Sustainable Development and Corporate Social Responsibility in Sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from Industries in Cameroon

Oyewole Simon Oginni and Adewale Daniel Omojowo
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Oyewole Simon Oginni: Thematic Centre for Governance and Regional Integration, Pan African University, UY II, P.O. Box 18, Soa, Yaounde, Cameroon
Adewale Daniel Omojowo: Faculty of Economics and Management, Department of Environmental Economics, Rural Development and Agric-Business, University of Yaoundé II, P.O. BOX 1365, Soa, Yaounde, Cameroon

Economies, 2016, vol. 4, issue 2, 1-15

Abstract: Present technological innovations and social organizations continue to impose risks and limitations on the efficient performance of the biosphere. Human activities have increasingly short-lived sustainable natural endowments, to the extent that, the multiplier effects have ripples beyond the traditional benefits of economic production and consumption. Therefore, this study addressed practical concerns on how industries in Sub-Saharan Africa promote sustainable development in their corporate social responsibility models, using industries in Cameroon as a case study; it examined economic, social, and environmental components of sustainable development and corporate social responsibility (CSR). Our sample consists of 335 business enterprises from the last Censure Survey of Enterprises in Cameroon. The study adopted a systematic analysis through the Adjusted Residual Test, and the Phi and Cramer’s V tests. Findings revealed that industries in Cameroon prioritize environmental and social dimensions over economic dimensions. However, a few large enterprises implement a broad CSR that promotes sustainable business practices, whereas smaller ones do not; industries in Cameroon implement environmental dimensions of CSR as a safe buffer and a social dimension as philanthropy. Hence, there is no concrete evidence that industries promote sustainable development via CSR in Cameroon. The implementation of a sustainable business model is a precondition for promoting sustainable development via CSR. Industries should realize the concrete value in implementing a sustainable business model that helps to adjust to the complex and increasingly changing business environment.

Keywords: corporate social responsibility; externalities; stakeholders; sustainable development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E F I J O Q (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

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