Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is rapidly turning into a buzz word that is revolutionising the dynamics of the corporate world.
For countries in the Gulf, the CSR concept has become immensely popular. However, implementation of CSR initiatives differ strikingly from strategies adopted in the West.
The main focus of CSR in the Gulf region is philanthropy, explaining the impact of the Islamic belief of Zakat (one’s personal duty to contribute to charity) on business practices.
The fact that most CSR strategies in the Gulf region revolve around signing and posting of a cheque for charitable purposes may suggest that corporates have not harnessed benefits of an all-encompassing CSR strategy.
This begs the question, what should a CSR strategy encompass?
Strategic marketing guru Michael Porter suggests the importance of creating shared value which involves a win-win situation for all stakeholders alike.
In other words CSR does not necessarily have to be a charitable deed that would place a strain on the triple bottom line. Instead CSR needs to be viewed as a form of care and responsibility by all corporations in actions they undertake.
CSR should be a voluntary contribution based around three Cs – currency, commitment and core competencies – in improving lives, enhancing upward mobility and strengthening the social integration process or it could even be included as an extension to the product portfolio (e.g. the growth of hybrid and electric cars being a case in point).
However, one may ask the question, why the sudden emphasis on CSR initiatives?
With the global populations projected to increase by one billion over the next 12 years, there is an immediate need for the private sector to pool resources – and engage with the government to promote the importance of social integration through CSR projects.
This leads to the most critical question, how does one implement such strategies? It is important to note that it is impossible to implement a one-size-fits-all CSR strategy, as the nature of the organisation will have to be taken into consideration.
Keeping this in mind it is important that a conceptual framework for CSR initiatives is developed in a manner that incorporates the needs of all stakeholders. However, in doing so one should ensure the synergy and co-operation between the government and the private sector in implementing CSR-related strategies.
Thus, this stark difference between the Western corporates and those in the Gulf region could be bridged by incorporating an all-encompassing CSR framework that will allow local firms to realise their socio-economic goals.
More pointedly local firms should look to wear two hats rather than one! As Guler Sabanci stated: “I wear two hats. The first hat is business and increasing my shareholders’ value; the other is social responsibility.”
Mr Cader is the chief
executive of MTI Consulting
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