Abstract
Purpose: study aimed to assess the Corporate Social Responsibility practices, business-community relations, and the missing links in Corporate Social Responsibility- community development in Ethiopia. Approach/Methodology/Design: Case study and thematic analysis of data on 45 structured interviews of key informants from federal and regional government, companies, and local community was collected, transcribed, and analyzed to identify the current CSR practices and consequences, and the missing links in CSR-community development interface. Findings: The CSR is ad-hoc philanthropy activity based on neo-liberal and voluntary approach motivated by market performance, reputation and image building objectives. There is no community development orientation, no social and environmental impacts. There are tax dodging, deforestation, water and chemical pollutions, britches of labor and community rights, CSiRs; National indigenous culture based community development oriented mandatory CSR policy, coordinating agency, engaging community, measuring the implementation, rewarding good CSR performance and punishing CSiRs. Practical Implications: The study has implications for academics, managers, policy makers, public administrators, community activists and leaders. It contributes to CSR approach in developing countries, CSR theories, thinking, and practice in African context, the business community relations, the business management approaches, scope of stakeholders, in improving CSR to contribute to community development. Originality/value: This study’s originality lies in bringing Ethnic diversity, federal- regional government, political history, collective rights, power of community and nationalism in CSR to the front.
Highlights
With the private sector assuming a driving role in the development of a country, the issue of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and ensuring sustainable development is becoming critical (UNCTAD, 2015; Banksa et al, 2016)
Based on review of literature on the area the structured interview schedule was develop for each stakeholders, data obtained was transcribed, coded, and analysed around the two themes of the study: the current practice of CSR and Community development, and the missing links in business-community relations and development
The CSR practice barely exists in Ethiopia
Summary
With the private sector assuming a driving role in the development of a country, the issue of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and ensuring sustainable development is becoming critical (UNCTAD, 2015; Banksa et al, 2016). Despite the large body of research and business cases, CSR remained a difficult and contested concept to describe and implement (Idowu, 2013). It is criticised as ineffective and failed concept (Fleming & Jones, 2013) with no social and environmental impacts (Feix & Philippe, 2020; Schneider, 2020; Kaplan, 2018). With all the growing acceptance of CSR, the existence of systemic problems of poverty, environmental exploitation, pollution, modern day slavery, climate change, tax evasion, and different forms of corporate social irresponsibility (CSiR) have made some scholar question the usefulness of the CSR under the capitalist system (Craneet al., 2014; Fleming & Jones, 2013; Wickert & Risi, 2019; de Bakkeret al.,2020)
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