Abstract

This paper explores high-risk industries to understand how institutional stakeholders drive corporate social responsibility understanding and practices. The high-risk industries in Ghana were investigated to understand how their managers’ corporate social responsibility understanding and practices have been influenced by their institutional stakeholders. A qualitative study using multiple-embedded case study approach was adopted. Thirty (30) managers were sampled, contacted and interviewed. Data was analysed using qualitative content analysis. From the findings, institutional stakeholders largely influence managers’ understanding and corporate social responsibility practices. Another finding indicates that the high-risk industries and their managers define corporate social responsibility as meeting the expectations of their internal and external institutional stakeholders. Employees and shareholders are the key institutional stakeholders regarding corporate social responsibility in the high-risk industries. Core among the corporate social responsibility practices in the high-risk industries are profitmaking and environmentalism. Going forward, this paper argues that managers’ corporate social responsibility understanding and practices should rather be informed by industry strategy and not largely by institutional stakeholders’ demands.

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