Abstract

MAKHAVHU, Murendeni Kevin; SWANEPOEL, Elana  and  VENTER, Marius. Corporate social investment as an enabler for local economic development in Gauteng. JCMAN [online]. 2022, vol.19, n.2, pp.186-211. ISSN 1815-7440.  http://dx.doi.org/10.35683/jcm21068.164.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: In South Africa, corporates are annually spending billions of rands on corporate social investment (CSI) initiatives, while municipalities are challenged with regard to local economic development (LED RESEARCH PROBLEM: It is not known if companies collaborate with municipalities during the design and development of CSI initiatives, nor whether LED officials communicate with corporates to collaborate or invest in community projects. Primary objective was to determine whether corporates design and implement their CSI initiatives to link to municipalities' LED strategies for communities. Indicate the aim of the study and justify the significance of undertaking the study DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: Following mostly a qualitative research approach, in-depth interviews were conducted with organisations with CSI projects (19), CSI consultants (4) and LED officials (4) of municipalities in the Gauteng province. Electronic notes and transcribed interviews were analysed using both thematic analysis and descriptive statistics FINDINGS: It seems that CSI projects tend to first fit the business strategy of the corporates and then target community needs that fit the corporate's area of focus. Although most of the participating corporates and all the CSI consultants are aware of the South African National Framework for LED (NFLED), the majority have never used its guidelines for CSI planning RECOMMENDATIONS/VALUE: It provides insight into the relationship, or the lack thereof, between corporates, CSI consultants and LED officials at municipal level with regard to the design and development of community social projects MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS: Through collaborating with LED officials, private corporations can form a productive partnership aligning their corporate social investment projects with LED projects that would contribute to the development of the communities where some of their stakeholders are situated CLASSIFICATION JEL: R5; R58

Keywords : Corporates; Corporate social investment; Local economic development; Municipalities; Stakeholder theory.

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