Ubuntuand corporate social responsibility: the case of selected Malawian organizations

Happy Mickson Kayuni and Richard I.C. Tambulasi

African Journal of Economic and Management Studies, 2012, vol. 3, issue 1, 64-76

Abstract: Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to operationalise the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) within the framework ofUbuntuin selected Malawian organizations. The intention is to analyze whether CSR can be applied cross‐culturally. Design/methodology/approach - The paper is a result of a qualitative research study conducted amongst nine sampled Malawian organisations. It utilized a semi‐structured interview guide in the collection of data whereby key research questions were exploratory and descriptive in nature. Findings - This paper finds that in the cases under study, the concept of CSR is being applied within the framework ofUbunturather than a Western‐oriented business approach. Research limitations/implications - CSR does not operate in a vacuum. Its application depends on the prevailing cultural context. In the cases under study,Ubuntuvalues influence and facilitate the application of CSR activities. Originality/value - Despite the envisaged significance ofUbuntucultural context to the understanding and applicability of CSR in Africa, there has been no adequate systematic analysis of the same. The paper is therefore filling this knowledge gap.

Keywords: Africa; Malawi; Corporate social responsibility; National cultures; Ubuntu; Organizational culture (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.110 ... d&utm_campaign=repec (text/html)
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.110 ... d&utm_campaign=repec (application/pdf)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eme:ajemsp:v:3:y:2012:i:1:p:64-76

DOI: 10.1108/20400701211197285

Access Statistics for this article

African Journal of Economic and Management Studies is currently edited by Prof John Kuada

More articles in African Journal of Economic and Management Studies from Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Emerald Support ().