Kathleen Simon & Amy Tang

 

Two undergraduates wrote a research paper that was presented at the Institute of Public Enterprise in December of 2012.State-Sponsored Corporate Social Responsibility in Emerging Economies.

 

 

ABSTRACT
 

State-Sponsored Corporate Social Responsibility in Emerging Economies Kathleen Simon and Amy Tang1 Abstract State-sponsored corporate social responsibility (SSCSR) initiatives are gaining momentum by involving non-state actors in infrastructure development and the provision of basic services. SSCSR is promoted in the public and private sectors as one all-inclusive framework. As part of this framework, governments serve an ‘enabling role’ that theoretically allows corporations to engage in CSR through policy instruments. This framework, referred to as SSCSR-1, is applied uncritically in countries regardless of fundamentally different circumstances. Not all governments have the capacity to implement SSCSR-1 and thus are unable to facilitate an enabling environment for CSR initiatives. While the construct of SSCSR-1 is elastic and attainable in MDCs with high governance indicator rankings, can the same results be achieved in LDCs without good governance? Is it appropriate for institutions to promote SSCSR-1 with LDCs that lack this foundation? Our research will address these questions in order to explore the assumptions, implications, and limitations of SSCSR-1 in LDCs. We hope to shed light on why the domestic progress attributed to SSCSR initiatives implemented in developed countries is yet to be seen in their developing counterparts. Finally, the paper will emphasize the need for a different conceptualization of SSCSR, SSCSR-2, that can be adapted in developing nations where public sector governance may be less mature.