Corporate social responsibilities contribution for sustainable community development: evidence from industries in Southern Ethiopia

Abstract

This study interrogates the contribution of corporate social responsibility to community development from socioeconomic, environmental, ethical, and philanthropic perspectives. A total of 401 households were selected randomly and proportionally from the Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples Regional State and Hawassa City from the Sidama Region. Survey data were collected from local communities using the paper-assisted personal interview (PAPI) technique. Interviews with government officials and focus group discussions with local community members. Data were analyzed using a mixed research approach, where quantitative data were analyzed using a structural equation model and descriptive statistics, and thematic analysis was used for qualitative data. The study found that CSR contributes to many aspects of local community development. Our empirical model confirms that proper implementation of CSR initiatives substantially contributes to social development β = 0.913, economic development β = 913, environmental sustainability β = 0.784, ethical aspect 0.767, Philanthropic activities β = 0.814, and overall local development β = 0.960 where p ≤ 0.001 statistically significant level. The study reasserts and reiterates the need to design appropriate policy instruments and law enforcement techniques, in addition to promulgating regulatory provisions and legal frameworks. The study sheds light on the imperativeness of CSR for smooth human-environment and business-resource relationships. The study contributes to literature, debate, and policy implications on emerging issues of CSR-business, and development discourses.

Keywords

• Corporate social responsibility
• local development
• environmental sustainability
• community development
• Southern Ethiopia
• Robert Read, Economics, University of Lancaster, Lancaster, United Kingdom