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Item CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN BANKING SECTOR(2014-01-21) Ramodibe, Palesa TebogoInstead of trying to justify CSR by demonstrating the profits associated with CSR or the social necessity of CSR, there is also a need for studies that explain how institutions, such as banks, respond to an increasing demand for CSR as a business imperative. The study uses a sense-making framework that seeks to illuminate the cognitive, linguistic and conative elements to how CSR bank managers in South Africa relate to CSR stakeholders, and how they have thus far heeded the call to be socially responsible in a triple bottom line driven fashion. Potential respondents were approached, resulting in a purposive (convenience) sample of 12 institutions, and 17 individual managers from the South African CSR banking population being chosen for interviews carried out in a semistructured, informal, and in-depth format. Thematic analysis of transcribed interview data revealed that the practice of triple bottom line inspired CSR is limited in South African banking, with CSI being the dominant practice. The terminologies CSR and CSI were confused and used interchangeably, flagging a sector-wide misunderstanding of what CSR is relative to CSI. The influence of apartheid legacy and African culture are noted as underlying drivers to the preferred vehicle for social responsibility investment, namely philanthropy. Added to this, the coordinated expenditure of the CSR budgets is largely earmarked for educational and financial inclusion priorities, regardless of the lack of basic monitoring and evaluation techniques to justify the sector wide focus.Item The Relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility and Financial Performance of Companies in South Africa(2012-01-20) Kimingi, Peter KihuyuIn recent times, there has been a significant increase in the level of interest in corporate social responsibility (CSR) amongst regulators, legislators, shareholders and broader stakeholder groups. The major driving force behind this heightened interest seems to be mounting concerns regarding global warming, the widespread adoption of the Kyoto protocol, numerous large scale corporate collapses and corruption cases. In South Africa, CSR has an additional impetus given the complex nature of the country’s history, the need to adhere to the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment’s (B-BBEE) Codes of Good Practice and the ethical values of responsibility as espoused by the King Code. This research sought to define the relationship between firms’ corporate social responsibility and their financial performance. Although most literature reviewed suggest that investment in CSR is associated with superior financial performance, many other studies found contrasting results or no relationship at all. Findings are therefore both mixed and inconclusive. By addressing the methodological shortcomings identified in previous studies, this research sought to provide an improved perspective into the nature of this relationship. Companies that met the JSE’s (Socially Responsible Investment) SRI Index for assessment were used to conduct this research. These companies were identified and separated into leading and lagging Corporate Social Performance (CSP) firms based on their environmental responsibility profile and their performance data for five years drawn and analysed. The sample was also sorted and analysis conducted in different industrial sectors so as to eliminate industry biases. No significant difference in the financial performance was found between leading and lagging CSP firms over the five-year period. The findings were consistent regardless of the measure of performance employed, period of analysis or the sector to which the firms operate. The findings indicate that there is neither a detrimental impact nor financial rewards for engaging or not engaging in CSR activities. Managers and investors can therefore afford to be socially responsible.Item Corporate Social Responsibility(2011-06-08) Poswa, Sanele QabukaSouth Africa has seen considerable economic growth over the past ten years; however, the poverty gap has grown faster than the economy. This indicates that poor households have not shared the benefits of economic growth that have been reaped by South African businesses. Consequently there is a need for South African businesses to be good corporate citizens and contribute towards alleviating the poverty that plagues the communities in which they operate. This study investigates the motives of selected South African companies for engaging in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), and the strategies that they employ to align their CSR with poverty alleviation. In-depth interviews were conducted by the researcher with the managers responsible for CSR in the selected South African companies, using a uniform interview schedule. Key findings revealed that the motives of South African companies for engaging in CSR are that CSR is entrenched in the values of the company. Some companies aim to build sustainable communities. Several companies expressed the need to comply with legislation around CSR, for example the BBBEE Code of Good Practice, the King Report on Corporate Governance and the JSE SRI Index. For others the motive is to manage the reputation of the company. The strategies that the companies employ to align CSR with poverty alleviation include aligning CSR with business imperatives, aligning CSR with national imperatives, forging effective partnerships, the involvement of employees and leadership in CSR, and finally developing key focus areas. While companies acknowledge that they have a role to play in socio-economic development, there is no explicit commitment to poverty alleviation. However, the companies’ CSR initiatives are well targeted at alleviating poverty through their indirect, trickle-down approaches.Item The Effect of Corporate Social Responsibility on South(2011-05-30) Munger, BelindaIn today’s competitive business environment, a company which understands the reasons why consumers chose to purchase their product or service instead of their competitors’ should be able to use these reasons to gain competitive advantage. As more consumers are becoming aware of social causes and believe that businesses should play their part to improve the country’s social welfare, companies in South Africa are looking at ways to become more socially responsible. The question in the minds of these companies though, is whether their participation in social projects increases consumer loyalty, or whether brand, price and quality still play a pivotal role in the decision making process. This exploratory study investigated the key attributes that impact on consumers’ behaviour in respect of corporate social responsibility, brand, quality and price. Furthermore the research determined, out of eight kinds of social activities, which were the most important in the mind of the consumer. Applying the conjoint analysis technique, the study established that corporate social responsibility was the highest rated attribute, far exceeding the other attributes of brand, price and quality. The study also reflected that child welfare was the highest rated social cause. These findings illustrate the necessity for companies to invest in social activities, which will assist with the creation of a favourable corporate image among their consumersItem Item PERCEIVED BENEFITS OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY(2011-05-19) Monareng, Geraldine MakoleCorporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been found to have different meanings to different communities in different countries. The perception of the benefits derived by various stakeholder groups remains a contentious issue in both academic circles and in application in business and/or politics. The purpose of this research was to analyse the perceived benefits of CSR to different stakeholder groups in South Africa. A single case was opted for in this report. The questionnaire used was targeted at employees from the four collaborating companies in CSR initiatives at Liberty. These were Liberty Life, the Liberty Foundation, the Learning Channel and MindSet Network. The main findings of the research were that the four identified main stakeholder groups (shareholders, customers, employees and the community), all benefited from CSR initiatives undertaken by an organisation. The benefits were found to be both direct and indirect (almost incidental) to all four stakeholders. The benefits were more of a long term nature than would be quantifiable in the short term. The CSR activities undertaken at Liberty through the Foundation could be leveraged further to translate into new business opportunities in existing or new markets for the growth of the group and greater returns to shareholders.Item THE INTEGRATION OF CORPORATE SOCIAL(2011-04-15) Ilett, Dominic RichardWhile companies have been practising philanthropy for decades, the field of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a relatively new and fast evolving field in business. Companies invest ever increasing sums of money and resources in CSR; consequently, there is a need for companies to think strategically about their CSR approach to ensure its effective integration with overall business strategy. This research study documents how South African companies integrate CSR with their overall business strategy. By following a process of in-depth semi structured interviews, the views of senior executives and managers involved with CSR at companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange’s Social Responsible Investment Index were obtained. The main findings that emerged reveal that South African companies believe CSR should form part of company strategy. How companies set about making this a reality depends on their unique organisational structure. Importantly, it was found that an understanding of the external as well as internal forces impacting upon CSR, buy-in from leadership and all stakeholders and effective organisational processes and systems were critical for effective implementation. While some companies report having made progress, there is an acknowledgement that fully integrating CSR with company strategy has not yet been achieved