CHALLENGES IN IMPLEMENTING CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: A STUDY OF SMES IN SOUTH AFRICA'S CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

To date, there is a paucity of research on the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR), particularly the practice of CSR within the global and local construction industry. This extends to studies identifying CSR implementation challenges affecting construction organisations. This article investigates the CSR implementation challenges affecting SME owner-managers in the South African construction industry and analyses whether small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are affected similarly or differently. This article serves as a guideline for further research regarding mitigating measures towards the CSR implementation challenges experienced by SME owner-managers in the South African construction industry. Existing literature is reviewed to provide an overview of the current CSR implementation challenges from both the global construction industry and generic business sectors guided by the St. Gallen Management Model. The study conducts a mixed method research approach, using an online questionnaire survey and structured face-to-face interviews, with the data analysed using both descriptive (mean, standard deviation, rank, and themes) and inferential (Analysis of Variance ANOVA) statistics. Findings reveal that SMEs in the South African construction industry are affected by CSR implementation challenges related to a lack of integration in the SME culture and business objectives; limited financial resources to undertake CSR initiatives; lack of CSR skills and knowledge, and unstable economic conditions. In addition, although SMEs are categorised differently in terms of their Construction Industry Development Board (cidb) grade and their upper limit of tender value range, the two groups of contractors' experience similar CSR implementation challenges across four management levels as guided by the St. Gallen Management Model. This finding will guide future research regarding mitigating factors to address CSR implementation challenges experienced by SME owner-managers in the South African construction industry.