Corporate Social Responsibility in Tanzania

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) origins traced with early industrialists is now viewed as “one of, if not the most important issue of our time” [Hopkins (The planetary bargain: Corporate social responsibility comes of age. Macmillan, 2007)]. Its concept is dynamic, multifaceted and global; but it has proved to be a contentious matter across the world. It is a plethora of concepts that have emerged to express the role and responsibilities of business in society [Judy (Corporate Social Responsibility in Africa: Definitions, Issues and Processes, 2012)] which has developed a vast body of literature that supports and critiques its principle of the triple bottom line that has left a lot of un-attempted questions from practitioners and academia in most developing countries and, in particular, Tanzania. These questions, among others include what role do politicians, government regulation, legislation, and voluntary standards play in the adoption of CSR strategies? Which CSR theory is currently adopted? What are the benefits of CSR practices taking into consideration its cost to implement? What are the challenges and opportunities faced by both public sector and private companies seeking to engage in CSR programmes? The aim of this paper is to explore and critically review how CSR is embryonic and being practiced in Tanzania. The questions asked above are examined in a deep review of literature. The study employs inductive approach with a cross-sectional literature review which applies the analytical research method to underpin the subject matter. More than 40 current articles, including peer and non-peer reviewed research papers, surveys and several materials such as books and news paper have been gathered and reviewed accordingly. The analysis reveals that the CSR awareness and practice in Tanzania is increasing at a significant rate, despite the fact that there are a lot of challenges and barriers which hinder its promotion. A number of factors influencing and promoting CSR practices, including CSR opportunities in Tanzania, are also explored in detail. By accumulating knowledge of, and recommending continues improvements in CSR, this work is expected to be of high interest to create awareness to practitioners, researchers, academicians, politician’s, investors and the nation at large. This in turn will help to improve the country’s competitiveness in attracting CSR practices, as well as encouraging both foreign and local entrepreneurs to comply with CSR standards and codes of practice.