This book addresses empirical, theoretical, and policy perspectives in its examination of the development of sustainability management of African firms. Documenting cases of sustainable activities across Africa and accelerating knowledge about the opportunities and challenges facing firms operating in Africa, the chapters examine various aspects of sustainability and sustainable entrepreneurship/innovations in the African context. The authors seek to shed light on how African nations can be positioned to meet the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals as well as the innovative strategies necessary to improve sustainability practices of African firms for greater success. With guidance for scholars and policymakers, this book will serve as a valuable resource, providing readers with an up-to-date and contextual understanding of sustainability practices, drivers, and challenges in Africa. Samuel Adomako is Associate Professor of Strategy at the Birmingham Business School at the University of Birmingham, UK. Albert Danso is Associate Professor of Accounting and Finance at the Leicester Castle Business School at De Montfort University, UK. Agyenim Boateng is Professor of Finance and Director of Finance and Banking Research Centre at the Leicester Castle Business School at De Montfort University, UK.

The book offers new critical insights into the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainable development in Africa. The extent to which CSR initiatives can contribute to sustainable development in Africa remains debatable. This book examines in a very clear structure how, when, and whether CSR initiatives are able to contribute to the realization of the sustainable development goals, peace, and environmental sustainability at the micro-levels of society. It also explores some macro-level issues such as the relationship between taxation and CSR, CSR and human rights, and CSR and public governance and, in so doing, challenges existing CSR dogmas. With themes aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), this book provides useful practical guidance for policymakers and business leaders seeking to better understand the strength and limitations of CSR as a vehicle for advancing sustainable development in Africa. It will also appeal to scholars, researchers, and students of African studies, development studies, international business, strategic management, and business and society.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of corporate social responsibility and its development in Africa. It provides in-depth studies on 11 sub-Saharan countries, demonstrating that corporate social responsibility is forming and going through different stages of metamorphosis in the continent. Though corporate and individual attitudes towards sustainability in Africa still leave a lot to be desired, this book showcases how things are rapidly changing for the better in this regard. It demonstrates and provides evidence for the fact that corporate social responsibility contributes significantly to the way sub-Saharan African economies are being transformed, with service sectors expanding, commercial activities diversifying and industrial bases growing through the initiatives of small, medium and large organizations and innovators supported by widespread higher-education program rollouts. The book highlights how progressive and wide-ranging CSR approaches have emerged, and how much they differ from the obsolete approaches of the past, which promulgated negative stereotypes, marginalized communities and positioned them as victims or beneficiaries of development.

This book contains a collection of studies on the interactions between businesses in Africa and Global Value Chains (GVCs) in terms of social, environmental and economic sustainability. This is particularly pertinent given the asymmetrical power distribution between the global buyer and the African supplier, their governance relationships and the ongoing competitive pressures to reduce costs and increase flexibility to meet GVC demands. Rather than focusing on the sustainability of a single organization, GVCs address the sustainability of inter-firm value chains and global industries as a whole. With little differentiation between value chain creation and social / environmental degradation extending to people and raw material extraction (upstream) and disposal or recycling (downstream), sustainability issues need to be at the forefront of African business research interests. Nowadays, sustainability is considered a competitive advantage for a firm looking to join a GVC. Whether sustainability is approached from the viewpoint of an exporting firm motivated to join a GVC in its respective industry or whether a firm’s continuing contractual or collaborative relationship with a buyer depends on its compliance with sustainability standards, both approaches focus on the ability of firms in Africa to benefit from joining sustainable GVCs.

This book provides a transnational African perspective on business management concerns and business ethics by examining the concepts of responsible business practices and sustainability across sub-Saharan Africa. Covering topics ranging from ethical advertisement to responsible pricing to waste management for sustainable business, it highlights the importance of consciously and deliberately inculcating responsible practices in the creation and operation of business activities within a corporate context to achieve sustainability in African markets. The book employs a case-by-case method for treating issues in responsible business practice and sustainability, with contributions illustrating responsible and irresponsible business practices across various areas of business management. Relevant to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, it will be of great importance to academics and students of responsible business, sustainability, business ethics and African business more broadly. It will also be a helpful guide for professionals and business owners to understand some salient issues in navigating sustainable business practices in Africa.

This book examines the conception of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Africa, expanding it’s frontiers beyond corporate reporting, voluntary corporate charity and community development projects. Taking a corporate law perspective on CSR, the author combines theory and practice to explain how CSR interacts with of sustainable development and sets an agenda for effective operationalization in Africa. The book not only devises an enforcement mechanism towards embedding effective CSR and sustainable development in Africa but also addresses CSR greenwash on the continent. The author critically examines CSR practices, legal and regulatory techniques in Nigeria and South Africa in the context of contexts of international regulatory dialogues and shows how corporate socially responsible behaviour can be effectively embedded within business communities in Africa. Increasing our understanding of the theoretical, legal and regulatory frameworks supporting corporate responsibility, this book will be of interest to scholars, policy makers and practitioners in the fields of Africa law, corporate law, corporate social responsibility and African business.

Addressing the issues that will be central to Africa’s various attempts to effectively manage knowledge and innovation for sustainable business management, this edited book makes a timely contribution to research on business in Africa. Coinciding with the recently launched Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy for Africa 2024 (STISA-2024) by the African Union (AU), which emphasises the critical role of science, technology and innovation for Africa’s socio-economic development and growth, the book echoes these themes with a multi-disciplinary and multi-sectoral approach to knowledge and innovation management in Africa. Also containing case studies relating to various growing collaborations between education and research institutions, private and public entities as well as commercialisation of research and innovation outputs, Managing Knowledge and Innovation for Business Sustainability in Africa covers the key themes to provide an enabling environment for STI development in the African content.