Impact of Leadership on the practice of Corporate Social Responsibility A study in the private sector: United Arab Emirates

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Date
2011-10
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Publisher
The British Universitty in Dubai (BUiD)
Abstract
An increasing number of firms are acknowledging the need for sustainable business practices. Organisations are now trying to rectify the impulsive, irresponsible, short-term beneficial decisions which have resulted in the global recession. As a result, the concept of corporate social responsibility is a very popular topic of discussion in board room meetings. Organisation leaders are now realising the importance of being good corporate citizens. Similar, to firms in any other developing country, firms in the UAE acknowledge the concept of corporate social responsibility although many of them are yet to implement it. This research study attempts to establish the effect of leadership and leadership style on responsible business practices. The study is targeted on firms in the UAE private sector. The research focuses on the cause-effect relationship between leadership, leadership styles and leadership behaviours on the practice of corporate social responsibility. Attention is given to the new leadership styles in particular. This research also conducts a detailed analysis on the nature of sustainable business initiatives and stakeholder priorities of UAE based firms. This study employs the quantitative methodology and primary data is collected via questionnaires. The research model and hypotheses were drawn by the researcher to comprehend the influence leadership has on sustainable business practices of firms operating in the UAE private sector. Statistical tool used to analyse the data reveal that leadership, styles of leadership and leadership behaviours have a positive effect on corporate social responsibility. Moreover an analysis of the secondary data available on the responsible business practices of UAE firms highlights their stakeholder priorities and trends. This study concludes with recommendations made to firm managers to aid them to implement sustainable business practices.
Description
DISSERTATION WITH DISTINCTION
Keywords
leadership, leadership styles, leadership behaviours, transformational leadership, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), transactional leadership
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