinational enterprise (MNE) in Malaysia that received an award from the Government, the "Prime Minister's CSR Award" ( a well-recognised CSR award in Malaysia), due to its outstanding CSR practice.We chose this company because of prior literature finding that MNEs in developing countries were more involved in philanthropic acts.In our case, we found that the CSR initiatives are embedded in the company's business daily activities.As explained by its CEO: "To us, corporate responsibility is part of [a] company's DNA; it's very driven notion.We strongly adhere to the business philosophy of "doing great while doing good", that is, keeping the principles of responsibility on our radar screen as we strive for excellence in our business".
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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 in South Africa
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is not a new issue. There has always been the need for organizations to make profits and the needs of society. CSR has been considered more intensely that ever since the early 1990s, building on a trend that had been growing since the start of the 20th century. CSR refers to all of an organization’s impacts on society and the need to deal responsibly with the impacts on each group of stakeholders. Typically these are: shareholders, customers, suppliers, employees, and the community – both local and global. Key issues will vary from sector to sector and from organization to organization. Business is arguably the most powerful institution of our society and Ever since the publication of the second King Report on Corporate Governance for South Africa (King II) in 2002, South African corporates have sharpened their focus on their commitment to the ‘triple-bottom-line’, an expanded baseline for measuring a company’s performance which includes, in addition to the traditional financial yardstick, an accounting of the impact of their activities on society and the environment. It is impossible for organization’s to ignore the impact of social, ethical and environmental issues on their business. The cost of neglecting these issues will be high. Business has emerged as the dominant institution in global culture. The other institutions of society – political, educational, religious and social – have a decreasing ability to offer effective leadership. Business, by default must begin to assume responsibility for the whole. The ‘business case’ for CSR is the fact that organizations are pursuing their corporate social responsibilities in response to market forces and in pursuit of shareholder value. The CSR thesis is that organizations will build shareholder value by engaging with stakeholders other than the legal owners, and by taking account of their impacts on society. It is a mistake to pose CSR and profitability as mutually exclusive; the aim is to achieve social responsibility and profits. While the impact of CSR has broadened, many organizations still seem unconvinced that behaving responsibly is necessarily good for business in the hard-nosed sense of building shareholder value. This may be because research on this key topic is scanty and severely limited by a lack of hard data. But, increasingly there is evidence of positive links between social and financial performance.
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This paper aims to explore the motivations and challenges of engaging host communities in CSR practices within the context of Newmont Ahafo Mines (NAM), a subsidiary of a Multinational Mining Enterprise (MNE) operating in Ghana’s mining sector. This paper draws insights from stakeholder theory and interviews conducted with internal stakeholders (management and employees) and stakeholders in host communities (traditional rulers and community members). The findings indicate that effective decision-making, gaining legitimacy, cost savings, management of risks, and accountability are some of the perceived motivations of NAM’s stakeholder engagement in CSR. Nonetheless, the most critical challenges to NAM in improving stakeholder engagement in CSR practices are the lack of community members’ support in CSR projects, communities’ high expectations of NAM on development projects and over-dependency on NAM on the part of host communities. Therefore, it is reasonable for MNEs in emerging eco...
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This paper aims to explore the dynamics of corporate social responsibility (CSR) of multinational companies (MNCs) subsidiaries operating in Pakistan. To do this, the corporate social performance (CSP) model, has been modified and integrated with the relevant models of CSR for multinational companies (MNCs). Empirical evidence from MNCs operating in the developing country context was collected and analyzed from MNCs operating in Pakistan. Findings from semi-structured interviews uncover that CSR is yet to institutionalize and most MNC executives understand CSR in narrow philanthropic and ethical terms and ignore the legal and economic aspects. Interestingly, there is evidence that MNCs are able to modify global CSR strategies to respond to local contexts and issues. In addition, the sample MNCs lack systematic environmental scanning, stakeholder management and demonstrate a short-term reactive approach to CSR. We believe that the proposed theoretical framework of the study can be ut...