Antecedents to transformational community engagement in South Africa

摘要: Firms face increasing societal pressures to act responsibly towards stakeholders, and community engagement is a key element of this response. While Bowen, Newenham-Kahindi Herremans (2010) have found that strategies fall into the transactional, transitional transformational categories, more research needed. Nineteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with CSR practitioners, beneficiaries external experts across three companies from different sectors geographically-associated South African communities. Barriers enablers are identified compared points made in literature. Prominent barriers include expectation; internal capacity company engage properly communities; and, according new finding literature, educational levels. The most prominent enabler was relationshipbuilding. Companies dedicated practitioners able community. Regulatory dynamics largely determine differences sectors. But there risk symbolic rather than substantive. Eleven higher-order antecedents then identified. A newly developed firm-oriented decision-making model proposed for moderating these antecedents. findings national context provide granular insight an operating environment.