Corporate Leaders’ Perceptions About Corporate Social Responsibility: An Exploratory Analysis

Abstract

AbstractThis paper examines the perceptions about corporate social responsibility (CSR) among a sample of corporate leaders in Africa. A survey and personal interviews were the primary methods of data collection. Our findings show that respondents were able to identify a range of parameters and stakeholders pertaining to CSR; actual practice tended to revolve around the philanthropic dimension. Corporate leaders were motivated by different factors to practice CSR, which we saw as being driven by either a proactive, accommodative, or reactive approach. We also found that the lack of commitment among some leaders in evaluating CSR practices might have been because they do not have clear definition of CSR goals. Based on our findings, we offer suggestions on how to evaluate CSR activities and how different stakeholders can help promote CSR.KeywordsCorporate Social ResponsibilityCorporate Social Responsibility ActivityCorporate Social Responsibility InitiativeCorporate Social Responsibility PracticeCorporate ExecutiveThese 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.