Corporate Social Responsibility and the Role of Policy making bodies in Ethiopia: Voluntary Versus Mandatory Preference of Law
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Date
2018-10
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
This dynamic natureof CSR has a significant impact on how the roles of the public sector in
particular and other stakeholders in general, need to align in order to fully realize the
benefits of CSR, both to the society and towards these entities themselves. Recent literature
and legislature dose also show, at least internationally, the concept CSR being incorporated
both in relevant regulations and policy agendas regarding national and international
development. However, the role of the public sector as the driver of the agenda for CSR has
still persistent and the areas where the contemporary social responsibility agenda has itself
given rise to new kinds of policy instrument, or new roles for government. This dominant role
is needed especially in countries such as Ethiopia, where public support is essential for the
development of the concept of CSR. Being one of the least developed countries
internationally, the concept of CSR is at the initial stages in Ethiopia, specifically the
application of CSR responsibility has not evolved from the confines of philanthropy to an
issue encompassing social and economic implications. Hence, the research has formulated
its question based on issues like what the policy making organ should do with regards
formulation and overall understanding of CSR and what preference of laws should exist. This
questions have assisted in gaining a firsthand insight about understanding CSR in Ethiopian
context by the stakeholders. For this purpose, qualitative data was collected from both
primary (interview and discussions) and secondary sources by employing purposive and area
sampling method to later analyze the data using deductive reasoning. The method helped the
researcher in categorizing respondents based on conceptual typologies. Hence, the findings
showed that first, there is still a gap on by the policy making public sector organ on to what
extent its role should be and second, there is a lack of consensus on what CSR constitutes
and preference of CSR laws as mandatory or voluntary. However, even if many argue in
favor of voluntarism and agreed that CSR initiatives by nature should be governed by soft
laws, they have also agreed that policy making organ needs to pay an active role in
developing regulations, guiding principles, minimum standards and impact measurement
instrumentsso as to promote CSR initiatives meaningfully and to prevent free-rider and
‘irresponsible’ behavior which can have an adverse impact on social and environmental
well-being.
Description
A Thesis Submitted in
the Degree of Masters of Arts in Public Management and Policy
(MPMP) in the Department of
Development Management
Keywords
CSR, Policy, Public Sector