The role of corporate social responsibility in management of sustainable business: A case study of the telecom industry in Uganda (2004-2011).

Abstract

This dissertation set out to examine the role of Corporate Social Responsibility in management of sustainable business. It focused specifically on the role of CSR in ensuring business sustainability in the Telecom industry; the relationship between size of organisation and the extent of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices; and the contribution of different stakeholders to business sustainability in the Telecom industry.

The problem identified in this study, is that although many companies have embarked on different strategies to sustain their businesses like aggressive advertising, product differentiation and re-branding, their stakeholders still demand much more from them. Therefore there should be a shift in strategy towards a socially inclined business.

The study was guided by the following objectives; to examine the role of CSR in management of sustainable business in the Telecom industry, examine the relationship between size of an organisation and extent of CSR practices as well as identifying the contribution of different stakeholders to business sustainability in the Telecom industry.

The study adopted both qualitative and quantitative methods of research designs in the data collection, analysis and presentation of the findings. The questionnaire was designed to collect data on the key study variables while interviews were conducted with key informants that included top management staff, junior level staff and some selected community members. Simple purposive and random sampling methods were used to select the respondents that participated in the study.

The study found that CSR activities are impacting positively towards sustainability of telecom business. The companies selected for this study have generally benefited from CSR ranging from registration of more customers, to creation of good working relations with the government as well as maintenance of existing customers. The research also found out that there is a direct linkage between CSR practices and the size of the company. On the issue of stakeholder contribution towards business sustainability, the study found that the role of the customers as stakeholders is key in business sustainability. The major conclusion arrived at was that CSR plays a great role in ensuring business sustainability in the Telecom Industry in Uganda. It creates an avenue for trust and good relationship between customers and the companies; it also maintains a good relationship between the companies and the government.

The key recommendation derived was that, Telecom companies should look at the most preferred range of products that their customers would wish to maximize utility on, and then make it available at the most affordable costs, and there should be a wider range of contextual CSR coverage, other than only the available areas of health, education and culture.