Business Ethics and Corporate Governance in Africa

Abstract

The rising tide of corporate governance around the globe left its traces on the African continent. Despite the diversity amongst the 53 countries with their varied colonial legacies comprising Africa, some patterns can be discerned with regard to corporate governance. The purpose of this chapter is to identify general trends in how corporate governance is being institutionalized in Africa, and more specifically, to indicate the implications thereof for the prominence and practice of business ethics in African corporations. The most prominent models of corporate governance in Africa are first identified and the implications thereof for business ethics discussed. This discussion touches on stakeholder identification and engagement, the role of business ethics within these corporate governance models, as well as the way in which the ethical performance of corporations are governed in terms of these models. Finally some new corporate governance developments on the African continent are reviewed in order to gauge their possible impact on the prominence and practice of business ethics. Before attending to this agenda, a brief overview of the African landscape is provided to contextualize the ensuing discussion.KeywordsBusiness EthicCorporate GovernanceSocial Responsibility InvestmentGood GovernanceStakeholder EngagementThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.