Implementing Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Africa : a conceptualisation and propositions

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is gaining increasing importance for contemporary companies. Various groups like governments, non-governmental organisations, international multilateral organisations, shareholders and consumer groups are joining the debate and encouraging companies to pursue CSR. Many corporations are making strategic decisions to incorporate CSR into their business models. CSR is seen as representing best practices and as a tool to achieve sustainable development. From the corporate perspective, CSR can establish the company as a good corporate citizen and could lead to improved productivity of the workforce. In spite of the fact that CSR regulations are generally lax in African countries, it is important for companies doing business in Africa to implement it, as the material needs of the workers and the rest of the population are inadequately provided for. In this paper we present a conceptualisation of CSR in a developing country context and present propositions for achieving the strategy in Africa.