Original Research

Corporate social responsibility as a drive to community development and poverty reduction: A stakeholder approach to development in Zimbabwe

Addmore T. Muruviwa, Fhulu H. Nekhwevha, Wilson Akpan
The Journal for Transdisciplinary Research in Southern Africa | Vol 14, No 1 | a440 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/td.v14i1.440 | © 2018 Addmore T. Muruviwa | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 10 April 2017 | Published: 07 June 2018

About the author(s)

Addmore T. Muruviwa, Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Fort Hare, South Africa
Fhulu H. Nekhwevha, Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Fort Hare, South Africa
Wilson Akpan, Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Fort Hare, South Africa

Abstract

Background: The emergence of a ‘Southern’ discourse of corporate social responsibility (CSR) highlight the crucial issues of poverty reduction, infrastructure development and the broader questions of social provisioning and community development.

 

Aim: This study builds on existing knowledge to reveal how CSR has become a drive or aid in the community development discourse and poverty reduction mechanisms. This was done through the analysis of major CSR projects by Zimplats mining company.

 

Setting: The study was carried out in Mhondoro-Ngezi, Zimbabwe, which is in a rural setting.

 

Method: The study employed a triangulated design, with data collected using a mini-survey, focus groups and in-depth interviews.

 

Results: The key findings are that the fundamental roles of CSR have been to link it to addressing under-development and poverty reduction issues in developing countries.

 

Conclusion: Through distributional CSR activities, the mining company was able to address the health, educational, employment and water needs of the local people.


Keywords

community development; mining; community; corporate social responsibility; stakeholder theory; multinational

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Crossref Citations

1. Employee perception of CSR and its effects on the company’s image
Joanna Rosak-Szyrocka, Justyna Żywiołek, Natia Shengelia, Hana Stverkova, Pedro Espírito Santo, Ladislav Pilař
Production Engineering Archives  vol: 28  issue: 3  first page: 210  year: 2022  
doi: 10.30657/pea.2022.28.25