The evaluation of CSR and social value practices among uk commercial and social enterprises

Objective: The purpose of this article is to evaluate the scope of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and ‘Social Value Initiatives’ (SVIs) among corporations. Nowadays, CSR provides firms with an opportunity to provide community social need through discretionary corporate practices. This article contributes to knowledge on how firms approach social and environmental sustainability while maintaining economic responsibility. Research Design & Methods: This article adopts analysis based on secondary data from UK based companies. Fifty companies’ websites and policy documents (30 commercial enterprises and 20 social enterprises) were researched to identify the patterns of practices of SVIs and factors that influence the practices among companies. Findings: The findings suggest that both social and commercial enterprises focus on the adoption of the ‘CSR’ practices based on the ‘Triple Bottom Line’ (TBL) as defined in the ‘Elkington, 1997 framework’ of economic, environmental and social sustainability. The difference is that while the ‘SVIs’ of commercial enterprises develop as an operational strategy at the later stages of the business, the ‘SVIs’ of social enterprises are embedded during the enterprise creation stage. Implications & Recommendations: Based on the findings, this article develops a conceptual ‘Social Value Initiatives’ framework which forms the domain of social value practices. We suggest that future studies should focus on adopting qualitative-ori-ented primary research to explore CSR approaches, which will capture the views of management, customers, employees and shareholders. Contribution & Value Added: Despite its limitations, this article contributes to the knowledge on CSR and social value practices among social and commercial enterprises. © 2018, Cracow University of Economics. All rights reserved

Net Present Value Analysis and the Wealth Creation Process: A Case Illustration

This case is intended to help students on accounting undergraduate and postgraduate courses deepen their understanding of capital budgeting. We introduce a working example and hypothetical case to show that knowing an investment project’s net present value (NPV) is important but is not sufficient. Shareholders would also like to know how and when a project pays the excess wealth it generates. In the case we show in monetary amounts, how much each group receives in every time period; how much is received in the form of excess wealth by the existing shareholders; and, when does that excess wealth starts to accrue. The case can be used specifically in the final year undergraduate and postgraduate accounting study programmes

Drivers of diversification and pluriactivity among smallholder farmers—evidence from Nigeria

Diversification and pluriactivity have become a norm among farm business owners (FBOs) due to persistent low farm income. This study applies the resource-based theory to examine drivers of diversification and livelihood income-oriented towards a sustainable livelihood. Our framework develops hypotheses about the impact of internal and external resources on livelihood choices at the household level. We use a survey of 480 rural Nigerian farmers (agripreneurs), applying a Multivariate Tobit to test our framework. We find that education plays the most significant role in all types of employment options. The more FBOs are educated, the more the likelihood that they will choose non-farm or wage employment. This study revealed that while the agriculture sector’s share of rural employment is declining, non-farm is on the increase. More so, there is a decline in farming among the young generation, marital status bias and gender influence in resource allocation. The socioeconomic (income and food security) and socio-cultural (employment and rural-urban migration) implications of rural sustainability linked to UN Development Goals have been highlighted and analysed in this article

The Kenyan environment's influence on the emergence and development of corporate entrepreneurship among SMEs

What environmental factors enable corporate entrepreneurship (CE) among African SMEs. CE helps firms to recognize and exploit new opportunities, and is particularly valuable for forms in turbulent, dynamic, or highly volatile environments of Africa. However, to date there is a dearth of research which considers the unique features of the African environmental context and their influence on the CE. To address this gap in our empirical knowledge, this study draws on Institutional Theory to examine the influence of the external environment on the emergence and development of CE among African SMEs. Given the exploratory nature of the study, a multiple case study approach was adopted. Five SMEs from Kenya's services sector formed the basis for empirical enquiry. Kenyan entrepreneurial attitudes and values along with increasing market and environmental dynamism were found to condition the emergence of CE activities among SMEs, while individual and firm-level networks and social capital, as well as deregulation of the Kenyan environment and government support initiatives were perceived as important factors that facilitate CE among SMEs. The study’s findings enrich our understanding of the contingent nature of entrepreneurial activity, suggesting that African context matters. It also adds to the growing body of literature on the importance of entrepreneurship in Africa