The Role of Public Policies in Promoting Corporate Social Responsibility in the United Arab Emirates: Multiple Stakeholders Perspective

Abstract

This study explores intermediary roles that public policies play to stimulate government agencies, businesses, and civil society to engage in a corporate social responsibility (CSR) agenda in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Issues related to decision-making of public policies are increasingly complex. Therefore, Analytical Hierarchal Process (AHP) was used to prioritize public policy practices for CSR in the UAE. Data were collected from experts working in government, businesses, and civil-society organizations. This study provides an important technique for analyzing the importance of public policies in promoting CSR. It offers insights into a population that shapes a CSR agenda. A framework consisting of five public policy categories—mandating, facilitating, partnering, endorsing, and empowering roles—and 29 sub-policy practices is introduced. Findings suggest that government, businesses, and the civil society confirm the importance public policies that exhibits mandating approaches. Results show that Define minimum standards, Legal and fiscal penalties, and Command and control legislations are among the most important public policy practices in issues related to CSR in developing countries. The endorsing style of public policies was the least important approach to encouraging CSR implementation in the UAE. Outcomes from this study will help the government enhance its role as mediator among all agents, and help with designing public policies that encourage adoption of CSR by business firms while maintaining competitiveness in the economy. Although this study presents important findings and conclusions, the amount of information on this subject is insufficient. Future research should examine how tools and policies can be bundled and mixed to contribute to more sustainable CSR environments.