We are pleased to present this thought-provoking special issue of Development Southern Africa as a contribution to the emerging debate on corporate citizenship in Africa.
The ten papers selected for this issue reflect the diversity of approaches to corporate citizenship, although a common feature is the willingness to investigate the opportunities and constraints of corporate citizenship beyond the public relations pronouncements of corporate spin-doctors. There are contributions from a wide variety of academics and practitioners from the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and business sectors who are actively involved in the corporate citizenship movement on the African continent.
Despite the importance of corporate citizenship for African societies, relatively few southern African academics have identified it as an area of inquiry. As John Sharp eloquently argues in this issue, there is need for a more independent, theoretically informed critique of the concept, and particularly its consequences in Africa. We hope that this special issue will provoke greater engagement with the issue of corporate social responsibility amongst a broad range of stakeholders.
We are especially pleased to publish in this issue articles by scholars who have not previously published in a peer-reviewed journal. One of Development Southern Africa's mandates is to promote and support previously unpublished authors so as to open academic literature to new voices, experiences and insights. This has meant that the editorial team has devoted special attention to guiding the preparation of the final papers.
In this regard, special mention needs to be made of Ellen Kallinowsky, Head of the UN Global Compact Learning Forum for sub-Saharan Africa, Nkosi Ndlovu, Programme Manager at the African Institute of Corporate Citizenship and Karien Pienaar, Associate at the UNISA Centre for Corporate Citizenship, for their contributions as members of the guest editorial team. We are also very grateful to the various anonymous reviewers, many of whom have gone beyond the basic requirements of peer review and provided detailed and constructive feedback to authors.
Most of the papers are drawn from a symposium hosted by the University of South Africa's (UNISA) Centre for Corporate Citizenship in July 2005. With the explicit objective of facilitating a more interdisciplinary and southern African debate on corporate citizenship, it featured 21 papers selected from over 40 submissions from around the world, including South Africa, Botswana, Kenya, Nigeria, Brazil, the United Kingdom and the United States. The symposium also featured panel discussions with representatives from business and other organisations. As stated in the proceedings, corporate citizenship ‘offers common currency for researchers and practitioners working on issues as diverse as workers’ rights and biodiversity conservation' (available at www.unisa.ac.za/ccc).
The various papers in this issue represent diverse approaches and perspectives, and each provides its own understanding and analysis of corporate citizenship. This diversity provides important opportunities for stimulating conversations and new research. We are confident that this special issue will be a valuable contribution to growing these opportunities.
CAROLINE KIHATO
Editor, Development Southern Africa
RALPH HAMANN
Guest Editor
Head of Research at the UNISA Centre for Corporate Citizenship