Business Case for Corporate Social Responsibility in Emerging Economies? An Exploratory Empirical Study of the South African Business Context
Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability: Emerging Trends in Developing Economies
ISBN: 978-1-78441-152-7, eISBN: 978-1-78441-151-0
Publication date: 17 September 2014
Abstract
Purpose
To examine the business case for corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the South African context.
Methodology
A cross-sectional correlation research design involving quantitative and qualitative data.
Findings
The findings lend general support for the utility of business case oriented CSR strategic applications in the South African business context.
Research limitations
The small samples using accountancy students and high CSR performing companies restricted the generalizability of the findings. Also, the links between respondents’ propensity to purchase and actual purchasing behavior remained undetermined.
Contribution
The chapter provides an empirically validated model measuring associations between individual perceptions of actual and expected CSP configurations with predilections to purchase products from a sample of high profile CSR multinational South African companies.
Practical implications
The results suggest the model’s cogency and lend general support to the utility of the business case strategy in the South African business context by showing associations between CSR company profiles and respondents’ intentions to purchase their goods and services.
Social implications
The importance of CSR in providing social benefits in South African communities is reinforced by its strategic importance in offering business benefits to companies that invest in its implementation.
Originality/value of chapter
Development and empirical verification of a novel conceptual model in the South African business context.
Keywords
Citation
Coldwell, D. and Joosub, T. (2014), "Business Case for Corporate Social Responsibility in Emerging Economies? An Exploratory Empirical Study of the South African Business Context", Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability: Emerging Trends in Developing Economies (Critical Studies on Corporate Responsibility, Governance and Sustainability, Vol. 8), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 297-322. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2043-905920140000008015
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2014 Emerald Group Publishing Limited