Abstract
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a topic of global discussion that is ongoing. Firms are increasingly encouraged to practise CSR as part of their strategic initiatives. The encouragement is to transition from a single bottom line perspective to a triple bottom line that includes the environment, and social and economic metrics. There is scant academic literature on CSR practices in private equity firms and portfolio firms. The aim of this study is to investigate CSR practices in portfolio firms. The study used a qualitative research method that involved 12 participants at senior management level from portfolio firms managed by two private equity companies. Non-probability sampling was used to select the participants in the study. In-depth semi-structured telephonic interviews were conducted for data collection which were recorded and transcribed with approval from the participants. The data was subsequently analysed using qualitative content analysis. The findings have revealed that portfolio firms undertake CSR practices, with the majority of the firms engaging in philanthropic activities in their communities. The CSR practices include early childhood education, charitable giving such as sports sponsorships, socio-economic development of communities and provision of healthcare and wellness programmes. The findings have also revealed that private equity firms are not involved in the decision making of CSR activities undertaken by portfolio firms. In addition, the findings have revealed that implementation of CSR practices is either done internally in the portfolio firms or through partnerships through contractual agreements. The challenges faced during implementation of CSR are lack of funding, lack of time, lack of CSR prioritisation and lack of specialised CSR skills.
M.Com. (Business Management)