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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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