Purpose – The purpose of this research to provide insights into the underresearched
area of social responsibility practises by SMEs at the bottom of the
pyramid (BOP).
Design/methodology/approach – Drawing from the literature, the research
expands and builds on the previous work of Spence and Gilligan in explaining
the daily activities of owner-managers with respect to CSR at the BOP. Also the
link between ethic of care and CSR practises by SMEs at the BOP is
established.Findings – The ethic of care and the owner-manager’s values are the main
drivers of CSR at the BOP. Due to scarce resources, most of the CSR initiatives
are linked to the core of the business. CSR is not used as a strategic
competitive advantage business model. Also the CSR initiatives do not come
from external pressure such as stakeholders, but are internal at a human level.
The CSR practices are not linked to the bottom line; self-satisfaction is the
ultimate price.
Originality/value – Given the limited literature on the social responsibility
practices of by SMEs at the BOP, this research makes a contribution to
increasing the understanding of CSR initiatives by SMEs at the BOP, as well as
to the BoP literature in general.Practical implications – The paper concludes by outlining the implications for
managers, policy-makers, and stakeholders, and advancing the agenda of
social responsibility for future research in the fields of both the BOP and SMEs. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / pagibs2015 / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / Unrestricted
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:up/oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/45240 |
| Date | January 2014 |
| Creators | Khoza, Donald |
| Contributors | Visser, Wayne, ichelp@gibs.co.za |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Mini Dissertation |
| Rights | © 2014 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. |
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