Associate Professor Søren Jeppesen ([email protected])
• Danish
• Centre for Business and
Development Studies (CBDS) &
cbsCSR Centre, Department of
Intercultural Communication and
Management
• Visiting Guest Professor at
University of Pretoria and at
Makerere University Business
School
• SMEs and CSR in Developing
Country Firms; Successful African
Firms & Institutional Change
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Associate Professor Søren Jeppesen
PhD thesis:
Environmental practices and Greening Strategies in small South
African manufacturing firms. A Critical Realist Approach (2004)
Recent research projects:
•Danish MNCs in developing countries and linkages to local firms
(Ghana, South Africa, India, Malaysia and Vietnam)
•Impact of Codes of Conduct in the garment industry in South Africa,
Lesotho and Swaziland
•Youth & Employment: The Role of Entrepreneurship in African
Economies (YEMP) (Ghana, Uganda and Zambia)
•CSR, Competitiveness and SMEs in developing countries (South
Africa and Vietnam)
•Successful African Firms and Institutional Change (SAFIC) (Kenya,
Tanzania and Zambia)
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Agenda for presentation
Title: The views of SME managers and workers on CSR practices:
Contrasting the textiles/garment/footwear industry to the agroprocessing industry in Vietnam (with Angie Tran, California State
University, Monterey, USA. Funding from AFD acknowledged.)
A. Understanding of CSR
B. Methodology and Theoretical framework
C. Similarities between managers and workers in the two
industries
D. Differences between managers and workers in the two
industries
E. Comparison to (South) African contexts
F. Contributions to the field
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A. Understanding of CSR
Definition of CSR - Blowfield and Frynas (2005):
CSR ‘as an umbrella term for a variety of theories and practices
all of which recognize the following: (a) that companies have a
responsibility for their impact on society and the natural
environment, sometimes beyond legal compliance and the
liability of individuals; (b) that companies have a responsibility
for the behaviour of others with whom they do business (e.g.
within the supply chains); and (c) that business needs to
manage their relationship with the wider society, whether for
reasons of commercial viability, or to add value to society.’ (p. 503
in Blowfield, M. and J. G. Frynas: (2005) ‘Setting New Agendas: Critical Perspectives
on Corporate Social Responsibility in the Developing World’, International Affairs
81.3: 499–513)
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B. Methodology & Theoretical framework
Methodology:
•Two major industries: Textiles, garments &
footwear (TGF) & Agro-processing (AP) Vietnam
•Interviews with managers (40) and
workers (218 – mostly women)
•Convenience sampling: Quantitative and
qualitative
•Interviews with government officials, business
associations, trade unions and others
•Secondary data
Theoretical framework:
Institutional theory – Scott 1995/2001
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Flow chart on process of investigating CSR practices among SME managers and workers in the Textiles/Garment/Footwear and the
Agro-Processing industries in Vietnam (Jeppesen and Tran, 2015)
Context: historical, political, economic and social
Institutions
Societal
views:
government,
unions,
industry,
communities
and
consumers
Regulatory
SMEs
Managers Workers
CSR practices
Normative
Formal:
Cognitive
* Working environment
* Physical environment
* Labor standards and working conditions
Informal:
* Informal arrangements
* Support to local communities
-
C. Similarities between managers and workers in the
two industries
Institution/ Regulatory
Industry
TGF & AP
Normative
M: State (and
costly)
W: Too little
emphasis on
wages and labour
conditions
Cognitive
M & W: Business
has a number of
(social)
responsibilities
W: Flexibility is
key (getting leave,
loans and doing
overtime work
when needed)
M & W: Concept
of CSR known
among M, not
among W
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D. Differences between managers and workers in the
two industries
Institution/
Industry
Regulatory
Normative
Cognitive
TGF
M: Private
regulation most
important
W: Company
regulations as a
‘responsibilty’
M: Some
importance, but
less than AP
W: Higher level of
employment
flutuations
M & W: More
formal, less
‘family-like’
AP
M: State most
important
M: More important M & W: More
than TGF (e.g.
‘family-like’ and
industry
less formal
W: State ‘visible’ standards, OSH
issues)
W: More stable
employment
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E. Comparison to (South) African contexts
Similarities:
- Small versus medium-size firms
- Managers versus workers
•‘CSR’ is not a well-known concept
- But growing awareness
•Still, high level of awareness of ‘business
responsibilities’
•Multiple and widespread ‘informal practices’
Differences:
•AP (outward/export) vs. TGF (inward/domestic)
•State regulation matters more than private
regulation
•Higher level of ‘sensitivity’
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F. Contributions to the field
• Institutional theory relevant (in VN and in SA)
• State regulation does matters – if there
• Management and workers’ relations matters
‘CSR points’:
• Awareness of adequate phrasing
• Lacking demands (no consumer pressure)
‘Academic/African point’:
• Need more research – still much to learn!
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Thank you
Comments and questions
are welcome 
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