Understanding Stakeholders’ Perceptions and Meaning of Corporate Social Responsibility in Uganda: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Multinational corporations (MNCs) have a role to play in an African renaissance. One of the vehicles through which this can be accomplished is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). A key feature of effective and sustainable CSR is the need to integrate stakeholders’ concerns into the thinking and activities of business operations. A good starting point is to understand the CSR perceptions and meaning of the different stakeholders in each culture. To contribute to this understanding, I undertook this study among Ugandan stakeholders of the multinational corporation, Sheraton Uganda Limited, employing Carroll’s (1991) four dimensions of CSR. The two categories of stakeholders interviewed for this study included internal stakeholders (employees of Sheraton Uganda, majority of whom were local nationals) and external stakeholders (student interns from local tertiary institutions undertaking industrial training attachment at Sheraton Uganda, and members of the public resting in the Kampala City Council Authority (KCCA) gardens whose maintenance is supported by Sheraton Uganda). The overwhelming perception of CSR was in line with Carroll’s philanthropic responsibilities, followed by ethical responsibilities and then economic responsibilities, legal responsibilities were given least consideration. In this Ugandan communalistic society, socio-cultural views and beliefs remain the main drivers of CSR perceptions. The lesson from this case study is that MNCs seeking to undertake CSR initiative in cultures outside their parent culture should invest time and resources in understanding the perceptions and meanings of CSR held by the different local stakeholders who seemingly are of low power compared to internal stakeholders, hold the keys to institutional legitimacy.