Corporate social responsibility in post‐apartheid South Africa

Sharlene Ramlall

Social Responsibility Journal, 2012, vol. 8, issue 2, 270-288

Abstract: Purpose - The purpose of the paper is to analyse the relationship between corporate social responsibility and the concept of Black economic empowerment in South Africa. The paper examines whether government interventions in the area of corporate social responsibility post‐1994 have been successful. The paper also assesses critically the level of voluntary commitment that businesses in South Africa have displayed in the area of corporate social responsibility. Design/methodology/approach - Corporate social responsibility in South Africa pre‐1994 and post‐1994 is examined and compared. The Broad‐Based Black Economic Empowerment Act (2003), the new South African Companies Act (2008) and the King Codes of Corporate Governance Principles in South Africa are critiqued. A distinction is made between government and business corporate social responsibility initiatives. Findings - The paper principally concludes that meaningful corporate social responsibility in the area of human rights can be better achieved if it is based on commitment and collaborative partnership. Practical implications - The paper provides a basis for empirical research on corporate social responsibility and socio‐economic development in South Africa. Originality/value - This paper adds to the growing discourse of academic literature that supports a strategic partnership‐based approach to corporate social responsibility.

Keywords: Corporate social responsibility; Broad‐based Black economic empowerment; Post‐apartheid South Africa; Partnership‐based approach; Human rights; Economic development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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:srjpps:v:8:y:2012:i:2:p:270-288

DOI: 10.1108/17471111211234888

Access Statistics for this article

Social Responsibility Journal is currently edited by Prof David Crowther

More articles in Social Responsibility Journal from Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Emerald Support ().