Reflections on CSR: the case of Egypt

TLDR: In this article, the authors reviewed the corporate social responsibility (CSR) concept in Egypt via six sub-purposes which are the operational definition, activities, corporations' strategic direction, budgeting and drivers for and obstacles against CSR alongside the implications of the January 25th 2011's revolution on the concept.

Abstract: Purpose The purpose of this paper is to review the corporate social responsibility (CSR) concept in Egypt via six sub-purposes which are the operational definition, activities, corporations’ strategic direction, budgeting and drivers for and obstacles against CSR alongside the implications of the January 25th 2011’s revolution on the concept. Design/methodology/approach This research is a perception study adopting a mixed methodology. A sample of 20 corporate managers undertaking CSR activities had been interviewed. Results are analyzed using content analysis and non-parametric z-tests. Findings The research identified the prevalent hands-on definitions of CSR which highlight an identification problem, as well as the leading two activities undertaken that are highly linked to the lack of a corporate strategic direction. Also, it showed that budgeting was a vague undisclosed aspect and further highlighted the drivers for and obstacles against CSR before and in transition post January 25th 2011, revolution. Practical implications This overview serves as a building block for practitioners to identify the CSR build-up in Egypt, to guide further current or future endeavors undertaken. Originality/value This paper provides a genuine contextualized review of CSR in Egypt that had been a reported gap in literature by identifying its operational definition, activities, budgeting, corporations’ strategic direction and drivers for and obstacles against the concept in light of the timeline pre and in-transition post the January 25th 2011 revolution.