CSR in Electrification of Rural Africa

Abstract

Multinational corporations (MNCs) are beginning to explore low-income markets in Africa in search of legitimacy and growth opportunities. This paper examines the CSR (corporate social responsibility) aspects of this trend by analysing: (a) how the processes of defining CSR develop when MNCs enter low-income markets in Africa; and (b) what the outcomes of these processes are in terms of local definitions of CSR. A framework for analysing these two research questions is developed by linking descriptive stakeholder theory to actor-network theory. Doing this contributes to stakeholder research by showing how firms actively shape their stakeholder environment, the similarities of firm–stakeholder interactions and the role of artefacts in firm–stakeholder interactions. The developed framework is illustrated in a study of an Asea Brown Boveri (ABB) rural electrification project in Tanzania.