The Relationship between the Integration of CSR and Sustainable Business Performance: Perceptions of SMEs in the South African Construction Industry

Lance Wentzel, Julius Ayodeji Fapohunda and Rainer Haldenwang
Additional contact information
Lance Wentzel: Department of Civil Engineering and Surveying, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Bellville 7530, South Africa
Julius Ayodeji Fapohunda: Department of Construction Management and Quantity Surveying, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Bellville 7530, South Africa
Rainer Haldenwang: Department of Civil Engineering and Surveying, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Bellville 7530, South Africa

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 3, 1-22

Abstract: Although studies relative to redirecting the unsustainable trajectory of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the South African construction industry (SACI) have been extensively conducted, current statistics show that 70–80% of construction SMEs in the SACI fail within their first five years of existence, raising concerns regarding their sustainability. This paper attempts to address the negative trajectory by exploring the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR), investigating the organisational perceptions of SMEs in the SACI relative to the relationship between the integration of CSR and sustainable business performance (SBP). Existing literature was used to provide an overview of this relationship taking into consideration the views of SMEs in both developed and developing countries. The empirical study was conducted utilising a quantitative research approach in the form of an online questionnaire survey. The research data was analysed using both descriptive (mean, standard deviation, etc.) and inferential (Analysis of Variance ANOVA) statistics. Based on the research approach and data analysis, the findings revealed that SMEs in the SACI similarly perceive the relationship between the integration of CSR and SBP to be a positive one, implying that the practice of CSR within construction businesses should lead to SBP, and serve as a meaningful guide in addressing the unsustainable trajectory of SMEs in the SACI. The findings could guide government agencies such as the construction industry development board (cidb) to embed CSR education within contractor development programs, linking the adoption of CSR to the contractor grading system.

Keywords: corporate social responsibility; perceptions; South Africa; sustainable business performance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/3/1049/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/3/1049/ (text/html)

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:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:3:p:1049-:d:726959

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().