CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION         Background of the study

The purpose of organisations in business is to deliver products and services for profit maximisation. When companies have achieved that goal, they feel the need to contribute through developmental projects as a way of demonstrating that they are socially responsible (Eweje, 2007). In a bid to fulfil this mandate, organisations hold in high regard the perceptions of the public. They embark on activities that boost the image of the company through publicity and community events (Zeithaml, Jo, & Bitner, 2009). These communication tools help in maintaining excellent relations with both their internal and external publics. A model proposed by Grunig and Hunt (1984) recommends a two-way symmetrical model as an effective way of enhancing good relationship with publics, resolving conflict and meeting the needs of stakeholders.

One way companies act in socially responsible ways is through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) interventions. CSR interventions are projects carried out in deprived areas where the local government has not reached out to, yet these interventions ease their burden and improve the standards of living. Turner (2008), therefore, defines CSR, as corporate behaviours that positively affect stakeholders and go beyond economic interest. The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (2006), as cited in Fontaine (2013), defines CSR as “the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the local community and society at large” (p.112). According to Bronn & Vidaver-Cohen (2009), the globalisation of

the economy and the increasing pressure on communities to survive has created a lucrative environment for companies to perform this social role. There is high demand on multinational companies (MNCs) to demonstrate commitment and social responsibility to their consumers and disadvantaged communities. This goes a long way to help government in its development agenda. Accordingly, through CSR interventions, communities that lacked light for example, have received electricity supply. Those that lacked water have had their water needs met. CSR activities in developing countries like Ghana have contributed significantly to addressing developmental needs particularly in the area of education, health and provision of social amenities.

        Evolution of CSR

Socially responsible business initiatives have a deep tradition in western countries where the concept of CSR emerged about 60 years ago. The practice is rooted in the relationship among employees, businesses and the state – a social partnership. Prior to this period, there were different standards and regulations in the areas of corporate governance, corporate ethics, and relationships with competitors, responsibilities towards the society and the country. However, between the late 1960s and 1970s leading U.S. and European companies started to come to an understanding of the need to unite different elements of corporate policies related to the relationship of the company with the environment, and to the development of a single integrated approach to interaction with society. Such a policy, was meant to be associated with the philosophy of the company, its marketing strategy, and the need to meet the expectations of society.

According to Katsoulakos et al. (2004), the evolution of CSR can be identified in three (3) phases beginning from the CSR Initiation Phase (1960 to 1990), the CSR Momentum Building Phase

(1990 to 2000) through to the third phase which is the Mainstreaming Initiation Phase (in the 2000).

The first phase in the 1960s began with a company called Goyder’s Responsible Company in the United Kingdom (Ramathan, 1976 and Katsoulakos et al., 2004). The issues tackled in this phase included environmental issues such as climate change and global warming. Thus, there was the need for companies to develop economically sustainable projects at the time. Subsequently, within the same phase, in the 1980s, prevailing issues were poverty, population pressure, and social inequity among others. During the period, the principles of sustainable development and how these could be measured emerged for the first time with the introduction of the Brundtland report, published in 1987 by the World Commission of Environment and Development. This report highlighted the need for countries to unite in order to pursue sustainable development together. When it came to adopting and reporting practices, most companies at the time recognized the solution to curbing their ecological issues by introducing environmental management systems and quality systems.

In the second phase, the most dominant issue identified in the 1990s was sustainable development in the area of education and the environment. Universities trained teachers and decision makers in promoting eco-friendly attitudes in sustainable development. From then, more and more companies produced reports on the environment to include communities, from which the concept of sustainability reports emerged. In this era as well, some reporting initiatives were formed notably, ‘learning through stakeholder engagement.’ These initiatives were not to suggest what was to be reported on but rather how things were to be reported.

The third phase started in the early 2000 and it elaborated several government initiatives on CSR which sought to improve what began in the previous phases. That year, the UK government, for

example, released its first report on sustainable development towards achieving a better quality of life. In 2001, the World Summit for Sustainable Development generated commitments for action and partnerships in attaining desirable results for alleviating poverty and environmental degradation. In 2003, USA adopted a programme called Commission on Sustainable Development which gave in-depth attention on specific issues that affected the global community. These issues focused on sanitation, water and human settlements.

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