Abstract
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Malawi is becoming a significant issue not only because of the complexity of the social, economic and political environment in which companies operate, but also because of the social and environmental impacts which business operations have on the wider Malawian society. In this chapter, it is shown that the CSR agenda currently pursued by companies in Malawi takes both the normative and instrumental forms, and is largely shaped by the political and socio-economical factors at national and global levels. The chapter is structured as follows: the first section addresses the historical development of CSR and perceptions various actors hold about the forms of responsibilities companies can assume in Malawi; a discussion of the various antecedents of CSR in Malawi. This is followed by an intermediate section which provides CSR themes and priority issues. The final two sections explore the different approaches companies pursue in the implementation of CSR agendas—but also examine the perceived barriers to CSR in Malawi. The chapter concludes by map** out the future prospects of CSR in Malawi.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
- 1.
The Nation online of 29th November 2014 (http://mwnation.com/malawi-mining-laws-toothless-social-responsibility/); 28th July 2014 (http://mwnation.com/legislate-csr-extractives/).
- 2.
Press Corporation Limited, has major shareholdings in over 12 major companies that operate in various sectors of the Malawian economy.
- 3.
This campaign involved Friends of Earth (Australia)—a partner of Citizens Justice Network buying shares in Paladin to influence their decisions regarding operations in Malawi.
- 4.
Interviews with: Mr Mkwezalamba, Former Secretary General of the Malawi Congress of Trade Unions; Mr Tilley, Managing Director, Eastern Produce Malawi; Mr Mwasikakata, Deputy Commissioner, Ministry of Labour and Manpower Development; Interviews with some union members from the agricultural and transport sectors and the civil service.
- 5.
An interview with Mr Anthony Kamtimaleka, Technical Staff/Malawi Code II Coordinator at IoD Secretariat, Blantyre, Malawi in February 2010.
- 6.
For Yang and Rivers (2009), on one hand, a subsidiary company is considered to have achieved internal legitimacy when it strongly aligns its policies and strategies with those of its parent company. On the other hand, a subsidiary company achieves external legitimacy when it implements its CSR policy, strategies and actions that responds to the expectations of its host society.
- 7.
The current estimate of poverty level.
- 8.
- 9.
- 10.
Report on Fraud and Mismanagement of Malawi Government Finances. Retrieved from https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/285877/20140221_National_Audit_Office_Malawi_-_Forensic_Audit_Report_-_FINAL_ISSUED.pdf
- 11.
Interview with Mr. Tilley, Eastern Produce Malawi.
- 12.
With 0 score represent the most corrupt country while 100 representing the corruption clean country.
- 13.
- 14.
- 15.
- 16.
Interview, senior manager, a local food processing company (2010); Interview, Chief Executive, Local logistics company.
- 17.
These reports are only produced by members of the UN Global Compact.
- 18.
- 19.
Interviews with (Press Corporation Official; Department of Environmental Affairs senior official).
- 20.
Interviews with General Managers of selected local companies.
- 21.
See http://mwnation.com/legislate-csr-extractives/. Dated 28th July 2014.
References
AFRODAD. (2013). The revenue costs and benefits of foreign direct investments in the extractive industry in Malawi: The case of Kayelekera uranium mine. Harare: AFRODAD.
Agar, J., & Kaferapanjira, C. L. (2006). Case study 3: Malawi. Retrieved from http://www.enterprise-development.org/download.ashx?id=545
BAAC. (2011). BAAC newsletter. Retrieved from http://www.baacafrica.org/m/files/newsletters/BAAC_Malawi_Newsletter_September_2011.pdf
Bakuwa, R., & Sankhulani, E. (2012). Exploring the behavioural nature of CSR in develo** countries: The case of company responses to HIV/AIDS in Malawi. International Journal of the Academy of Organisational Behaviour Management, 3, 31–58.
Bendell, J. (2003). Waking up to risk: Corporate responses to HIV/AIDS in the workplace. Retrieved from http://www.unrisd.org/80256B3C005BCCF9/(httpAuxPages)/8836D5E635B2D234C1256DD6004EE8C1/$file/bendell2.pdf
Bollinger, L., Stover, J., & Palamuleni, M. E. (2000). The economic impact of AIDS in Malawi. Retrieved from http://allafrica.com/download/resource/main/main/idatcs/00010518:9596fef8a376a9d169352767ac0e5ac7.pdf
Carroll, A. B. (1991). The pyramid of corporate social responsibility. Business Horizons, 34(4), 39–48.
Cassells, S., & Lewis, K. (2011). SMEs and environmental responsibility: Do actions reflect attitudes? Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 18(3), 186–199.
Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP). (2014). Land displacement, involuntary resettlement and the compensation practices in the mining sector: A comparative analysis of legal and policy frameworks in Southern Africa. Retrieved from http://www.ecmmw.org/new/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Report-on-Land-Displacement-Inviluntarry-Resttlement-and-Compensation-Practices.pdf
Centre for Environmental Policy and Advocacy (CEPA). (2014). Status of policy and legal framework for mining in Malawi: Policy brief. Retrieved from http://www.cepa.org.mw/documents/legislation/Mining/STATUS%20OF%20POLICY%20ANDLEGAL%20FRAMEWORK%20FOR%20MINING%20IN%20MALAWI%20POLICY%20BRIEF.pdf
Chingaipe, H., & Leftwich, A. (2007). The politics of state—Business relationships in Malawi. Retrieved from http://www.ippg.org.uk/papers/dp7.pdf
Commonwealth Business Council. (n.d.). Mid-term review of business action against corruption—DFID governance and transparency fund project 272. Retrieved from http://www.baacafrica.org/Mid-term%20Review%20GTF272.pdf
Commonwealth Foundation. (2013). A civil society review of progress towards the Millenium Development Goals in Commonwealth countries: National Report Malawi. Retrieved from http://www.commonwealthfoundation.com/sites/cwf/files/downloads/MDG%20Reports%20Malawi_FINAL_1.pdf
Cramer, J. M. (2005). Experiences with structuring corporate social responsibility in Dutch industry. Journal of Cleaner Production, 13(6), 583–592.
Dahlsrud, A. (2008). How corporate social responsibility is defined: An analysis of 37 definitions. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 15(1), 1–13.
De Haan, E., Koen, M., & Mthembu, N. (2003). Garment production in Malawi. Retrieved from http://somo.nl/html/paginas/pdf/Garment_production_in_Malawi_2003_EN.pdf
Du, S., Swaen, V., Lindgreen, A., & Sen, S. (2013). The roles of leadership styles in corporate social responsibility. Journal of Business Ethics, 114(1), 155–169.
Fairttrade International. (2013). Annual report 2011. Retrieved from http://www.fairtrade.net/fileadmin/user_upload/content/2009/resources/2011-12_AnnualReport_web_version_small_FairtradeInternational.pdf
Fitzgerald, O., & Ng’ombe, J. (2007). Malawi business action against corruption. In business fighting against corruption: Experiences from Southern Africa (pp. 179–205). Retrieved from www.unglobalcompact.org/docs/news_events/8.1/bfc_web.pdf
Fox, T., Ward, H., & Howard, B. (2002). Public sector roles in strengthening corporate social responsibility: A baseline study. Washington, DC: The World Bank Group.
Government of Malawi. (2003). Consumer protection bill. Retrieved from http://www.malawilii.org/mw/legislation/act/2003/14
Government of Malawi. (2006). Governance and corruption baseline survey. Retrieved from http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTWBIGOVANTCOR/Resources/1740479-1143042582963/malawi_final_survey.pdf
Government of Malawi. (2012). Malawi foreign private capital and investors’ perceptions survey 2011 final report. Retrieved from http://www.nsomalawi.mw/images/stories/data_on_line/economics/national_accounts/Malawi%202011%20FPC%20Report_October%202012_Final.pdf
Government of Malawi. (n.d.). Malawi growth and development strategy II 2011–2016. Retrieved from http://www.mw.one.un.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Malawi-Growth-and-Dedvelopment-Strategy-MGDS-II.pdf
GTZ. (2009). Corporate social responsibility in the Sub-Saharan Africa. Retrieved from http://www.csr-weltweit.de/uploads/tx_jpdownloads/GTZ_2009_built_in_or_bolt_on_Ghana_01.pdf
Hamann, R. (2004). Corporate social responsibility, partnerships, and institutional change: The case of mining companies in South Africa. Natural Resource Forum, 28(4), 278–290.
Hemingway, C. A., & MacLagan, P. W. (2004). Managers’ personal values as drivers of corporate social responsibility. Journal of Business Ethics, 50(1), 33–44.
Idemudia, U. (2010). Corporate social responsibility and the rentier Nigerian state: Rethinking the role of government and the possibility of corporate social development in the Niger Delta. Canadian Journal of Development Studies, 30(1–2), 131–153.
Illovo Sugar. (2014). Malawi socio-economic impact assessment: Internal report. Retrieved from http://www.illovosugar.co.za/UserContent/Documents/Illovo-Malawi-Socio-economic-Impact-Assessment-12May14.pdf
Institute of Directors Malawi. (2010). The Malawi code: Code of best practice for corporate governance in Malawi. Retrieved from www.http://www.iod.mw/downloads.php
International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED). (2010). Mainstreaming the environment in Malawi’s development: Experience and next steps. London: International Institute for Environment and Development.
Kambalame, D., & De Cleene, S. (2006). Partnership building as an approach to addressing corporate social responsibility in the agriculture sector in Malawi. Development Southern Africa, 23(2), 281–287.
Kaptein, M. (2004). Business codes of multinational firms: What do they say? Journal of Business Ethics, 50(1), 13–31.
Katamba, D., Kazooba, C. T., Mpisi, S. B., Nkiko, C. M., Nabatanzi-Muyimba, A. N., & Kekaramu, J. H. (2012). Corporate social responsibility management in Uganda: Lessons, challenges, and policy implications. International Journal of Social Economics, 39(6), 375–390.
KPMG. (2013). Malawi country profile 2012/13. Retrieved from http://www.kpmg.com/Africa/en/KPMG-in-Africa/Documents/2012-2013%20Country%20Profiles/Malawi%20Country%20Profile%202012-2013_01.pdf
Kumwenda, R. W. (2006). Access and availability of HIV/AIDS treatment and care in Malawian private sector: Lessons from the Malawi Business Coalition against HIV/AIDS. In AIDS 2006—XVI international AIDS conference. Toronto, ON.
Lindgreen, A., Swaen, V., & Campbell, T. T. (2010). Corporate social responsibility practices in develo** and transnational countries: Botswana and Malawi. Journal of Business Ethics, 90(3), 429–440.
Lindgreen, A., Swaen, V., Harness, D., & Hoffmann, M. (2011). The role of ‘high potentials’ in integrating and implementing corporate social responsibility. Journal of Business Ethics, 99(1), 73–91.
Lipunga, A. M. (2014). Web-based corporate social responsibility information disclosure by Malawian commercial banks. IOSR Journal of Business and Management, 16(4), 8–15.
Maignan, I., Ferrell, O. C., & Ferrell, L. (2005). A stakeholder model for implementing social responsibility in marketing. European Journal of Marketing, 39(9/10), 956–977.
Maon, F., Lindgreen, A., & Swaen, V. (2009). Designing and implementing corporate social responsibility: An integrative framework grounded in theory and practice. Journal of Business Ethics, 87(1), 71–89.
Maon, F., Lindgreen, A., & Swaen, V. (2010). Organizational stages and cultural phases: A critical review and a consolidative model of corporate social responsibility development. International Journal of Management Reviews, 12(1), 20–38.
Maximiano, M. B. (2007). A strategic integral approach (SIA) to institutionalizing CSR. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 14(4), 231–242.
Mhango, S. D. (2005). The quality of environmental impact assessment in Malawi: A retrospective analysis. Development Southern Africa, 22(3), 383–408.
Mulwafu, W. O. (2004). The interface of Christianity and conservation in colonial Malawi, c. 1850–1930. Journal of Religion in Africa, 34(3), 298–319.
Murphy, D., & Bendell, J. (1999). Partners in time? Business, NGOs and sustainable development. UNRISD Discussion Paper, 109, 1–72.
Mzembe, A. N. (2012). Corporate social responsibility in Malawi: Case studies of the mining and agricultural industries. Unpublished thesis, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield, UK.
Mzembe, A. N. (2014). Doing stakeholder engagement their own way: Experience from the Malawian mining industry. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management. doi:10.1002/csr.1353.
Mzembe, A. N., & Downs, Y. (2014). Managerial and stakeholder perceptions of an Africa-based multinational mining company’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The Extractive Industries and Society, 1(2), 225–236.
Mzembe, A. N., Lindgreen, A., Maon, F., & Vanhamme, J. (2015). Investigating the drivers of corporate social responsibility in the global tea supply chain: A case study of Eastern Produce Limited in Malawi. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management. doi:10.1002/csr.1370.
Mzembe, A. N., & Meaton, J. (2014). Driving corporate social responsibility in the Malawian mining industry: A stakeholder perspective. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 21(4), 189–201.
Oxfam. (2013). Understanding wage issues in the tea industry. Retrieved from http://policy-practice.oxfam.org.uk/publications/understanding-wage-issues-in-the-tea-industry-287930
Record, R. (2007). From policy to practice: Changing government attitudes towards the private sector in Malawi. Journal of International Development, 19(6), 805–816.
Royal Norwegian Embassy. (2011). Corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Malawi—Update. Retrieved from http://www.norway.mw/Global/SiteFolders/weblil/CSR%20in%20Malawi_Imani%20111205.pdf
Stewarts, H., & Gapp, R. (2014). Achieving effective sustainable management: A small-medium enterprise case study. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 21(1), 52–64.
Transparency International. (2014). Corruption Perception Index 2014: Results. Retrieved from http://www.transparency.org/cpi2014/results
Tsoka, M. G. (n.d.). Malawi. In Competition regimes—A civil society report. Retrieved from http://competitionregimes.com/pdf/Book/Africa/47-Malawi.pdf
UNAIDS. (2014). HIV and AIDS estimates (2014). Retrieved from http://www.unaids.org/en/regionscountries/countries/malawi
UNDP. (2014). Human development index. Retrieved from http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/human-development-index-hdi-table
Van Donge, J. K. (2002). The fate of an African ‘Chaebol’: Malawi’s Press Corporation after democratisation. Journal of Modern African Studies, 40(4), 651–681.
Visser, W. (2008). Corporate social responsibility in develo** countries. In A. Crane et al. (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of corporate social responsibility (pp. 473–479). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Waddock, S., & Graves, S. (1997). Corporate social performance—Financial performance link. Strategic Management Journal, 18(4), 303–319.
Werre, M. (2003). Implementing corporate responsibility—The Chiquita case. Journal of Business Ethics, 44(2–3), 247–260.
Williams, G., & Zinkin, J. (2008). The effect of culture on willingness to punish irresponsible corporate behaviour: Applying Hofstede’s typology to the punishment aspect of corporate social responsibility. Business Ethics: A European Review, 17(2), 210–226.
World Bank. (n.d.). Poverty and equity country dashboard: Malawi. Retrieved from http://povertydata.worldbank.org/poverty/country/MWI
World Economic Forum. (2008). Business coalitions tackling AIDS: A worldwide review. Retrieved from http://www.weforum.org/pdf/GHI/Malawi.pdf
World Economic Forum. (2011). Global competitiveness report 2010–2011. Retrieved from http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GCR_Report_2011-12.pdf
Yang, X., & Rivers, A. (2009). Antecedents of CSR practices in MNCs’ subsidiaries: A stakeholder and institutional perspective. Journal of Business Ethics, 86(2), 155–169.
Yikona, S., Slot, B., Geller, M., Hansen, B., & Kadiri, F. (2011). Ill-gotten money and the economy: Experiences from Malawi and Namibia. Washington, DC: The World Bank Group.
Acknowledgement
The authors would like to thank Dr. John Anchor of the University of Huddersfield Business School for his valuable suggestions that shaped this chapter.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Mzembe, A.N., Downs, Y., Meaton, J. (2016). Corporate Social Responsibility in Malawi: Antecedents, Issues, Practices and Future Directions. In: Vertigans, S., Idowu, S., Schmidpeter, R. (eds) Corporate Social Responsibility in Sub-Saharan Africa. CSR, Sustainability, Ethics & Governance. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-26668-8_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-26668-8_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-26667-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-26668-8
eBook Packages: Business and ManagementBusiness and Management (R0)