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Summer 6-6-2021

Understanding the Nature of CSR Partnerships in Egypt

Menna EL Nenaei
mennanenaei@aucegypt.edu

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APA Citation
EL Nenaei, M. (2021).Understanding the Nature of CSR Partnerships in Egypt [Master's Thesis, the
American University in Cairo]. AUC Knowledge Fountain.
https://fount.aucegypt.edu/etds/1667
MLA Citation
EL Nenaei, Menna. Understanding the Nature of CSR Partnerships in Egypt. 2021. American University in
Cairo, Master's Thesis. AUC Knowledge Fountain.
https://fount.aucegypt.edu/etds/1667

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 The American University in Cairo

Understanding the Nature of CSR Partnerships in Egypt

A Thesis Submitted to Sustainable Development Program in partial fulfillment of the

requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Sustainable Development

By

Menna Maged El Nenaei

Under the supervision of

Dr. Charles Kaye-Essien

Public Policy and Administration Department

06-2021

1
 Abstract
The field of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has seen considerable growth in Egypt over
the past decade, especially in the field of sustainable development. A growing number of Egyptian
private companies are actively taking responsibility for Egypt’s environment and social
development by investing in CSR activities. Egyptian private sector-based CSR activities are
expected to further increase as corporate spending designated for CSR activities continuous to
grow. The outcomes of these CSR activities are affected by the partnerships present among the
main stakeholders involved. To date the nature of these partnerships, especially with regard to how
they are formed, their implementation and outcomes have barely been explored.

This thesis fills this research gap by exploring the nature of CSR partnerships amongst two
important stakeholders; the private sector and NPOs in Egypt. The research employs a qualitative
research methodology based on semi-structured interviews. Interviews were carried out with
Cairo-based companies active in financing CSR projects, non- profit organizations (Non-
Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and International Organizations) who partner with
corporates to execute CSR activities, governmental entities, and CSR experts.

The findings indicate that agreement on the CSR strategy among participating stakeholders and
clear identification of roles are two of the key success factors for a partnership. Another major
finding of the study is that social media plays a vital role in creating partnership connections and
in showcasing CSR partnership impacts. Furthermore, there is a sense amongst corporates and
NPOs that the government needs to work more collaboratively with NPOs.

2
 DEDICATION AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
First, I would like to immensely thank Dr. Charles Kaye-Essien for his constant support and
guidance during my thesis writing.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude Dr. Khaled AbdelHalim for his support and guidance
in this thesis since day one.

In addition, special thanks go to my readers Dr. Ghada Barsoom, and Dr. Shahjahan Bhuiyan who
promptly accepted and expressed their willingness to read my thesis.

I would like to thank my mom and dad who motivated me to apply in this master program and for
the endless love and support they provided me with during my thesis. I would like to thank my
grandma who has always motivated me and has given me her blessings and prayers throughout my
writing.

I would like to specially thank my husband Omar Allam for always believing in me and for his
endless support, love, and motivation. I would like to dedicate this thesis to him and to our young
loving daughter Jana who gave me all the joy, laughter and encouragement with her beautiful smile
and energy during my thesis and who inspires me to keep achieving more every day.

3
Table of Content

CHAPTER ONE .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 9

INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 9
1.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 9
1.2 Statement of Problem .....................................................................................................................................................................11
1.3 Research Questions ..........................................................................................................................................................................12
1.4 Thesis outline .....................................................................................................................................................................................13
CHAPTER TWO ...............................................................................................................................................................................................15
LITERATURE REVIEW............................................................................................................................................................................15
2.1 The Evolution of Corporate Social Responsibility ..............................................................................................................15
2.2 The Business Case for CSR in the Private Sector ................................................................................................................16
2.3 CSR Implementation through Strategic Partnerships ......................................................................................................18
2.3.1. Different Combinations of Partnerships ..........................................................................................................................18
2.3.2. Corporate- NPO Partnership ................................................................................................................................................19
2.3.3. Levels of Partnership ...............................................................................................................................................................19
2.4 General Motivations for engaging in CSR Partnerships ...................................................................................................21
2.5 Structure of Partnerships ..............................................................................................................................................................23
2.6 Benefits of Private-Non Private Partnerships ......................................................................................................................25
2.6.1. Benefits to the Private Sector...............................................................................................................................................25
2.6.2. Benefits to the Non-Profit Sector ........................................................................................................................................27
2.7 Private-Non-Private Partnership Challenges .......................................................................................................................28
2.8 The Role of Government in CSR Partnerships .....................................................................................................................31
2.9 The Evolution of CSR in Egypt .....................................................................................................................................................32
CHAPTER THREE ..........................................................................................................................................................................................38
THE CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK .........................................................................................................................................................38
3.2 The Model .............................................................................................................................................................................................38
3.3 Hypotheses ..........................................................................................................................................................................................41
CHAPTER FOUR .............................................................................................................................................................................................43
METHODOLOGY AND RESEARCH DESIGN ........................................................................................................................................43
4.2 Research Design ................................................................................................................................................................................43

4
 4.3 Sample Selection ...............................................................................................................................................................................46
CHAPTER FIVE ...............................................................................................................................................................................................49
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ....................................................................................................................................................................49
5.2 Government’s Approach Towards CSR Partnerships and Existing Policies ...........................................................50
5.3 CSR Partnership Strategy Development .................................................................................................................................55
5.4 CSR Partnerships Dynamics between Corporates and CSR stakeholders in Egypt .............................................62
5.4.1 Cast Study 1: Partnership between Government, Corporate and INPO ...............................................................63
5.4.2 Case Study 2: CSR partnership between multiple companies, the multiple ministries and the NGO. .......68
5.4.3 Case Study 3: CSR Partnership between the government, multiple corporations, and local NGO.............73
5.5 Success and Failure of CSR Partnerships ...............................................................................................................................77
CHAPTER SIX...................................................................................................................................................................................................80
RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION .........................................................................................................................................80
6.3 Recommendations ............................................................................................................................................................................82
6.4 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................................................................84
6.3 Limitation of the study ...................................................................................................................................................................85
References ........................................................................................................................................................................................................86

5
List of Tables

Table 1. Sample Selection……………………………………………………………………..47

Table 2. Corporate and NPO partnership selection……………………………………………59

6
List of Figures

Figure 1. Conceptual Framework: CSR partnership model...…………………………………39

Figure 2. Successful CSR partnerships in relation to sustainable development……………….42

7
List of Acronyms

NPOs Non-Profit Organizations

NGOs Non-Governmental Organizations

MNC Multinational Corporations

MOE Ministry of Education and Technical Education

8
 CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Introduction

Corporations are powerful entities because of their size, number of people, their buying and selling

power, and the impact they have on customers through their pricing strategies and the quality of

products they sell. Consequently, the outcomes of these corporations affect the environmental,

social, and economic situation in the communities surrounding them. As companies’ stakeholders

gain more power, their influence over the companies’ decision-making processes grows. Similarly,

the growing demands and knowledge gained by the customers on their rights have intensified

competition between companies. In the 1960s, protests demanding more customer rights increased,

which reflected the escalating relationship between companies and their customers. This was the

time when corporate social responsibility (CSR) rose as a concept and companies had started to

consider it throughout their practices (Jamali and Keshishian, 2009). The term CSR has many

definitions. It is best described as the social responsibility of businesses to cover issues that go

beyond a company’s immediate economic, technical, and legal requirements, and focuses instead

on the social and environmental benefits of the community surrounding them. CSR describes the

relationship between the business and its larger society (Jamali and Keshishian, 2009).

In Egypt, the concept of CSR is derived from the concept of giving and is thought of as a devotional

practice or as charity work that is practiced by public and private sector companies (Iskandar,

2007). However, the role of the private sector companies has moved away from the philanthropist

role to playing a proactive role in supporting human progress and sustainable development.

Research carried out by the UNDP in 2007 studying companies in the private sector to identify the

9
motivational reason behind incorporating CSR showed that many Multinational Corporations are

influenced by “international practices driven by reporting requirements to stakeholders, brand

loyalty, and image-building motives” (Iskandar, 2007, pg.56). Moreover, in the same year, the

UNDP established a private sector strategy to identify the objectives and approach for working

with the private sector in enhancing sustainable human development and in leveraging its goal in

development. One of the main priorities of this strategy was to encourage corporate social

responsibility in Support of the MDGs and inclusive Market Development. It has been

demonstrated that the private sector’s proactiveness in adopting responsible business behaviors

have a direct impact on the local communities and national economies. In fact, the research showed

that there are numerous CSR activities done by corporations in the private sector in Egypt.

Amongst the popular companies are those actuated by Vodafone Egypt, Procter and Gamble,

Unilever, Cemex and Infosys, representing different industries from fast moving consumer goods,

telecom, information technology and cement. Furthermore, to implement the right and successful

CSR activities, “the private sector requires an enabling environment, including accurate

information about the development context, to be able to meet the challenges of eradicating

poverty and hunger, creating productive and decent jobs, and fostering human development”

(Sherif, 2016 pg. 28).

Nevertheless, the non-profit organizations are recognized as potential partners who have valuable

information and expertise in development, are found to have more experience in social issues and

are more connected to community residents, hence provide major support to companies in

achieving their CSR strategies (Poret, 2014). Accordingly, partnering with the NPOs allows for

transfer of knowledge and experience and allows corporations to hold their NPO partners

accountable, and vice versa, which is an essential element for the success of both sectors in Egypt.

10
The UNDP report further shows that the search for partnerships under which the private sector and

NPOs can come together and collaborate for CSR projects has begun, but it did not show how

those partnerships are formed, designed, implemented and evaluated. This paper focuses on

partnerships dynamics among private sector companies and NPO partners who attempt to promote

CSR development in a sustainable manner. It is also motivated by the lack of scholarship that

examines the communication and collaboration between companies and other CSR stakeholders;

the government and the NPOs, in their commitment to CSR, along with my interest in CSR as a

next career step, presents an opportunity to define and design partnership models between

companies and CSR stakeholders towards their commitment to socially responsible behaviors.

This study also examines how platforms and processes connecting CSR stakeholders can be

improved; the research project assesses the need for innovative platforms and processes, for

example online platforms or CSR consultants and advisors, connecting corporates with the right

CSR stakeholder and assisting with implementing the best practice CSR strategies for sustainable

development.

1.2 Statement of Problem

In light of the increasing practice of CSR partnerships and collaborations in Egypt for the past

decade between the civil society (NPOs) and the private sector and the scarcity of available

scholarly articles and limited literature to review and analyze these partnership models, this study

aims to shed light on the development of CSR partnerships in Egypt between the two CSR

stakeholders; the private sector companies and NPOs, the challenges faced within those

partnerships and the existing governmental practices and approach to encourage those

partnerships. It also aims to explore the development of CSR partnership strategies among the two

stakeholders.
11
This study will act as an important tool and guideline for the CSR stakeholders to understand the

current relationship dynamics among CSR partners, it provides a guideline for the private and NPO

sectors to follow through the developed CSR partnership model and conceptual framework for this

study. In the end, the study provides recommendations to improve CSR partnerships in Egypt and

explores potential tools and platform to encourage more successful CSR partnerships between

corporates and CSR stakeholders in Egypt for sustainable development. The study will contribute

significantly to the literature and will stimulate additional research on this topic.

1.3 Research Questions

The main objective of this study is to explore the current CSR partnership dynamics between

private sector companies and NPOs in Egypt, as well as to understand the government’s approach

towards the development of CSR partnerships. Below is the list of research questions that will be

covered in this study:

1. How do corporates develop their CSR partnership strategy?

2. How do corporate CSR departments initiate collaborative arrangements with CSR

partners?

3. What government policies exist to promote CSR partnerships in Egypt?

4. How can partnerships between corporates and CSR stakeholders be improved in order to

reach a successful CSR eco-system in Egypt?

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1.4 Thesis outline
The below outline covers the six chapters of this thesis. It starts with an introduction then will

follow with the literature review, conceptual framework, methodology and research design, data

analysis and research findings and finally ends with the conclusion and recommendations.

Data Analysis &

Conceptual Methadology & Recommendations
Introduction Litrature Review Research
Framework Research Design & Conclusions
Findings

The first chapter introduces the power of corporations and their approach to corporate social

responsibility and presents the research problem, research objectives and research questions for

this study.

The second chapter presents the literature review on the evolution of CSR as a concept, the private

sectors’ adoption of CSR as a practice, and provides more depth on the rise of CSR partnerships,

their structure, benefits, challenges and the government’s role in promoting CSR partnerships.

The third chapter presents the conceptual framework for this study. Where the researcher adopts

the five partnership stages from the literature and develops an input-output framework that

The fourth chapter covers the methodology applied representing the research design, sample

selection and limitations to the study.

13
The fifth chapter presents and analyses data collected through qualitative interviews with a sample

of nineteen CSR stakeholders in Egypt. The data analyzed is divided into four sections to address

the four identified research questions set forth for this study. The researcher uses case studies

whereby the developed conceptual framework and hypothesis are applied and the current

partnership models between corporates and NPO partnerships are analyzed and examined against

it.

Finally, the six chapter summarizes the key findings, presents the recommendations drawn from

the study to improve CSR partnerships in Egypt and lastly covers the conclusion.

14
 CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 The Evolution of Corporate Social Responsibility

Researchers have long been challenged theoretically and analytically to give clarity to the

definition of corporate social responsibility. According to William Forster and Jill Brown, while

CSR is generally defined as the responsibilities of a business to society, it has been described as a

paradigm that is in a “state of emergence” (Brown & Forster, 2013). According to another article

that discusses Corporate Social responsibility in developing countries, CSR assumes that

businesses have obligations to their surrounding societies that goes beyond just making profits and

includes social and ecological difficulties (Idemudia, 2011).

During the 1950s and 1960s, CSR came into perspective when many laws and regulations were

passed as attempts to control business conduct and to protect employees and consumers rights

(Lee, 2008). During that time a number of consumer protests were taking place that directly

resulted to the rise of the Consumer Rights Movement. This was the time when corporations were

challenged, and a spotlight was drawn on the rising relationship between American corporations

and public relationships that can affect corporate’s sustainability. According to Min‐Dong Paul

Lee (2008), who published an article to review the evolution of CSR and its theories, corporate

social responsibility was hardly incorporated by organizations or implemented during the 1950s

and 1960s. In fact, many managers thought CSR would damage their organization’s financial

performance and paid little attention to it. In the 1970’s, CSR was still not considered important

by organizations and business communities and it was not until the late 1990s that CSR became

promoted universally by governments, non-profit organizations, consumers, and corporations.

CSR was then endorsed by international organizations such as the United Nations, World Bank,
15
and International Labor Organization, who have hired separate staffed divisions and established

guidelines specifically to research and promote CSR (Lee, 2008).

Furthermore, Carroll (1979) was among the first scholars to frame the responsibilities of the

companies into a four-part pyramid. The author presented a comprehensive overview of the

evolution of CSR as a concept that goes beyond shareholder value maximization, and focuses on

the synergy between business and society that includes: the consumers, employees, communities

and the environment (Gamal El Din, 2016). Consequently, by the end of 1990s, the importance of

incorporating CSR activities in organizations had grown to having 500 firms mentioning CSR in

their annual reports as an essential element and goal and many businesses around the world started

to accept the importance of incorporating CSR within their organization (Lee, 2008).

2.2 The Business Case for CSR in the Private Sector

In general, the main priority and goal for any corporation is to make profits and create

value for their shareholders. Accordingly, if they would adopt any new behavior or strategy it has

to be for the sole purpose of generating more profits to the business. The classical objection to

CSR by corporates is that it is considered a ‘subversive doctrine’ that threatens the core meaning

of having a free enterprise society (Lee, 2008). Wallich and McGowan (1970) published an article

in the 1970s with the sole purpose of providing a compromise between the economic and social

interests of corporations. They provided a ‘new rationale’ that supports CSR without

compromising on the economic benefits and stakeholders’ interest. Their underlying assumption

demonstrated that business corporations can lose their most critical support structure; their

customers, if the surrounding society, which the corporation belongs to, deteriorates. Hence, it is

16
best that corporates consider the well-being of their surrounding environment and society as one

of the main essential elements in sustaining their business on the long run (Lee, 2008).

Another rational evolved that provided more reasons for corporates to embrace the concept of CSR

within their organization’s DNA is that there is a relationship between corporates’ financial

performance and their CSR activities. A vast amount of research has been carried out on strategic

management with the aim to understand why some companies consistently perform better than

others. Based on Archie B. Carroll, whom have established the CSR pyramid that shows the four

levels that corporates have to fulfill, the ethical, the economic, the legal, and philanthropic, it was

found that one of the applicable answers was that these sustainably profitable companies

incorporated CSR activities in their businesses. Until the 1970s, the field of business and society

lacked an accepted theoretic paradigm. It was Carroll (1979) was the first to introduce the three-

dimensional conceptual model of Corporate Social Performance (CSP). The model added a

significant contribution as treated the economic and social goals as coherent and corresponding

goals and not as separate tradeoffs.

Moreover, corporate social responsibility is considered a strategic resource to improve the

performance of corporates and is no longer perceived as a moral ‘responsibility’ of corporate

managers to contribute to greater social wellbeing. In fact, contemporary environmentalists claim

that corporations do better financially when they behave in a socially desirable manner (Lee, 2008,

p.63). CSR activities can include society related and environmental activities such as the reduction

of carbon emissions produced by corporates. Today, companies are no longer evaluated by

investors based on their financial performance only, but on their stakeholder management,

reputational risk and on their community contribution (Lorenzen, 2012). There are newly

developed measurements for evaluating corporate performance that heavily depends on customers
17
satisfaction, environmental competitiveness, and quality of products. Accordingly, the role of

companies has evolved from just being philanthropic to being more concerned on how the

individual company constructs and positions itself in society (Lorenzen, 2012). Hence, in order to

improve the over-all corporate performance, companies are required to focus on the development

of CSR strategies and programs.

2.3 CSR Implementation through Strategic Partnerships

To start with, a partnership is defined as any collaboration made between two or more

stakeholders to achieve a common goal, “while leveraging joint resources and capitalizing on the

respective competences and strengths of both partners” (Jamali, 2004, p.3). The literature shows

that different forms of partnerships occur when corporates, NPOs and governmental entities

come together to address CSR activities.

2.3.1. Different Combinations of Partnerships

There can be public- private partnerships, public- NPO partnerships, private-NPO

partnerships. The public-private partnerships represent those partnerships between the government

and private businesses. Similarly, public-NPO partnership refers partnership between the

government and civil society organizations, including international organizations and non-

governmental organizations. The private-NPO partnership focuses on solving issues related to

society such as: education, health, and the environment. Such partnerships give great insights to

the dynamics of CSR implementation between partners (Seitanidi & Crane, 2008) and will serve

as the focus of this study.

18
2.3.2. Corporate- NPO Partnership

In the past decade, there has been an emerging trend of business and NPO partnership, specifically

between corporates and non-governmental organizations. This occurred when business leaders

began to recognize the important role that non-profit sector plays in executing CSR projects.

Although businesses have the capacity and efficiency to impact different stakeholders in a positive

way, they are not always aligned with the needs of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Those

companies who desire to be responsible do not have the means and resources to carry out the

desired projects in a sustainable manner and hence the need for partnering with the non-

governmental organizations for CSR projects. The non-profit organizations on the other hand have

become instrumental in the developmental work yet lack the financial means to achieve their goals

in the most effective and sustainable manner (Damlamian, 2006).

2.3.3. Levels of Partnership

Besides partnership types, we can also assess the levels of partnership. For instance, a

partnership may exist at the philanthropic level, it may involve reciprocal exchange, entail

independent value creation, or operate at the strategic level. These are explained below.

1) Philanthropic partnerships

Philanthropic partnership refers to the first stages of partnerships and the first contact between

corporates and NPOs, where the relationship between the company and the NPO is limited and

considered a one-way exchange of resources from the company to the NPO (Lorenzen, 2012).

19
Such low-level engagement of partnerships occurs when the company’s CSR strategy can be

defined as modest and when the size of the donations is not critical to neither of both partners.

2) Partnerships with reciprocal exchange

“This kind of partnership refers to a cause-related marketing relation between a company and an

NPO” (Lorenzen, 2012, P.18). This partnership includes a contract that both partners agree on to

exchange goods or services and in exchange to the company’s donations, the company can use the

logo of the NGO in their marketing activities. Compared with philanthropic partnerships, the

participation of the two partners is more active, and the value flow between the two partners is

more reciprocal (Lorenzen, 2012).

3) Independent value creation partnerships

This partnership entails that each partner has their own individual goal in which they are achieved

by partnering together and working closely together to achieve the desired value. This partnership

demands greater efforts from both partners than in previous partnerships. Companies in this

partnership can provide volunteers from their employees to the NPO to support the cause and

motivate the employees (Lorenzen, 2012). This practice can eventually enhance the company’s

image.

4) Strategic partnerships

This type of partnership is defined as the “integrative stage” or as a “symbiotic value creation

relationships” where this type of partnership is considered the most strategic, and most advanced

form of corporate-NPO collaboration. This type of partnership expects the highest continuity. The

exchange of ideas, efforts, and the concept of value creation of resources leads to acquiring a closer

20
and more dependent relationship between partners. One important characteristic of this partnership

is that all CSR activities are linked to the corporate and NPO’s strategies and include intensified

personal interactions. The case studies investigated in this research reflect different types of

partnerships; mainly the second, third and fourth types of partnerships (Lorenzen, 2012).

2.4 General Motivations for engaging in CSR Partnerships

After understanding the framework of the design and implementation of CSR partnerships, it is

important to know what drives corporates to partner with non-profit organizations. Non-profit

Organizations include international organizations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

When NPOs partner with corporates for CSR projects, both stakeholders achieve results that

neither would have been able to achieve on their own (Menden, Vleuten, Pirzer, Blomberg, 2019).

Nevertheless, while businesses have been perceived as only caring about the financial gains and

profits, the non-profit sector has been perceived as only concerned with working on environmental

or social goals such as poverty reduction. This stereotyping has led both sides to have mutual

suspicion and NPOs perceived themselves to be the losing party at collaborations due to their

weaker bargaining power and that the corporations are the ones who benefit from the partnerships

(Damlamian, 2006). These perceptions have then changed as NPOs have taken an active role in

supporting micro-enterprises, gained more expertise and knowledge found in the private sector

and established links and networks with producers of primary goods. The frontier between both

sectors has started to break down as more links between the two sectors have developed. The

author of ‘NPO Partnerships for sustainable development’ argues that NPOs are now managed

with huge turnovers, revenue targets and marketing strategies, similar to how corporates are

managed (Damlamian, 2006).

21
Over the years, companies and NPOs have discovered several reasons to partner. The innovations

arising from both partners have led to establishing a new standard of environmental excellence

where partnering with NPOs help address issues that the company might not have the expertise in.

Also, NPOs provide an outside perspective, and a testing ground for the effectiveness of the

proposed approach. Not only do partnerships enable companies and NPOs to leverage skills that

both do not have within their organizations, but it enables them to enjoy a better public image

resulted from successful partnerships, which increases their credibility (Damlamian, 2006).

From the NPO’s perspective, CSR partnerships between NPOs and corporates can help NPOs

increase their impact because they can improve their activities on a wider scale and on a broader

market eco-system since solutions are centered on the participating company's core business with

the goal of establishing financial sustainability. This enables NPOs to have a positive impact on

more people, while equally benefiting the company by giving them license to operate, and the

ability to build on the existing corporate structure and resources (Menden, Vleuten, Pirzer,

Blomberg, 2019). In addition to the reasons corporates and NPOs are becoming equally interested

in partnering for CSR projects, companies are in many times equally interested in improving the

broader market ecosystem and therefore NPOs are a natural partner for such efforts due to their

field of expertise in that scope (Menden, Vleuten, Pirzer, Blomberg, 2019). However, in order for

NPOs to attract partnerships, NPOs should better understand the business priorities and core values

to be able to sell the benefit of the partnerships and how the NPO can positively impact and add

value to the corporation (Damlamian, 2006).

From the corporate perspective, the increased interest of consumers, investors, and NPOs on

corporate practices and impacts whether they are positive or negative, has pushed for more

responsible business practices. Corporates have also recognized the importance of brand image in
22
relation to company’s performance and are now seeking “NPOs as partners to help them

implement solutions to development problems” (Damlamian, 2006, p.7). Practicing CSR grants

companies a license to operate in the market and increases their credibility. Respectively, since

NPOs are seen as more trusted and reliable by the public on issues concerning social and

environmental responsibilities, and a company that is associated with an NPO consequently

receives more positive public image.

2.5 Structure of Partnerships

A well-structured partnership not only creates lasting changes, but also leaves a legacy of

innovations for others to adopt. One of the main criteria that impacts the success of a partnership

is the extent to which its project is structured. According to the article published by the

Environmental Defense Fund and Global Environmental Management Initiative (GEMI) in 2008,

“A Guide to successful Corporate-NGO partnership”, there are three crucial phases in the CSR

project that aids in structuring and organizing partnerships between the corporate sector and NPO

partnership. The first phase is the project design phase which includes developing the criteria for

selecting partners, selecting the right partner, and structuring agreements (GEMI, 2008). Seitanidi

& Crane (2008) suggested that the decision of selecting partners is influenced by the organization’s

strategic objectives and it is crucial to establish partnership objectives that are agreed by both

partners in the first stage of partnership. The second phase includes project execution where cross

sectional teams are assigned for the project, a project leader from each partner is assigned to lead

the project, and partners develop a clear project plan. The third phase entails measuring and

communicating results which includes measuring the benefits gained to the business and the NPO

as result of the partnership, measuring the impact on the social and the environmental aspects as

23
result of the project, and lastly includes properly communicating the results of the successful

partnerships. Communicating and announcing the results on social media platforms or press

release can positively impact the public image of both partners.

Nevertheless, according to the authors Seitanidi and Crane (2008), there are six ‘crucial steps’ for

building successful partnerships. The first step is for the NPOs and companies to identify clear

objectives of the CSR project that they both want to achieve. It is very important to establish

partnership objectives that are agreed upon between both partners. The second is for both to meet

with senior level commitments from both organizations. This helps in creating more trust and

credibility when senior leaders meet, they are aligned on the mindsets of each and learn more about

the culture of each partner. The third step towards building successful partnerships is to establish

clear communication framework between both partners. This refers to agreeing on the reporting

methodology, channels of communication and meeting times. The fourth step imply assigning key

leaders to lead the project, follow up on timelines and measure outcomes. The fifth step suggests

sharing commitment of resources. This entails companies to abide by the agreed financials stated

in the partnership contract and the NPO to commit to provide the resources they have (Seitanidi &

Crane, 2008). The last step is to measure and evaluate the partnership outcomes. In order to

measure the outcomes of the partnership it is essential to first set the objectives and the measurable

criteria to which both partners can measure the progress and outcomes of the CSR project.

Companies can then evaluate the partnership with a qualitative assessment to measure their

reputation and consumers’ purchasing decisions (GEMI, 2008).

24
2.6 Benefits of Private-Non Private Partnerships

Damlamian (2006) suggested in his article ‘Corporate-NGO Partnerships for Sustainable

Development.’ that both private and non-private stakeholders gain mutual benefits from CSR

partnerships. The non-profit sector includes international non-profit organizations and non-

governmental organizations, while the private sector refers to multinational corporations. The

author outlines the benefits gained by the private sector and those gained by the NPO sector.

2.6.1. Benefits to the Private Sector

While it is often argued that NPOs benefit more from partnering with the private sector, there are

long term benefits that the private sector can enjoy from those partnerships. There are three main

benefits gained by the private sector from partnering with non-profit organizations for CSR

projects.

1) Image and credibility

Generally, one of the most important criteria of success for companies is their reputation among

their investors and consumers. A company’s performance has greatly become dependent on its

ability to impact stakeholders and since stakeholders have become more interested in what

companies do for their society and the environment, companies have been encouraged to practice

more CSR. CSR partnerships can provide companies an opportunity for positive brand image and

market development (Tennyson, Harrison, & Wisheart, 2008). They do that through partnering

with a trusted source such as the NPOs who have gained public trust through their activities. Also,

the increasing consumer education, has encouraged more companies to take an active commitment

towards their society and changed their approach to raising profits through cause related

marketing. Accordingly, corporates who partner with NPOs are recognized as trustworthy, more

25
credible in the public eye and have a sense of commitment to social responsibility (Damlamian,

2006).

2) Financial sustainability

As mentioned earlier, the ultimate goal for companies to achieve is to sustain their long-term

profitability. Long term profitability requires forecasting the future demands and needs of

consumers. Some of the benefits of partnering with NPOs is that they have an increasing

knowledge of market needs and better understanding about on ground conditions and can facilitate

a company’s approach to production markets and local consumption (Damlamian, 2006).

Therefore, companies who aim to enter profitable markets are advised to diversify their partners

and collaborate with more non-profit organizations.

3) Better CSR policy as part of a corporate strategy

Many companies recognized the importance of partnering with NPOs as it is argued that they play

a role in enhancing the quality of company’s policies. According to Sylvaine Poret (2004),

companies are not equipped with the necessary knowledge to address social related issues, such

as: education, biodiversity and poverty. While NPOs are found to have more experience in

environmental and social issues and are more connected to community residents, hence they can

identify community needs and are able to meet those needs with their equipped professional

expertise (Damlamian, 2006). Therefore, NPOs are considered to have a major role in helping

companies to not only achieve their CSR strategy but in also developing their CSR strategy.

26
2.6.2. Benefits to the Non-Profit Sector

Likewise, there are three main benefits gained by the non-profit organizations when partnering

with private corporations for CSR projects.

1) Financial sustainability and funding diversification for projects

In general, the aim of cross-sector collaboration is to create a “collaborative advantage” for the

partners involved (Davidsdottir, 2016). Though NPOs are constantly under pressure to fund their

projects. They struggle to find different sources of funds that are independent of the government,

therefore, partnering with corporates act as one of the most critical sources of funding for NPOs.

However, one of the main challenges that NPOs face is the ability to find direct contacts in the

corporate sector who they can approach as a potential donor (Damlamian, 2006). Therefore, it is

important for NPOs to build good personal relations and network as they act as a key role in

establishing partnerships with corporate executives and in sustaining those relations for future

partnerships.

2) Access to free marketing

An NPO’s reputation and legitimacy can fairly increase through cooperating with a reputable

company (Poret, 2014). As corporates invest heavily in publicizing their CSR activities for social

causes, NPOs enjoy free publicity to their organization and activities as well. NPOs in that matter

gain access to free advertising through corporates’ marketing activities which simultaneously

improves the NPO’s brand image (Damlamian, 2006).

27
 3) Management skill for improved efficiency

Literature showed that there can be greater gains from partnerships, that go far beyond the financial

gains for the NPOs. When NPOs partner with corporates, they experience the behaviors of the

corporate world in terms of seeing insights of different management styles, business skills, learning

new business terminologies, and risk-taking behaviors. NPOs can benefit from the corporate

partnerships by enhancing their efficiency standards “inspired by corporates influences into its

practice” (Damlamian, 2006, p.16). During partnerships, NPOs can enjoy some help from

corporations to upgrade their strategic planning skills, financial management and information and

technology skills. Similarly, through board meetings, project development and employee

volunteerism, NPOs can capitalize on their skills and expertise of corporate representatives to acts

as and become more businesslike.

2.7 Private-Non-Private Partnership Challenges

As partnerships bring benefits to both sectors, they also come with some challenges. Out

of the most common challenges faced during partnerships are project coordination and policy

making between various departments. Most companies’ executives argue that although NPOs have

the good expertise, information, and credible assets they need to be more assertive on their

objective and goals, and need to become more structured and organized in presenting their ideas

when approaching companies. In other words, they need to position themselves as more

professional in communicating to and dealing with corporates to attract corporates to partner with

them. On the other hand, businesses must not impose their action plans when entering partnerships

with NPOs and instead should develop an agreed road map through coordinating with NPO leaders

to achieve a successful CSR project and partnership. Also, business leaders should genuinely be

28
dedicated to achieving the agreed set of goals listed in the partnership contract and be willing to

contribute in community involvement. This could be done through providing employees to

volunteer and share supplies and resources to support the NPO during the execution of the CSR

project (Damlamian, 2006). Furthermore, there are other challenges faced in partnerships that

arises during the process of determining the right criteria for selecting the CSR partner, designing

risk assessment techniques, the ability to reach to and adapt to agreements, agree on objectives,

reporting mechanisms, managing crises, and balancing personal relationships to sustain ongoing

organizational institutionalization (Seitanidi & Crane 2008).

Nonetheless these challenges can be minimized by having a guideline that directs corporates on

how to engage in partnerships. Studies have shown that many countries such the US, Germany,

India, Netherlands, and England have established CSR consultancy firms that provide strategic

advice to corporates on their CSR strategies. These consultancy firms bring in consultants who

hold MBA and PHD degrees to empower the corporate world with CSR strategies. Among the

other services they provide are: CSR and sustainability strategies tailored to each company, reports

and assessments on sustainability measurement, CSR auditing, training and workshops to provide

corporate leaders with comprehensive insights into CSR and sustainability exploring how best to

apply the concepts to their own organization. Reports offered can be focused on carbon usage,

health and safety, human capital management or other metrics. Moreover, the CSR consultancy

firms also collaborate with different industries and provide tailored CSR programs according to

their needs. For example, an American consultancy firm based in San Diageo called “All4one” has

collaborated with companies like: Black and Decker, Pfizer, Volvo, JPmorgan, Shell and H&M to

consult them on their CSR strategies and provide trainings, workshops, and sustainability reports

(Peloza & Falkenberg, 2009).

29
2.7.1. The Challenge of Selecting the Right CSR partner

In efforts of achieving a successful CSR partnership, NPOs and corporates must choose

the right partner who compliments both of their needs. NPOs must identify the competencies of

the company they want to partner with by developing a clear understanding of the company’s

needs (Menden, Vleuten, Pirzer, Blomberg, 2019). In the same time, companies should also take

an ‘outside-in’ perspective to enable NPOs to better understand what they are looking for. In other

words, the way in which both stakeholders position themselves in the market is what will attract

the right partner; both stakeholders need to know what their core skillset are and what they can

offer. By using the right language approach, NPOs need to clarify their value proposition and

companies need to determine precisely what they want the company to contribute in. Having said

this, the way in which NPOs present themselves with and communicate plays a crucial role in

attracting companies to partner with them (Menden, Vleuten, Pirzer, Blomberg, 2019). For

example, NPOs need to use some business language terms when pitching their ideas to companies.

They can also organize their activities in professional presentations, flyers and even have a website

to market their value proposition when presenting their work to companies. Resolving these

clarifications at the initial start of the communication between the two stakeholders and using the

right language makes it easier to identify the right partner and build a strong relationship

throughout the partnerships (Menden, Vleuten, Pirzer, Blomberg, 2019).

30
2.8 The Role of Government in CSR Partnerships

First and foremost, good governance is necessary for an ideal vision of a world without

poverty and a world of sustainable growth and development. Good governance is not only about

the supply side of laws, policies, and regulations, but it also includes the mechanism, processes,

and institutions in which citizens express their interests, are able to exercise legal rights and

mediate their differences (Škare & Golja, 2014). The government has an important role in devising

policies to support and promote CSR and in developing and enforcing regulations to promote good

governance of CSR activities. In fact, some CSR development advocates suggest that governments

should adopt a proactive role in linking CSR agendas with the actual development needs. Shared

responsibility between the business, the state, and the civil society is suggested by this argument

in order to solve significant societal and economic problems (Refaat, 2014).

In addition to the government’s ways to promote and encourage more corporates to embrace CSR,

governments can create various incentives that focus on the long-term sustainability of

corporations and the society, while also creating a win-win situation for corporations. They can do

that through providing different tax benefits to companies performing CSR as a way of recognizing

and appreciating their efforts (Škare & Golja, 2014). Moreover, governments can also clarify the

expectations of businesses with regard to CSR by developing a clear strategy for sustainable

development that acts as a guideline for corporates to refer to. Lastly, governments should request

for CSR reports when giving investment funds (Škare & Golja, 2014).

The literature shows that the governments of Western countries are more regularly and actively

carrying out corporate governance on topics related to CSR. In Sweden, for example, the

Government’s view on a number of issues linked to CSR that are presented by the parliament

include: fair working conditions, human rights, environmental considerations, anti-corruption

31
efforts, as well as gender equality, gender diversity, taxation and business ethics (Ministry of

Enterprise and Innovation, 2016). While in Malaysia, the government supports CSR by providing

tax incentives and CSR awards to those corporates who embrace CSR. They lead CSR by

following a guideline developed to regulate CSR activities and contributions to the society. They

then recognized the need to set up public and private partnerships that would contribute in

achieving more CSR goals (Hamida, Atanub, Saleh, 2014). Moreover, the Canadian government

developed a CSR Strategy, called “Doing Business the Canadian Way”. The strategy promotes

Corporate Social Responsibility in Canada’s extractive sector abroad and builds on experiences

and best practices gained since the launch of the first CSR strategy established in Canada in 2009.

Later on, this strategy was enhanced by the government to demonstrate the Canadian

Government’s expectations of Canadian companies to promote Canadian values and operate with

high ethical standards. It also included the Government’s initiatives to promote Canadian

companies to strengthen their CSR practices (Global Affairs Canada (GAC), 2014).

2.9 The Evolution of CSR in Egypt

The practice of CSR is on the rise in many countries in the Middle East. In Egypt, CSR has

gained recognition in the past decade. Dr. Barsoum and Refaat (2014) have argued that CSR

operates with high complexity in Egypt, where “CSR is seen as a western version of a long standing

philanthropic tradition that is rooted in religion” (Barsoum and Refaat, 2015 p.12). The private

sector is seen as the main driver of development and the leading force of economic growth.

Scholars have argued that the religious fabric of the Egyptian society naturally advocates for caring

for the less privileged and in fact, may be one of the main driving forces behind business owners’

willingness to incorporate CSR behaviors in their organizations (Refaat, 2014). Although CSR in
32
Egypt, specifically in the private sector has witnessed a histrionic change in the past decade,

Shamseldin (2006) argues that many corporate executives still lack information on the perception

of CSR from the business perspective. This includes how the business community views CSR in

terms of its needs and usefulness to the business, and what are the incentives provided by the

government to motivate more companies to contribute in CSR activities (Shamseldin, 2006).

Nevertheless, in the 1990s, CSR in Egypt witnessed some major changes. The law no.4 for

environmental protection was issued to promote the protection of the environment and treatment

of hazardous waste and in 1997 the Ministry of Environmental Affairs was established to promote

the collaboration between national and international development partners who promote

environmental policies (Safwat, 2012). Furthermore, in 2004, the private sector, government, and

civil society announced the adoption of the UN Global Compact; a framework developed to allow

firms to reaffirm their corporate social responsibility and devotion to ethical standards. The

Compact requires companies to follow ten ethical standards in the areas of: human right, labor, the

environment, and anti-corruption. In fact, Egypt was the first Arab country to adopt the UN Global

Compact, resulting in more than 50 Egyptian companies embracing the global standards in the

Global Compact (Shamseldin, 2006). In 2010, the Ministry of Finance released the Public Private

Partnership Law 67/2010. The law regulates the public-private partnership in infrastructure

projects, public services, and utilities. Additionally, the law provides a framework for large scale

complex projects between the public and private sectors and brings new ways for private sector

contracting. Through this law, the private sector is allowed to submit their proposals directly to

the government without the need for submitting the projects through competitive bidding process

as previously done (Ministry of Finance, 2015).

33
Moreover, the role of the government in promoting CSR undertaken by the civil society remains

uncertain. Shamseldin (2006) argues that the government should motivate the role of the civil

society by encouraging the non-profit sector to promote social responsibilities. He recommends a

development of a framework that provides a set of factors to be in place in order to sustain the

development and engagement of businesses in CSR activities. These factors fall under three main

categories:

a) Drivers: The government needs to provide market incentives or sanctions to drive more

corporates to undertake CSR activities.

b) Available capacity and resources: the government needs to provide financial means of

support in place for corporates to seek to when implementing their CSR strategies.

c) Access to rewards: Governments can provide CSR awards to recognize the CSR actions

undertaken by companies as means to appreciate their actions towards sustainable

development and to encourage more companies to do the same (Shamseldin, 2006).

Notwithstanding the lack of research on CSR partnerships in Egypt, available evidence from the

media sources suggests that many companies in Egypt carry out their CSR activities through

partnerships with NPOs or governmental entities. For example, Pepsico Egypt has partnered with

the Ministry of Education to provide football leagues dedicated to find top talents, enhance young

players’ skills, and offer them opportunities to join national teams. Another fast moving consumer

goods company; Unilever has partnered with Greiner Packaging, an international organization, to

introduce their Knorr powder line in full recyclable packs made with recycled polypropylene

plastic as they have committed to cutting down their usage of virgin plastic in efforts to support

the issue of climate change (CSR Egypt, 2020). There are countless of other current partnerships

34
undertaken between companies and NPOs that aim at pursuing CSR activities. However, even

these news media sources lack depth as they do not give a full picture of how these collaborations

are established and on what basis do partners choose each other. Also, although many companies

in Egypt announce their CSR activities on their websites and publish their CSR reports, many of

them do not add information on how the selection of their CSR partners happen, what steps do

CSR leaders consider in designing suitable CSR partnership strategies, and how the

institutionalization among the involved partners occur (Lee, 2008). Other evidence from media

sources and online platforms include the establishment of CSR conferences and events that host

representatives from different stakeholders and entities across Egypt to discuss CSR best practices

and related issues. These events and conference are hosted by CSR experts mostly coming from

the private sector background as well as from the non-profit organizations sector and they aim to

increase awareness among companies and institutions on their responsibility towards society and

achieving sustainable development through their business. Two of the most popular and biggest

events of these forms are the Egypt CSR and Fingerprint events. These events also aim to create

an interactive environment where key CSR representatives from different stakeholders in Egypt

are gathered and facilitates strategic level discussions, clarifies and unifies visions, facilitates

partnerships, and provides solutions to the most important issues that will help in achieving Egypt

Vision 2030 (CSR Forum, 2017).

In addition to the development of CSR as a concept and in practice in Egypt, in February 2016,

the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development established the national agenda of Egypt

Vision 2030 that announced the long-term strategic plan for achieving sustainable development

objectives and principles in Egypt (Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, 2021). The

agenda shows the state’s contribution to serve the UN global agenda. In 2018, Egypt decided to

35
update the agenda with the participation of stakeholders from different sectors including experts

from the private and civil society sector in efforts of keeping track with the changes happening in

the local, regional, and global context. Egypt Vision 2030 agenda consists of seven comprehensive

objectives that significantly address improving the standard of living of the Egyptian citizens,

ensure the consolidation of just principles and social inclusion, address sustainable economic

growth, improve investment in citizen’s scientific knowledge and creativity, address the impacts

of climate change, and focus on governing state institutions and society.

Chapter Summary

To sum up, to achieve sustainable long-term partnerships, it is important that all partners

involved understand the opportunities and challenges and align on key elements before agreeing

on the partnership. Each partner must clearly communicate their priorities with the other partner.

It is important to have clear and transparent communication on risks and on the things that are

considered as nonnegotiable for each partner before agreeing on the partnership to avoid any

challenges during the implementation of the CSR project (Menden, Vleuten, Pirzer, Blomberg,

2019).

In Egypt, although there have been major improvements and development in the CSR practice

from the private sector, the NPOs and the government during the past decade, there still lies very

limited literature towards the current partnership models between CSR stakeholders in Egypt, as

well the government’s role in promoting CSR practices and partnerships in comparison with

literature present for government’s role in the western countries. Accordingly, this study adds

significant contribution to the existing literature and will shed light on the government’s role

36
towards CSR partnerships in Egypt, being one of the very few researches on CSR partnerships in

Egypt. The study will also add significant importance for policymakers in Egypt in their attempts

to refining existing partnership policies.

37
 CHAPTER THREE
THE CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

3.1 Introduction
This chapter presents the conceptual framework developed for this study and identifies the four

main stages of the CSR partnership model.

3.2 The Model

The conceptual model adopted for this study is an input-output framework that demonstrates how

CSR partners develop, implement, and evaluate partnerships. The model draws on the five stages

of CSR partnership developed by Seitanidi and Crane (2008) and is adopted and modified by the

researcher, leading to success or failure. The two CSR stakeholders assessed in this study are: the

business and the non-profit Organizations. The non-profit organizations include the non-

governmental organizations and the international organizations. The business refers to business

corporations in the private sector. In this model, the ultimate purpose of businesses engaging in

partnerships is to implement successful CSR for sustainable development where CSR reflects the

three pillars of sustainable development: the economic, the social and the environmental pillars.

The model outlines CSR partnerships as a framework for sustainable development. The five stages

of the partnership model are: determining an appropriate CSR Strategy for successful partnerships,

determining the criteria for selecting the right partner, designing the project outline and appropriate

risk assessment techniques, agreeing on the objectives and reporting mechanisms and other

systems, and balancing the necessary personal relationships with needs for ongoing organizational

institutionalization. The last stage of the partnership model is the evaluation and review of the

impact and targets achieved.

38
Figure 1. Conceptual Framework: CSR partnership model

Source: Author’s Adaptation of Seitanidi and Crane (2008)

3.2.1 CSR Partnership Strategy Development

This stage includes the extent to which each partner has established their CSR strategy that agrees

with the organization’s mission and values and aligns with the government’s CSR strategies. This

stage also implies partners to know the CSR strategy and objectives of each other to ensure they

both have the same goal to reach and the same mindset. On this basis, partners start attracting each

other based on common objectives. If this stage is clear it makes the partnership selection much

easier.

3.2.2 Partnership Selection

This stage includes taking the decision to choose one partnership over the other. To come up with

the decision the corporation needs to talk or preferably meet with various Non-Profit Organizations

to determine the potential of each. Also, a number of partnership selection criteria needs to be set

to enable the right decision making. These criteria include:

• Personal chemistry between the core people across the two organizations.

39
 • Organization’s previous experience working in the field of expertise.

• Cost-effective relationship: is the money and time invested worth the expected outcome.

• The organization has a safe and secure profile.

• Both the NPO and the corporate have similar values, beliefs and concerns (Seitanidi &

Crane, 2008).

3.2.3 Partnership Design

This stage involves setting on and agreeing on the partnership objectives. Partners can share a

memorandum of understanding, review the expected process and approve.

Another area of partnership design is agreeing on the partnership management where both partners

agree on the reporting and structure. In this phase several departments in both organizations can

be involved (Seitanidi & Crane, 2008).

3.2.4 Partnership Institutionalization and Implementation

The stage of implementation refers to the extent to which the partnership becomes accepted within

all the partners involved. When institutionalization occurs, it means that even if crisis occurs the

relationship between both partners will not get affected and rather they will both think of ways to

resolve the crisis. It refers to the partners’ ability to disagree without causing termination to the

relationship (Seitanidi & Crane, 2008). This can be done when the core people of the partnership

can refer to their relationship by using the personal pronoun “we” instead of “us” or “them”, enjoy

asking each other for advice, encourage new ideas and “increase their contacts through the

networks of their partner’s organization” (Seitanidi & Crane, 2008, pg.11).

40
Another important part in the partnership institutionalization stage is to accept the other

organization’s strengths and weakness and to accept disagreements. To master this, each partner

should list the responsibilities of each during the phases of implementation and who are the

stakeholders accountable for every action during the implementation phase (Seitanidi & Crane,

2008).

3.2.5 Partnership Review and Evaluation

The final stage includes evaluating the partnership’s actual outcomes verses the expected. It also

includes evaluating the extent to which both partners were satisfied not only from the results they

have achieved together but from the whole process of dealing with each other throughout the

partnership. Based on the success or failure of the partnership, decisions on partnerships renewal

and continuation are evolved (Seitanidi & Crane, 2008).

3.3 Hypotheses

Based on the conceptual framework and the literature reviewed so far, I hypothesize in this study

that:

a) When there are clear CSR strategies amongst partners it leads to more successful CSR

partnerships results.

b) When the right CSR partners cooperate in CSR projects, it can result in reaching

greater economic, social, and environmental impact to the country.

The second hypothesis is supported by the fact that successful CSR partnerships can lead to

supporting a greater number of families and enhancing the quality of life and standard of living of
41
bigger communities in more geographical areas. Also, successful CSR partnerships can create

more stability of jobs and create new job opportunities from the ongoing CSR developments and

projects. From the economic perspective, the more sustainable the partnerships are, the more

economic benefit gained for the two stakeholders due to higher shared value to shareholders

involved. CSR partnerships can also lead to enhanced business culture and working environment

due to the culture adopted towards helping others and giving back to the community.

Consequently, successful CSR partnerships can also lead to creating enhanced CSR programs that

promotes innovations and scientific research generating more income. Eventually, with

more successful CSR projects taking place, better solutions to resource management and efficiency

will be formed (see Figure 2 below).

Figure 2. Successful CSR partnerships in relation to sustainable development.

Source: Author’s Construct.

42
 CHAPTER FOUR

METHODOLOGY AND RESEARCH DESIGN

4.1 Introduction

This chapter explains the methodology applied in the study. The section covers the research design,

sources of data, approaches to data collection and analyses. Principally, the research employed a

qualitative research methodology based on semi-structured interviews. Interviews were carried out

with Cairo-based businesses active in financing CSR projects for sustainable development, Non-

profit organizations in Egypt who partner with corporates for CSR projects and government

agencies personnel. Representatives of businesses were selected from a cross-section of different

business industries engaged in consumer goods, pharmaceuticals, professional services and oil and

gas sector. Selection of business representatives was restricted to private sector companies and

not public companies, due to their strong financial stability, strong awareness on the importance

of CSR as a concept and the availability of resources. Representatives from non-profit

organizations (NPOs) included both local NGOs and international nonprofit organizations. Other

interviewees include representative(s) from the governmental sector and Cairo based experts on

CSR partnership best practices.

4.2 Research Design

This research included a sample selection of seventeen participants from different key CSR

representatives of Cairo-based companies, NPOs who invest in CSR projects aimed at advancing

sustainability in Egypt, and government representative(s) and CSR experts. With respect to

businesses, the research interviewed representatives of a cross-section of different business

43
industries who have invested in CSR projects and declared focus on sustainability initiatives.

Accordingly, the researcher selected companies from various industries of Fast-Moving Consumer

Goods (FMCGs)1, telecommunication, professional services, oil and gas and pharmaceuticals. The

important issues explored during the interviews concerns: the relation between the implemented

CSR projects and the three pillars of sustainability: the society, the environment, and the economy,

how companies’ CSR strategies are developed to serve the three pillars. Other equally important

issues explored included the criteria for selecting partners, their CSR partnership strategy

development, the main motivation that drives companies to conduct CSR activities, the ways in

which the CSR strategy is established, the challenges faced during the implementation of the CSR

partnership and if there are any evaluation methods undertaken after completing the partnership to

evaluate the success of the whole projects. The primary focus of these questions was to ultimately

examine the need for innovative platforms and processes, for example web platforms or CSR

consultancy, that aims to connect corporates with the right CSR stakeholders to assist with

implementing their CSR strategies and projects. The interviews were semi-structured and four of

them were conducted in the office locations of the CSR representatives of the selected companies.

During the interviews, the researcher observed the number of CSR employees present in the CSR

Department, how big the CSR Department is, and how CSR is incorporated within the culture of

the company. The research uses three case studies to further explore and analyze the partnership

stages that takes place between CSR partners in Egypt.

With respect to NPOs, the researcher focused on those that are involved in CSR partnerships in

Egypt and conduct CSR programs and activities. They included International Organizations or

1 FMCG: Fast Moving Consumer Goods refer to products that are consumed quickly and bought at a relatively
low cost.
44
local Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). During the interviews, respondents were asked

to define CSR, and this would enable the researcher to check if there is a difference in the way

each partner defines CSR. All respondents (including respondents from the business sector) were

asked to share their full experiences with CSR partnerships, including the selection process, the

project implementation and the challenges faced in those partnerships. They were also asked to

share their experience in relation to the role of government in CSR partnerships. Finally, all

respondents were asked to express their recommendations for improving CSR partnerships in

Egypt for sustainable development.

Furthermore, selection of CSR experts added valuable and rich insights to the study and data

collection. One of those is Dr. Hatem Khater who is the founder of Terous Misr Foundation, a non-

profit organization that aims to become the development gateway and promote optimal use of

resources in Egypt. He has also chaired and founded two CSR conferences; CSR Forums and

Fingerprint events two of which all respondents in the study are aware of and attended both

conferences. He is the board member of John D. Gerhart Center at the American University in

Cairo, and the board member of CARE Egypt, Egyptian Food Bank, Egyptian Cure Bank,

Egyptian Clothing Bank and the secretary general of Ferdaws Foundation and Tebarak

Developments. His insights added value to the research from a CSR consultant and expert point

of view on CSR partnerships strategy development and dynamics in Egypt.

Nevertheless, respondents were reached through a snowball technique which enabled the

researcher to expand the network of the research participants. It’s important to note that four of

the interviews were conducted before Covid-19 struck Egypt and these were held at the

respondents’ head offices. While the rest were then continued during Covid-19 pandemic. These

45
interviews were held on virtual communication platforms like Microsoft Teams and Zoom, notably

with open cameras to provide more transparency, encourage more open discussions and to provide

a sincere experience for the respondents. Furthermore, before the scheduled interview, the

respondent received an email that included the objective of the interview, the consent form, and

some of the questions that will be asked during the interview to get them prepared beforehand. The

email also informed them of the duration of the interview to set their expectations and book their

full time. The interview included a total of 30 questions. The researcher wrote down all the answers

during the interviews on excel and Microsoft word platforms and chose not to record them as 80%

of the interviews were held with very senior representatives of highly reputable corporates and

NPOs, hence, recording the interview would have added sensitivity for their position and would

not allow them to openly and transparently express their opinions. 70% of the interviews were held

in Arabic and were then translated to English by the researcher right after the interview.

4.3 Sample Selection

The sampling frame consisted of the two main stakeholders involved in CSR partnerships for

sustainable development in Egypt. Those include companies from the private sector, naming the

Multinational Corporations (MNCs), and the Non-Profit Organizations (NPOs); those include the

International Non-Profit Organizations (INPOs) and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs).

The sampling frame also includes CSR consultants and representative from the government sector.

The selected sample of seventeen respondents comprised:

➢ Seven MNC Corporations: representing different industries from fast moving consuming

goods, telecommunication, professional services, and pharmaceutical.

46
 ➢ Seven Non-Profit Organizations: those include two International Organizations and five

local NGO’s.

➢ Two CSR experts: the respondents are considered CSR experts or consultants for CSR

because of their rich experience in CSR and their work experience with different

stakeholders.

➢ Governmental sector representative: Media and Communication Executive at the Minster

of Education and Technical Education.

Table 1. Sample Selection.

Referred name
Type of Stakeholder Name, Respondent position throughout the
Stakeholder Industry and Size and title research study
Large Sized International Former Director and INPO 1
Organization (CARE Board of Trustees
Egypt) Member
Large sized International Project Manager INPO 2
Organization

Middle Size NGO Executive Manager NGO1

NPO Large sized NGO Head of Public Relations NGO 2

(Food Bank) and Communication

Large sized NGO Founder and Chairman NGO 3

(Nada Foundation)
Middle Sized NGO Chief Executive Office NGO 4

Large Sized NGO Account Manager NGO 5

Large sized MNC CSR Manager MNC 1

(FMCG: PepsiCo Egypt)
Corporates
(MNEs)
Large Sized MNC Corporate Shared Value MNC2
(FMCG: Nestle Egypt) (CSV) Manager

47
 Large Sized MNC Head of MNC3
(Pharmaceutical & Communications and
Biochemistry: Corporate Responsibility
AstraZeneca)
Large Sized MNC Head of Public and MNC 4
(Oil and Gas) Governmental Affairs &
CSR Oil & Gas
Committee Chairman
Large Sized MNC Senior CSR Associate MNC 5
(Professional services)
Large Sized MNC CSR Manager MNC 6
(Telecom)
Middle Sized MNC CSR Manager MNC 7
(Information Technology)
Former head of CSR Dr. Hatem
Forums, Head of Khater
Fingerprint events,
Founder of Terous
foundation, board
CSR member of CARE
Consultant(s)/ Egypt, Egyptian Food
Advisor(s) Bank, Egyptian Cure
Bank, Egyptian Clothing
Bank
Large Sized MNC Former Head of Dr. Sherif Eissa
(Orange Egypt) Environment
Sustainability
Office of Ministry of Media & Media &
Education and Technical Communication Communication
Governmental
Education Executive at the Executive,
Entity
Minster of Education MOE
and Technical Education
Note: some respondents and entity names are kept private upon the respondent’s request.

48
 CHAPTER FIVE
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

5.1 Introduction

This chapter presents all the collected data, analyze, and compare data gathered from all

main stakeholders involved in CSR partnerships in Egypt. To start with, the data collected and

findings from the interviews answer the four identified research questions set forth in this study.

Accordingly, the findings and data analysis are divided into four sections to answer the four

identified research questions set for this study.

The first section presents the findings on existing policies and current government’s practices

present to encourage CSR partnerships between corporates and NPOs. The second section analyzes

data collected and findings on strategy development for CSR partnerships. The section presents

the first two stages of the conceptual framework developed for this study: the CSR partnership

strategy development stage and the partnership selection stage. The third section covers the CSR

partnership dynamics and challenges between the corporate sector and NPOs in Egypt through

analyzing three different case studies. This section reflects the partnership design and partnership

institutionalization and implementation stage of the conceptual framework. The fourth section

presents the key factors that lead to success or failure of CSR partnerships in Egypt.

49
5.2 Government’s Approach Towards CSR Partnerships and Existing Policies

This section highlights the current policy and law that currently support CSR partnerships

between the public and private sector in Egypt. It highlights the government’s general approach

towards CSR partnerships in Egypt. Based on the interview with the respondent from the Ministry

of Education and Technical Education, whenever proposals are received from the private sector

on CSR projects, the company’s profile is sent to and has to be approved by the National Security

Authority first. After that, a copy of the tax registry file of the company has to be also approved

by the National Security Authority and copies of national IDs of the CSR directors or leaders of

the company are also kept in the companies file at the ministry. Lastly, the ministry has to ensure

that the potential partner has the required budget to fund the whole program.

While the administrative structures put in place by the government are commendable, it

was evident that some respondents from the corporate sector consider those structures to be

limiting factors when it comes to partnerships with the government in CSR programs. A

respondent from a large-sized telecom company noted that:

“We mainly partner with NGOs as the government’s

criteria and protocol is a lot to follow” (CSR Manager,
MNC 6).
Despite these seemingly obstructive government procedures, organizations still find the input of

government to be useful. According to the Head of Communications and Corporate Responsibility

at AstraZeneca; a multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company in Egypt, the Ministry

of Health is actively participating in campaigns like ‘100 Million Healthy lives Campaign’ which

is a campaign promoting the treatment and early dedication of Hepatitis C virus. This campaign

directly supports their goal in distributing more vaccinations and reaching wider geographical

50
areas. The respondent truly believes that the government is supporting the private sector CSR

initiatives and expressed as follows,

“The government’s approach to CSR has dramatically

changed as looking at a decade back, the government
would have considered partnering with the private sector
as a sign of weakness. Today, the government is working
on achieving Egypt 2030 Vision and thus understands that
partnering with the private sector is within their own
benefit of achieving these goals and making an impact in
sustainable development” (Head of Communications &
Corporate Responsibility, MNC3).
The agenda of Egypt 2030 is playing a major for the private sector companies and in also changing

the direction of the government towards promoting the role of the private sector in their CSR

activities. In addition to the government’s recognition of the importance of partnering with the

private sector to promote CSR for sustainable development, the government has invited

representatives from the private and civil society sector to lead the Egypt 2030 Vision committee

responsible for establishing the goals for sustainable development. According to Dr. Hatem

Khater2, who was one of those who were invited to lead the committee,

“The Ministry of Planning and Economic Development

invited leaders from the private and civil society sector as
they wanted to incorporate the mindset from those sectors
onto the vision” (Dr. Khater, 2021).
The respondent stated that this is a major change in the government’s behavior towards the private

and NPO sectors, and that this wasn’t the case a decade ago when ideas coming from these sectors

were not heard. Moreover, according to the respondent from the Ministry of Education and

Technical Education, there are many CSR partnerships that the ministry has been involved in from

2Dr. Hatem Khater is the CEO and founder of Terous Foundation, is the board member of John D. Gerhart
Center at the American University in Cairo. He is also a board member of CARE Egypt, Egyptian Food Bank,
Egyptian Cure Bank, Egyptian Clothing Bank and the secretary general of Ferdaws Foundation and Tebarak
Developments.
51
partnering with a recycling company in Egypt to employ a recycling process at public schools to

partnering with PepsiCo Egypt for the “Pepsi Football School League” program that holds football

tournaments among 7500 public schools nationwide to discover talented football players, find the

top performer players and provide them with the opportunity to join numerous Egyptian clubs and

win many champions. This program lasted for 12 years and is still running till date and has

benefited 800,000 students. The Ministry of Education and Technical Education has also partnered

with Nestle Egypt for the ‘Nestle for Healthier Kids’ program. The program aims to raise healthier

kids and prevent child obesity through conducting numerous training and workshops to educate

students and their parents on healthy eating habits. This program has been going for 5 years and

have reached more than 1500 public schools in different governates around Egypt. The Ministry

has also partnered with large-sized local NGOs such as Food Bank for a nationwide CSR project

that aims to provide healthy schools meals at public schools that provides the nutritional value for

kids and thus enables them with the energy needed to focus on their studies. Through this

partnership, the Food Bank has provided 13,125,700 meals to 29,000 students in 42 schools around

ten governates in Egypt: Cairo, Giza, Daqahleya, Fayoum, Bani-Sweif, El Menya, Asyut, Sohag,

and Red Sea.

Furthermore, respondents from the corporate sector agreed that there are recognizable efforts from

the government’s approach towards CSR. One respondent from the corporate side said,

“The government recognized that without partnering with

the private sector they will never progress” (CSR
Manager, MNC6).
The same responded suggested to have more CSR events and conferences that are promoted by

the government to establish a link between the main stakeholders in CSR: the corporate sector and

NPOs. The researcher learned that there are current CSR conferences that are conducted in Egypt

52
such as CSR Forums and Fingerprint conference. These conferences aim to provide a link and to

create an open channel and network between the government, corporate and NPO sectors to

achieve a clear direction towards CSR and sustainable development in Egypt. All respondents

interviewed in this research have attended these conferences and believe that these events add

value in creating more networks for CSR, and one of the respondents of the research, Dr. Hatem

Khater, has chaired and founded both events. In addition to the government’s efforts in endorsing

CSR in Egypt, a respondent from the corporate sector expressed,

“Companies are not afraid anymore to approach the

government for CSR projects like they used to be a decade
ago, as we feel the government is now supporting new
ideas for CSR projects” (Senior CSR Executive, MNC5).
Several respondents from the corporate sector mentioned that government requests yearly CSR

reports to check that companies are taking responsibility towards their surrounding communities

and are utilizing their resources by giving back to their country.

Another suggestion that was discussed throughout the interviews is that the NPO sector should be

playing the role of continuing the government’s projects and not replacing them. There should be

an open channel of communication from the government to NPOs to direct them on the areas of

needed support where they can bring their efforts into place rather than having each NPO select

randomly the areas they want to develop,

“The government needs to direct NGOs on the areas of

needed development and allow more NGOs to support and
work with the government on more CSR projects” (CEO,
NGO4).
Further discussion on this matter with respondents from the NPO sector showed that there is a lack

of cooperation on CSR projects between the government and NPO sector, specifically with middle

53
to smaller-sized local NGOs, and that the government role is more sensed in monitoring their

projects and funds, rather than working with NPOs for CSR projects.

There were many recommendations presented by the respondents of different stakeholders

interviewed in this study on the government support they need. Respondents from the corporate

sector recommended that there should be a published platform for communicating CSR projects

and programs undertaken by the three stakeholders to increase awareness on the government’s

priorities and that ensures the private and non-profit sector’s activities are in line with the

government’s priorities. They suggested that this platform should be fueled and authorized by the

government to ensure sustainability and justice of resource distribution. Similarly, the CSR expert

interviewed in this study also recommended to have a publicized online platform that is governed

by the government and one that aims to create a CSR community, create more network and

reachability between stakeholders, acts as a ‘matchmaker’ between the three stakeholders and

provides a potential for new partnership opportunities to arise.

“This platform needs to involve proper GIS mapping and

one of the most important factors of its success is to have
accurate and up to date information. If the platform lacks
this then it will not be of any usefulness “(Dr. Khater,
2021).
The GIS mapping is a geographic information system that integrates many types of data and is

specialized in organizing and managing information. It is used as a framework for gathering and

analyzing data. The respondent suggests that the platform must be always refreshed with up to date

information to reflect on ground and relevant information, thus providing maximum benefit to

CSR stakeholders. The respondent also suggested that this platform should be regulated by a third

party, namely the government, so as to prevent data monopolization from a single organization.

From the literature and throughout the research conducted, the researcher reflected that there still

54
remain many opportunities that anticipates the government to expand its CSR projects and

partnerships with the private and NPO sectors.

5.3 CSR Partnership Strategy Development

To start with, it is safe to say that when respondents were asked on how they decide on their CSR

strategies, the answers differed from one stakeholder to another. From the forgoing discussions, it

was evident that corporates and NPOs who have international headquarters, namely, multinational

corporations and international non-profit organizations, develop their CSR strategies at their

international headquarters. Their CSR strategy reflects a localized version of their international

strategy that aligns with the Egyptian government’s CSR strategies in Egypt 2030 vision, the needs

of their surrounding communities and reflects the organization’s mission and value. Responses

from some businesses suggested that certain CSR strategy developments are influenced by a vision

for ‘creating shared value’ vision. One of the respondents’ company names their CSR department

‘CSV’3, that is Creating Shared Value. The respondent explains the reason for that,

“We call it Creating Shared Value because of the long-

term shared value that we give benefit to all stakeholders
involved and to ensure sustainability of the benefit to the
community around us” (CSV Manager, MNC2).
Similarly, a respondent from another large sized MNC in the FMCG industry explained their

interpretation of CSR as follows:

“We define CSR as creating shared value for the society

and the company” (CSR Manager, MNC1)

3 CSV: Creating Shared Value is the new way of identifying corporate social responsibility
55
CSR strategy development in the private sector also takes into account the government’s needs as

well as the needs of the company’s surrounding communities and individuals. One respondent

opined that,

“Our standards and criteria are governed towards the

benefit of the community. Our CSV vision and strategy has
to be in line with the government strategies and with
country priorities” (CSV Manager, MNC2).
Another respondent even mentioned Egypt 2030 Vision and the UN sustainable development goals

(UN SDGs) as a useful guideline for the government’s CSR objectives that enables them to match

their own CSR strategies with that of the government’s one,

“While we create our CSR strategy, we refer to the UN

SDGs as well as to Egypt 2030 Vision for direction and
guideline” (CSR Senior, MNC5).
In addition to the importance of developing a clear CSR strategy, Dr. Khater4 explained that the

concept of CSR in Egypt began in the 1990’s yet was not a famous concept around that time. He

said,

“The fact that CSR became an established department with

its own reporting lines and budgets allocated to is a huge
progress that we have witnessed throughout the years. CSR
as a concept should be rooted within the company’s values,
and companies should be acting as a good citizen as it is a
part of the community and thus it should have a
responsibility to give back to their community” (Dr.
Khater, 2021).
The same respondent believes that there are two important factors that results in greater CSR

impact, these are, having a unified strategy in which the three stakeholders can work towards, and

4Dr. Hatem Khater is the CEO and founder of Terous Foundation, is the board member of John D. Gerhart
Center at the American University in Cairo. He is also a board member of CARE Egypt, Egyptian Food Bank,
Egyptian Cure Bank, Egyptian Clothing Bank and the secretary general of Ferdaws Foundation and Tebarak
Developments.

56
having more partnerships made between the three stakeholders. Furthermore, Lee (2008) strongly

supports the concept of creating share value where it is critical to sustain the surrounding

communities of business corporations they are operating in as these communities act as the

corporation’s customers and thus, it is considered a mutual shared value for both the customers’

wellbeing and the corporates’ business to sustain if the company wants to sustain its profits. On

the contrary, from the discussions and interviews with the NPO sector, NPO’s CSR strategies are

developed within their roots of founding the organization. Their strong expertise, ability to create

tangible impact, reputation, strong operating power, and high belief in the concern they are tackling

is what attracts partnerships from the corporate sector to happen. A respondent from a middle-

sized NGO explained how their NGO’s CSR strategy was developed,

“The NGO was established at first with the sole purpose of fixing
water channels in Upper Egypt. We did not need to align on Egypt
2030 Vision because the whole city suffered from lack of water
infrastructure and sewage systems, so the problem was already
obvious to start operating on” (Executive Manager, NGO1).
The city that this respondent referred to is located in Upper Egypt. Also, another respondent from

a middle-sized NGO highlighted that their partnership strategies may sometimes lack clarity with

regards to who to partner with, when and how. In such situations, the NGO has to take the steps

that satisfy their best interest. This may include partnering with the private sectors as they have

huge budgets for CSR projects that would enable the NGO to eventually achieve its own targets,

whether it is covering a total number of households with shelter and ceilings or to connect a whole

governorate with water sewage systems. This justifies the NGOs’ continuous efforts in attracting

partners from the corporate sector to partner with them.

Another important insight that was reflected from the interviews on developing CSR strategies for

partnerships is that, corporates’ CSR strategies are developed to match the company’s product

57
portfolio and what they can offer through their area of expertise. For example, Mr. Sherif Eissa,

former Head of the Environmental Sustainability department at Orange Egypt mentioned their

CSR project ‘Mobile Agriculture’ where Orange Egypt had partnered with Rise AUC to develop

a tool whereby regular phone messages were sent to farmers to increase their awareness on

important tips for better agriculture. This project was in relation to the fact Orange Egypt is a

telecom service provider and thus can send messages to the farmers through their mobile phones

using Orange network. Likewise, Pepsico Egypt’s CSR manager heavily emphasized on the

importance of relating their CSR strategy to the products and services that the company provides.

For example, one of the main CSR programs that Pepsico Egypt has partnered with an NPO and

the governmental sector is the “She Feeds the World” program which aims to increase crop yields

in Egypt and to build more sustainable potato supply chains. As Pepsico Egypt is well known for

selling chips naming “Chipsy”, their CSR strategies are developed in line with the products that

they offer and targets to find innovative ways to improve productivity for farmers and increase

crop yields for potatoes through sustainable developments.

Further probing questions focused on how businesses select the right CSR partner who is the ‘best

fit’ to collaborate with and execute their CSR strategy. One important reflection from the

interviews is that both respondents from the corporate and NPOs sectors revealed that the choice

of partner depends on the size of the project they want to undertake.

“If the desired outcome of the CSR strategy is to create a

nationwide scale impact, then this would lead to more
partnerships with different sectors including the
government sector to achieve this goal” (CSV Manager,
MNC 2).
Correspondingly, the CSV Manager of MNC2 believes that when CSR strategies are clear among

each partner, it helps every stakeholder to take the next best decision in their CSR partnership and

58
 can lead to more successful CSR partnerships. The researcher combined all the important criteria

for selecting the right partner for CSR that were stated by the respondents from the corporate and

NPO sector during the interviews in the below table to compare the insights from both sectors.

The respondents’ insights heavily supported the second stage of the conceptual model; the

partnership selection stage and showed that the partnership selection phase is actively practiced by

both stakeholders in Egypt.

Table 2. Partnership selection criteria as Expressed by Corporates and NPOs

Corporate Partnership Selection criteria NPO Partnership Selection criteria
• The reputation of the desired NPO must be • The industry’s reputation of CSR budget
of high standard. This includes the expenditure. For example, industries like the
reputation of the NPO’s owners and that of banking, medical and FMCG sectors are well
the organization’s team member and known for their CSR spending, while industries
includes the NPO’s word of mouth like automotive are not known for their
reputation. participation in CSR. Accordingly, corporates
who are not usually engaged in CSR should be
approached by NPOs with innovative ideas for
relevant CSR projects.
• NPO’s expertise and specialization must • The company is preferred to have a true belief
match the company’s CSR strategy and of the CSR cause. Having mutual interest and
focus area to develop. belief on the CSR project is key.
This includes their expertise in the field of
CSR development, their geographical
presence in the governorates of interest to
develop, and their previous history of
partners.

• The size of the impact the NPO is able to • NPOs select companies based on their
achieve. connections and network. This makes it easier
This means that if the company wants to for NPOs to approach companies and in
create a great impact, it is most likely to building trustworthy relationships, as the
partner with a bigger sized NPO. company would already know the contact
person approaching from the NPO.
• NPOs must have a safe profiling platform,
the below two factors are key to secure a
safe profile:
o Corporates carry risk assessment
checks on the NPO’s owners and board
of directors to ensure security
59
 clearance on their profiles and no
previous relation with money laundry
or fraud.
o NPO’s owner must not be a member of
a competitor’s company board of
directors as this would lead to conflict
of interest in the partnership

The study also revealed that the use of contact database and personal networks for finding

appropriate corporate partners is also widely practiced amongst in the partnership selection stage.

A respondent from a large-sized NGO explained that this includes the personal network that team

members within the NGO have, the personal contacts that the owners of the NGO have and the

contacts saved from previous partnerships with corporates that are hand overed to team members

across the years. Another respondent from a large sized NGO believes that there is a direct relation

between the ability of establishing more partnerships with the private sector and the reputation and

profile of the founder of the NGO.

“Credibility is what makes one NGO different than the

other. Credibility of the shareholders and the CEO as well
as their reputation are very important for the image of the
NGO in the eyes of the private sector” (Project manager,
NGO5).
The respondent explained that if the founder is a successful public figure, this directly impacts the

success of the NGO in a positive way and makes partnerships with the corporate sector much

easier. Furthermore, based on a respondent from a middle-sized NGO, social media platforms also

play an important role in the partnership selection stage. Social platforms such as Facebook and

Instagram play a huge role in showcasing the NGO’s projects through the posting of videos and

pictures. This enables corporate and governmental sectors to view the NGO’s work and see their

impact,

60
 “These videos make a huge introduction to our work for
clients before they meet with us and help them understand
the kind of impact we are able to create” (Executive
Manager, NGO1).
The respondent added that when the NGO started to post more videos and photos on social media

platforms, more companies started to contact them for partnerships,

“Because the founder of the organization is a religious

public figure, whenever he posts a video that shows the
NGO’s work and projects, we receive an immense
viewership and followers that further leads to establishing
new partnerships” (Executive Manager, NGO1).
Another respondent from a large-sized NGO stated that when she got hired in her

role in the organization, she was the one approaching the corporate sector for CSR

partnerships, however, when she started posting videos of the NGO’s work on

Facebook and Instagram, she started receiving phone calls from the corporate

sector to schedule an introduction meeting,

“Social media presence makes a huge difference with

companies from the private sector. The way you display
your work can attract more companies to partner with you”
(Account Manager, NGO5).
This was a very interesting finding that shows how social media platforms contribute to CSR

partnerships between the three stakeholders. In addition to creating new ways for attracting

corporates to partner with NPOs, one surprising finding concerns the way NPOs enhance their

internal systems to cater for the private sector. Some NPOs have established relatively small

departments specifically tailored to focus on the CSR communication and relations with the

private sector. This department focuses on expanding the NPOs connections and networks,

attracting potential partners, utilizes social media platforms to provide more information on the

NPO’s projects and areas of expertise and communicates in the right ‘corporate language’ with

their clients from the corporate sector. A respondent from a middle-sized NGO further explained
61
that when the NGO establish a communication with a potential partner from the corporate sector,

they then schedule a meeting where members of those departments go and present their profile

and work on professional platforms such as PowerPoint presentations to the companies. Those

members remain responsible for the ongoing communication with the selected partner throughout

the CSR project and are responsible to maintain a good relationship with them. Additional

questions probed on what drives corporates and NPOs to partner with the government for CSR

projects, the researcher found out that there are three main factors that influence them to partner

with the government sector. These are: the desired size of the impact they want to achieve from

their CSR project; the support provided by the government in providing access to the selected

areas of development in Egypt and finally, as stated by most respondents from the corporate and

NPO sectors and also supported by literature, and lastly the license for both sectors to keep

operating.

5.4 CSR Partnerships Dynamics between Corporates and CSR stakeholders in Egypt

Partnership Design and Partnership Implementation stages

This section analyses three different partnership case studies to answer the research

questions. Each case study reflects different partnership dynamics and challenges between the

three CSR stakeholders involved in this study. The researcher assesses how those partnerships

were formed, analyses the design of the partnerships, and lastly evaluates the challenges and

limitations of the partnerships. The researcher also assesses how the partnerships reflect the three

pillars of sustainable development: the economic, social, and environmental pillars. The case

studies present the partnership design and partnership implementation and institutionalization

stages of the conceptual framework.

62
5.4.1 Cast Study 1: Partnership between Government, Corporate and INPO

Partnership Formation

Case one is a partnership between the government sector, namely the Ministry of Social Solidarity,

a large sized multinational corporation in FMCG5 that specializes in food and beverage: Company

A, and an international non-profit organization: INPO A, that is actively involved in developing

programs in Upper Egypt that are specifically focused on women’s’ rights, education, governance,

civic engagement, resource management and agriculture. The partnership program in question is

a program that aims to increase income and promote crop yields in rural governorates in Egypt

namely: Behaira, Giza, Minya, and Beni Suef; through providing resources and good practices

training to female farmers with a total investment of $3.7m (Ministry of Social Solidarity, 2019).

According to the CSR Manager at Company A, the company initially wanted to develop a CSR

program that is related to the company’s product portfolio and since one of the best-selling

products the company sells is chips, the CSR department wanted to support the communities

involved in producing the chips as well as to promote crop yields in a sustainable manner.

Company A reached out to INPO A because of its history of partnering with large sized MNCs

and its rich experience in the area of Company A’s CSR interest: women agriculture and women

rights,

“We approach partners based on their reputation, power to

create impact, and expertise” (CSR Manager, MNC1).
In addition to the reasons why both partners agreed to collaborate together for this CSR program,

during the interview with the board of trustees member of INPO A, the organization has partnered

with many reputable stakeholders from the corporate sector, the non-profit international

5 FMCG: Fast Moving Consumer Goods companies

63
organizations sector and government entities, some of these are Mondelez, UNWomen, Danone,

HSBC, Microsoft, Barclays, and many more. The respondent further explained the rationale

behind selecting the right CSR partner,

“To agree on a partnership, we go through a process of

mapping potential partners, analyze their CSR approach
and initiate relationships. The company’s approach must
align with our value system and talk in the same ‘CSR
language” (Board of Trustees Member and Former
Director, NPO1).
Moreover, according to the CSR Manager at Company A, the company knew about the INPO from

the reputation of their work and that of the board of the directors of the INPO. After meeting with

board of directors of INPO A, both partners established a project leader from each partner to lead

the whole project and be responsible of the communication. Company A also conducted field visits

with INPO A to observe their previous CSR work and impact. After that, they agreed on the roles

of each partner in the CSR program.

Partnership Analysis

In this partnership, each partner had a specific and clear role to play that was agreed upon before

starting the CSR program. Based on the interviews with both partners, Company A provided the

funding for the whole program whilst INPO A applied an integrated approach to remove the

barriers and challenges that female farmers face in agriculture. It did this through the provision of

tools, inputs, agricultural training and financial services and markets to help beneficiaries sell their

products (Ministry of Social Solidarity, 2019). Based on the respondents from Company A and

INPO A, the roles were agreed upon through several meetings with the board of directors and CSR

manager and head of department from Company A. Moreover, the respondent from Company A

64
added that the success of the CSR program greatly impacts the decision of the partnership

continuity. They measure that through,

“The number of beneficiaries, media coverage and press

release, and focus groups measure the success of the CSR
program. The partnership must feed your reputation” (CSR
Manager, MNC1).
While for both partners, the success of the CSR partnership is measured by the level of

agreement on the CSR strategy, the strategic alignment of missions, and the agreement on the

shared and added value to the society. The respondent from company A added that the level of

engagement and responsiveness of the NPO is crucial sustaining the partnership relationship.

In this case study, the Ministry of Social Solidarity supported the CSR partnership by providing

the database of the 30 million citizens from which INPO A and Company A can access

information related on the female farmers and their families. Moreover, this partnership

structure followed the strategic partnership type that was modeled by Damlamian (2006) as it

includes strategic value creation relationship between both partners. Both partners in this case

study are powerful organizations with high level of expertise and credibility where both have

exchanged high level of resources and ideas.

This program reflected the three pillars of sustainable development: economic, environmental, and

social pillars and is in line with Egypt’s 2030 vision to achieve gender equality, especially in the

agricultural sector which contributes heavily to Egypt’s national GDP. From the social perspective,

the program aims to not only improve the nutritional wellbeing of 10,000 small scale households

with women of elder age and children who are under the age of two, but also helps promotes

women empowerment through engaging both women and men in addressing challenges of

women’s entry in agricultural supply chains (Ministry of Social Solidarity, 2019). From the

environmental perspective, the program aims to provide sustainable practices related to water
65
usage in agriculture while also improves water replenishment and provides access to reproductive

resources. From the economic perspective, the program helps increase crop yields and thus

increase incomes in the mentioned governates (Ministry of Social Solidarity, 2019).

Partnership Evaluation and Limitations

This partnership is different from the other two because the government was not the strongest

partner. The government did not play the role of initiating the partnership but provided the support

needed to promote the CSR program. From the interviews and discussions with both partners, the

researcher reflected that a key success factor in establishing this partnership was trust in the

reputation of both organizations, strategic alignment on missions, and the share in contribution of

knowledge and resources from each partner. Agreeably the literature suggested that when the right

partners work together for CSR programs and projects, they can achieve results that neither of

them would have achieved on their own (Menden, Vleuten, Pirzer, Blomberg, 2019).

The only limitation the researcher have reflected from such partnerships and throughout other

interviews conducted within the NPOs sector is that there are many smaller-sized NPOs in the

market who tackle the area of women agriculture but because they do not have the financial

capacity and connections to be visible nor have a platform to showcase their activities, have limited

opportunities to partner with such large-sized multinational corporations . They struggle to sustain

their funding, and in many cases as described by the project manager at the Food Bank NGO,

“Many smaller sized NGOs are self-funding to maintain

their NGO up and running in the market and the large sized
ones are monopolizing the market” (Project Manager,
NGO2).

66
The researcher reflected that large-sized NPOs can engage smaller-sized NPOs to implement CSR

projects thus providing more opportunities for smaller-sized NPOs to play a role in CSR

development and have higher visibility from the eyes of the private sector. One respondent from

the corporate sector further explained the reason why corporates prefer to partner with large-sized

NPOs,

“It is much easier to get the approval for partnership with

well-established large-sized NPOs then with small sized
ones because we can guarantee the expected outcome and
impact and are sure that the NPO have all the legal rights
to activate their projects on ground” (Senior CSR
Executive, MNC5).
The respondent clarified that this approach helps the company to avoid facing unnecessarily and

costly challenges from the CSR partnerships. The CSR consultant interviewed in this study also

shared his experience in tackling this limitation. Through founding a large-sized local NGO called

“Terous Foundation” that was established in 2012, the NGO aimed to improve the CSR concept

and current partnerships in Egypt through sustainable developments. Their mission is to develop

and provide new solutions to achieve impactful and value-added partnership. It does this through

organizing CSR conferences with the government and private and civil society sector to improve

CSR partnerships, providing clarity on current CSR strategies and through enhancing current

networks and connections between both sectors. The respondent explained,

“The foundation increasingly focuses on what we call the

‘matchmaking’ process, where the NGO acts as a match
maker connecting those who have common CSR objectives
and beliefs from the NGO sector with the private sector and
coordinates projects between both sectors” (Dr. Khater,
2021).
Moreover, the ‘match-making’ process was an interesting reflection by the researcher that supports

the researcher hypothesis that successful CSR partnerships result when CSR strategies among

partners are clear. Moreover, Terous Foundation aims to increase awareness and change the
67
mindset of the three stakeholders to adopt the idea of working together as one team to reach one

common goal. They consider themselves as a credible house for expertise in coordinating

partnerships for sustainable developments in Egypt and aim to become the development gateway

and promote optimal use of resources in Egypt. Before agreeing on the partnership, the foundation

sends to each partner a survey to fill in order to understand their expected outcomes from the

partnership and what resources can the partner offer in the partnership. This helps allocate

responsibilities and duties of each partner in the right place during the partnership. The researcher

reflected that such approach is very similar to the job of the CSR consultants reviewed in the

western literature. In the end, the researcher suggests that large sized NPOs can also involve

smaller sized NPOs to implement their CSR projects, thus leaving a wider opportunity for smaller

sized NPOs to work in CSR and interact with the private sector.

5.4.2 Case Study 2: CSR partnership between multiple companies, the multiple ministries and the
NGO.

Partnership Formation
This case study presents a unique partnership between the NGO sector, governmental and private

sector, where, for the first time, all companies who are competing within the same industry; oil

and gas, unite for one common good cause. In September 2020, the Ministry of Petroleum and

Mineral Resources and the oil and gas CSR committee that includes nineteen companies in the oil

and gas industry united to partner with the Ministry of Health and a large-sized local NGO; NGO

B to provide support needed to combat the global pandemic Covid-19. Through working with

MOP and the CSR oil and gas committee, contributions reached 4.5 million towards purchasing

the required medical supplies from medical gowns, goggles, surgical masks, and other medical

68
supplies. The respondent who is working in a large-sized MNC in the oil and gas sector and leading

the CSR oil and gas committee explained the initiative,

“The initiative was named ‘One Hand’ representing the

unique collaboration and union of all the companies in the
oil and gas sector uniting for the first time to achieve one
common goal” (Head of Public and Governmental Affairs,
MNC4).
From the response of the respondent, all oil and gas companies have formed a CSR Committee

under the supervision of the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, where they meet on a

regular basis to discuss initiatives and programs to promote CSR in Egypt. The projects are then

supported by the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources. Through this CSR committee,

during the Covid-19 pandemic all companies in the oil and gas sector collaborated and signed a

protocol with the Ministry of Health and Population and partnered with NGO B to support the

medical sector in Egypt. Moreover, NGO B was responsible for getting the medical supplies from

suppliers. The Oil and Gas CSR Committee worked directly with the Ministry of Health to receive

information on the hospitals that lacked medical supplies and tools to help them fight Covid-19

pandemic, funded the supplies that were brought by NGO B and delivered the supplies to the

Ministry of Health and Population which was the one responsible for distributing the supplies to

hospitals.

Partnership Analysis

This partnership is unique because of two main reasons. The first is that the government plays a

strong role in promoting the establishment of the CSR oil and gas committee that combines leaders

from different companies in the oil and gas sector to talk about CSR solutions and sustainable

developments for surrounding communities. Secondly, it is unique in combing companies from

the same field to partner together for CSR. The respondent from the oil and gas MNC interviewed

69
in this study has chaired the CSR oil and gas committee for three consecutive years. The

respondent explained that the formation of the CSR oil and gas committee developed from the

several meetings and conferences that were organized by the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral

Resources. The responded stated that,

“The Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources is

very active and promotes CSR projects within the oil and
gas companies that they have promoted the rise of the Oil
and Gas CSR Committee “ (Head of Public and
Governmental Affairs, MNC4).
Nevertheless, the respondent from MNC4 6added that the reason for the success of this partnership

is the clear division of roles that each stakeholder had, and the spirit derived from working together

as one team for the same goal. Before agreeing with NGO B for the partnership, the committee

agreed on the role division of every stakeholder involved in the CSR partnership. This insight

reflected on the partnership design stage of the conceptual framework. The respondent then

conducted field visits to observe the actual work and projects of the potential NGO even if they

had not yet finalized their selection in their project. This is part of the pre-assessment conducted

to make sure they are heading towards the right NGO for their project. The respondent explained,

“I want to see how genuine the NGO is, how far has their
impact can reach and are they putting the budget in the
right place or not” (Head of Public and Governmental
Affairs, MNC4).
Another respondent from the corporate sector, specifically in the telecom industry, also agreed on

the importance of meeting with NGO’s leaders before establishing the partnership,

“We first like to meet with the NGO’s committee members

and president of the organization to observe their culture,
mindset, and values before agreeing on the contract. This
saves time and cost of entering an unsuccessful
partnership” (CSR Manager, MNC6).

6 MNC4: Oil and Gas Multinational Corporation

70
Another respondent from a large-sized local NGO also agreed that if the client is too tensed, they

invite the client for a field visit to let them see their work and impact on ground to make them more

relaxed with the project they are financing. Nevertheless, the respondent from MNC4 also added

that the size of the company’s name and logo on the project banner is not of matter as much as

ensuring the budgets allocated for the CSR project are spent in the right place and where they are

most needed. The same respondent also stated that during the partnership with NGOs, they like to

transfer the corporate culture onto that of the NGO as some NGOs need to be more structured in

dealing with the corporate sector and more challenged in what they are capable of achieving. The

respondent added,

“When NGOs are more educated on the culture of the

company, this creates better results of the CSR partnership
and achieve greater impact from the CSR project” (Head
of Public and Governmental Affairs, MNC4).
According to the respondent, one of the key success factors of the success of the partnership in

this case study is the fact that NGO B comprehended the corporate culture due to its previous

experience with large-sized multinational corporations. The respondent stated that NGO B knew

that CSR oil and gas committee wanted to work in fast speed and that deadlines mattered to the

committee. Therefore, they put that factor into high consideration during the partnership.

Similarly, a respondent from a middle-sized local NGO stated that they prefer to partner with only

those companies who truly believe in the cause and not just partner for the sake of raising funds.

The respondent expressed,

“We capitalize on the private sector partnerships because

they have the strongest belief for CSR and we only partner
with those who belief in the cause” (Founder and
Chairman, NGO3).
The partnership structure in this case study reflected the independent value creation partnership

type supported by Damlamian (2006), where each partner had their own task and mission to
71
complete and by partnering together, they achieved a common desired outcome. Moreover, this

partnership reflected the social and economic pillar of sustainable development through supporting

the medical sector in Egypt and providing the required supplies to promptly support covid-19

patients and consequently decrease the number of deaths. This CSR project also saved financial

costs to hospitals through funding the supplies delivered and promoted the economic cycle for

suppliers of the medical supplies.

Partnership Limitation and Evaluation

One limitation that the researcher observed in this case study is the lack of structured evaluation

process of the partnership. According to the respondent from MNC4, the closure of the partnership

happened when all supplies were delivered to the hospitals in need. On the contrary, a respondent

from the NPO side stated that during partnerships the corporate sector asks for regular reports as

part of monitoring and evaluating the CSR progress,

“Although sometimes the requests are considerably high

and load the team, the team has to deliver all reports on
time and within the requested standards of the client. We
need their funds in the end of the day” (Head of Public
Relations and Communications, NGO2).
Additionally, another respondent from a pharmaceutical large-sized MNC explained that they have
an evaluation survey that is distributed among all participants by the end of the CSR program to
measure its success. However, the respondent mentioned that it is very challenging to receive back
the survey completed,

“Monitoring the outcomes of CSR project is not the

easiest at all as participants become very resistant to
answer surveys” (Head of Communications and
Corporate Responsibility, MNC3).
The respondent also added that the challenge of collecting back the feedback surveys became even

more challenging during the Covid-19 pandemic as there were more restrictions added to visiting
72
the participants in person. Another partnership challenge that was raised during the interview with

the respondent from this case study is the resistance of NPOs to adhere to challenging requests by

corporates. The respondent explained that this is a common challenge when dealing with NPOs and

referred to an example with another NGO partnership for developing school’s infrastructure. The

school’s admin and teachers were resistant to attend the awareness session conducted by the MNC

and the NGO, so the NGO requested the MNC to change the school and to work on another school

where the admin would be more acceptable and cooperative with the CSR program. However, the

respondent took this is an opportunity to enhance the mindset of both the NGO to be more persistent,

and the teachers and admin in the public school to become more flexible in accepting new ideas. The

respondent explained,

“We challenge the NGO to be persistent and to have other

ways of making things happen” (Head of Public and
Governmental Affairs, MNC4).
The respondent described that any challenges faced during the partnership is taken as an

opportunity to improve the mindset of both the NGO and the public school’s admin and teachers.

5.4.3 Case Study 3: CSR Partnership between the government, multiple corporations, and local
NGO

Partnership Formation

This case study presents more than three partners cooperating in one partnership for CSR.

In 2018, The Ministry of Education and Technical Education partnered with a large-sized telecom

MNC: Company C, a large-sized local bank: Company D, a large-sized local NGO: NGO C, to

create a competition that aims to encourage the Egyptian youth to come up with new ideas and

innovations and present them to the Ministry of Education and Technical Education along with the

three other partners. The partnership was initially founded by Company C who approached
73
Company D and NGO C to partner together for this CSR program. After the three partners agreed

on the partnership. Company C approached the Ministry of Education with the CSR project

proposal. According to the respondent from the Ministry of Education and Technical Education, a

filtration process is conducted to the proposal to check whether the ministry can agree to

collaborate in the partnership or not. The ministry needed to check the three stakeholder’s tax

registry files and get the approval of the stakeholders’ profile clearance by the office of National

Security. Moreover, the four partners held several meetings to divide and clarify the roles of each

partner, with Company C in lead due to its strongest financial contribution. Company C and D

sponsored the whole program from a financial standpoint and were responsible for publicizing the

competition on social media platforms to invite students from different governorates to apply.

Local NGO C was responsible for executing the program from a logistic standpoint. NGO C

organized the training workshops, provided students with necessary supplies, and closely followed

up with students on their submissions and deadlines. The Ministry of Education and Technical

Education supported this CSR partnership by creating student IDs on the Egyptian Knowledge

Bank; the world's largest digital library that grants unlimited resources exclusively for Egyptians

(The Egyptian Knowledge Bank, 2021). The student ID creation confirms the official joining of

the competition and allowed students to have free access to the Egyptian Knowledge Bank.

Through the Egyptian Knowledge Bank, students utilized the unlimited resources and scholarly

information provided to support them with their innovations and ideas. The winners of this

competition eventually received presidential recognition during the World Youth Forum event

held at Sharm el Sheikh and the CSR program received an immense media publicity.

74
Partnership Analysis

This partnership is unique in combing more than three partners to collaborate for CSR program.

In this partnership, According to the respondent from the Ministry of Education and Technical

Education, Company C provided support not only through financial means but also through letting

the company’s employees volunteer in the project by giving training workshops to the students at

the public schools selected for this project. Lorenzen (2012) supported this act by expressing how

great the impact becomes for employees who volunteer as generally employees are more motivated

working in a company that supports its communities.

Furthermore, this CSR partnership provided key benefits to the society and the economy. From a

social perspective, the workshops and training invested for the students increased their level of

expertise and knowledge and provided access to unlimited information and hence increases the

scientific knowledge of students. From an economical perspective, the student’s innovations can

eventually turn into real business plans and models generating more income and respectively

contribute positively to the country’s economy. Lastly, some of the innovations and ideas created

by students presented better resource management and targeted issues concerning climate change.

This partnership structure represented the partnership with reciprocal exchange outlined by

Damlamian (2006) as partners collaborated for a cause-related marketing relation that supports the

mission and values of each partner.

75
Partnership Limitation and Evaluation

The respondent from the Ministry of Education and Technical Education mentioned that some of

the challenges faced in this partnership came into place when the banner for the program was

created and each partner had to pick the size of their name and logo. The respondent expressed:

“Partners would challenge each other on whose name

would come before whom depending on their financial
contribution” (Media & Communication Executive,
MOE).
The researched reflected from this insight that company’s image and reputation remains as one of

the key motivation factors for corporates to carry out CSR projects. Also, another challenge faced

was in the role division in some of the minor tasks of the project when it was not clear where the

responsibility of the task lies. For example, during the program implementation, it was not clear

on who would cover the finances of transporting students from their homes to the training

workshops. The Ministry of Education and Technical Education office needed to contact NGO C

and Company C and D to check who will cover those costs before proceeding with the task. The

respondent mentioned that this would result in some delay in conducting the workshops. This

showed that although there was role division taken place in this partnership as mentioned by the

respondent during the interview, some details of role division were missed out or lacked clarity.

In fact, according to the CSR consultant, one of the main challenges of CSR partnerships between

the three stakeholders occur when there is lack of working in a ‘scientific manner’, meaning that

there is still lack of the team spirt and transparency in sharing information between all three

stakeholders involved in the partnership. The respondent said,

“Some partnerships in Egypt still lack the concept of

working as one team. Partners should know that collective
power is much stronger than single power” (Dr. Khater,
2021).

76
5.5 Success and Failure of CSR Partnerships

From the interviews and discussions, the researcher noted that there are key factors that

affect the success or failure of CSR partnerships in Egypt. According to CSR consultant

interviewed in this study, there are two important factors that influence the success of CSR

partnerships in Egypt, these are; having a unified strategy among the three stakeholders set for the

partnership and to encourage the three stakeholders to have more partnerships made between them.

A respondent from the pharmaceutical industry agreed on the same suggestion and said,

“Imagine if there are 10 partners on the table, can you

imagine how the impact will look like” (Head of
Communications and Corporate Responsibility, MNC3).
In addition to having a unified strategy among the partners involved in a CSR program to achieve

more successful partnerships, communication is a crucial factor that corporates evaluate the

success of the partnership upon. Ease of communication and having clear communicated

responsibilities and defined roles among involved team members in partnerships are important

factors that the private sector looks at in the evaluation process of the partnership. As another

respondent described,

“It is very important to have clear and established roles and

to appoint a project leader from each partner who can
follow up on the project and provide progress updates”
(CSR Manager, MNC6).
Moreover, another interesting reflection the researcher noted during interviews is that many NPOs

have taken considerable actions to enhance their internal systems to cater for the private sector.

One of the respondents who work in a middle-sized NGO explained that their NGO has taken

considerable actions to enhance their internal systems to cater for the private sector. The NGO has

established a relatively small department that is specifically tailored to focus on the CSR

communication and relations with partners from the private sector. This department focuses on

77
expanding the NGO’s connections and networks, attracting potential partners, utilizes social media

platforms to provide more information on the NGO’s projects and their areas of expertise, and

communicates in the right ‘corporate language’ with clients from the corporate sector. The

researcher reflected that this insight was agreed upon by respondents from the corporate sector

when they mentioned the importance of adopting the corporate culture in the NPO and how this

removes communication barriers during partnerships. Furthermore, one important insight that the

researcher learned throughout the interview with the Head of Communications and Corporate

Responsibility at Astrazeneca, a pharmaceutical and biochemistry multinational corporation, is

that corporates usually prefer to continue partnering with NPOs that delivered successful CSR

projects before with them. She explained,

“It’s within my own benefit to continue with those who

gave us a good experience as they already know our
mindset and the kind of impact we like to achieve” (Head
of Communications and Corporate Responsibility, MNC 3).
The researcher reflected that trust and compatibility are important in sustaining CSR partnerships

among the private and NPO sector. Other respondents from NPO sector mentioned the importance

of building a relationship with their clients during the partnerships as is this is an important factor

in sustaining partnerships. Lastly, an insightful way of thinking about how CSR partnership should

behave in Egypt to result in establishing more successful and sustainable partnerships for CSR

developments was brought to attention by the CSR consultant interviewed in this study. The

respondent explained the importance of adapting a CSR ecosystem in which every sector is

dependent on the other to sustain its own existence in the market. While the private sector’s main

objective is to maximize shareholder value; this should not overcome the public sector’s goals.

Moreover, the NPOs’ success criteria are based on the social impact they are able to make while

gaining revenues to cover their costs, NPOs need to create impact to win their credibility in the

78
eyes of the public and private sector to enable them to win more partnerships. Therefore, working

on a common strategy along with having good project coordination are key elements in sustaining

partnerships among all CSR stakeholders as each stakeholder relies on the other to sustain their

operation in the market. In the end, the respondent believes that in general, CSR in Egypt is taking

the right direction, he said,

“CSR changes does not happen in one night; it takes years

to see a real and tangible change in the mindset of the three
stakeholders and especially the government. CSR as a
concept and practice has changed dramatically changed in
the past decade and is going in a positive direction. We are
definitely in a very good stage” (Dr. Khater, 2021).
According to the same respondent, some of the factors that leads to discontinuity of private – NPO

partnerships for CSR is the fact that some of the NPOs and corporates look for quick wins rather

than achieving consistent and sustainable impact. Some corporates and NPOs, specifically local

NGOs, still partner together based on a random selection process rather than a planned and

constructive one, which eventually leads to facing more challenges and limitations as both partners

enter the implementation stage. Another challenge reflected by another respondent that supports

the importance of selecting the right partner and going through the right process of partnership

selection before agreeing on the partnership, is that if the partnered NPO is not abiding by the

government’s regulation and does not have the approved access to implement the CSR project this

puts the corporate in great trouble. The responded added, “this is why the name of the NGO

matters” (Head of Communications and Corporate Responsibility, MNC3). Seitanidi & Crane

(2008) support this reflection in the partnership selection stage of the conceptual partnership model

by heavily emphasizing on the importance of checking the organization’s previous history and

experience in working in the field of expertise before agreeing on the partnership to avoid major

challenges from occurring.

79
 CHAPTER SIX
RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION

6.1 Introduction

This section summarizes the key findings of the study. Based on the findings and the suggestions

proposed by respondents of this study, the final chapter presents the recommendations to improve

CSR partnerships between corporates and NPOs in order to reach a successful CSR eco-system

and sustainable development in Egypt. The chapter then ends with the conclusion.

6.2 Key Findings

In summary, there were many unique reflections and key findings that this research revealed that

represents the current CSR partnership model and structure between CSR stakeholders in Egypt.

This study focused on understanding the nature of partnerships among Egypt and explores the

potential of the development and growth of these partnerships. One of the major findings the

researcher has reflected from this study and that is supported by the literature is that the CSR

strategy development and partnership selection stages are highly practiced among CSR

stakeholders in Egypt. Clear CSR strategies among partners lead to selecting the right partner

which eventually results in better CSR partnerships results. Moreover, not only do corporates seek

partnerships with different CSR stakeholders to implement their CSR strategies and create a bigger

impact but to also give them a license to operate, enhance their public image, and increase their

credibility and beneficiaries. Corporates in Egypt have recognized the value addition of partnering

with NPOs because of their expertise in implementing CSR strategies. Through sharing resources

and knowledge, cross-sector partnerships between the corporates, NPOs and the government

provide a joint value creation to each partner involved. The study also shows that trust and
80
compatibility are very important to be established in the partnership and especially during the first

stages of partnerships when both partners align their expected outcomes from the partnerships.

Many corporates are now conducting field visits to observe the NPO’s work before they agree on

the partnership, and many undergo introduction meeting and profile clearance check of the board

members of the potential NPO to decrease any risks that would harm the company’s image from

occurring. Additionally, personal network and connections are factors that contribute in having

trust in the selected partner. Another interesting endorsement of the study is that the strong link

between the core activities of companies and the partnerships they are involved in as the example

seen in case study one. Another major finding that the study revealed is the power of social media

in attracting and securing partnerships in Egypt. Social media has become a powerful tool in

establishing networking and connections between partners, in reaching a wider audience and in

showcasing CSR impact and results that would attract potential partners to collaborate.

Another interesting finding of this research is the NPOs’ recognition of acquiring a higher level of

professionalism when partnering with corporates. Corporates expect a professional way of dealing

with and communicating to them the progress on CSR projects and NPO’s have realized the

importance of dealing with professionalism in order to sustain the relationship. Furthermore,

although some corporates and NPOs recognize the government’s support in CSR partnerships,

many suggested that the government should work more collaboratively with NPOs and rather than

treating them as a separate entity, they should be acting as a complementary partner in their CSR

developments. This adds to the existing limitations to smaller sized local NGOs who do not have

access to the same level of partnership opportunities as that of the large-sized NGOs and INPOs

whom are monopolizing the CSR market with their high level of funding and NPO’s owner

recognition by corporates . Also, the study showed an increasing interest by respondents in having

81
more regulated CSR conferences by the government and a publicized online platform that is

regulated by the government to connect CSR stakeholders in Egypt and unify CSR visions.

Nevertheless, based on the recommendations shared during the study and respondents’ from the

corporate sector’s feedback on the need for CSR consultants or consultancy offices in Egypt, there

is an agreement among corporate and NPO respondents that although corporates enjoy a

consultant’s view on CSR partnerships, they still need to see a higher added reward value from

CSR consultants to provide them with access to their information, accept their guidance on their

CSR strategies and pay for such service. The researcher reasons that professional serv ice providers

for supporting CSR partnerships and projects are much needed, those who can play a similar role

to that of Terous7 foundation that indirectly acts as a CSR consultant to all CSR stakeholders

involved in a partnership and provides guidance in the partnership selection and design stages,

while also follows up on the whole CSR project implementation and ensure outcomes of the project

are achieved by each partner.

6.3 Recommendations

The first recommendation is to have a publicized online platform that is regulated and governed

by professional service providers who promote the development of CSR partnerships. This

platform would have stakeholders from the public, private and NPO sectors to register and create

their own profile where other stakeholders can view each other’s’ work in CSR, review feedback

and add ratings on projects conducted, have access to contact information of existing NPOs,

corporates’ CSR departments, and representatives from the governmental sector. This will not only

7 Terous Foundation: a large-sized local NGO established in 2012 with the aim to improve the CSR concept
and partnerships in Egypt through sustainable developments.
82
shed light on small-sized local NGOs who have high level of expertise yet have limited

connections that limits their opportunities to develop partnerships but will also prevent the large

sized NGOs and INPOs from monopolizing the market. Moreover, the online platform will

promote more CSR partnerships among CSR stakeholders and promote having more than three

stakeholders involved in one partnership. The online platform can also connect stakeholders to

each other’s profile on social media platforms.

The second recommendation is that each stakeholder should activate their social media platforms

where they can display their CSR programs and partnerships on. This will act as an indirect

introduction to the stakeholder’s credibility, and standard of work and hence can make the

partnership selection stage much easier for CSR stakeholders. To enable more clarity in

partnership selection, the profile should include contact information of stakeholders, their mission

and values, their area of expertise and history of partnerships. This would lead us to the third

recommendation which encourages the development of more CSR partnerships through widening

the pool of CSR stakeholders, whereby NPOs are recommended to approach corporates who are

not usually engaged in CSR with innovative and new ideas for relevant CSR projects. To avoid

large sized NPOs from monopolizing CSR partnerships with the private sector, large-sized NPOs

are also recommended to act as an umbrella and implement CSR projects through smaller-sized

NPOs, where they would have an opportunity to connect with the private sector and to contribute

in the CSR development and projects.

Furthermore, the fourth and crucial recommendation is for the government to build on the existing

policies and CSR framework. The researcher recommends establishing a National Council for

CSR, one that focuses on CSR partnership models in Egypt through regulating the framework for

CSR partnerships and providing improvement plans for partnerships between the private and civil
83
society sectors. It would also encourage more CSR policies such as providing tax incentives to

companies and NPOs who invest in CSR projects, regulating the online platform for CSR in Egypt,

reviews and monitors CSR reports from stakeholders, organizes CSR conferences and encourages

more innovations and tools to improve CSR partnerships in Egypt. The council would also

collaborate with NPOs on their current and planned CSR strategies and programs. Eventually,

NPOs should be perceived as collaboratively working with the government and support the

government’s projects rather than perceived as a separate entity for CSR development. These

recommendations can lead to encouraging more corporates and NPOs to take a role in CSR

developments in Egypt.

6.4 Conclusion

The data analyzed and insightful findings added a deeper understanding to the current practices of

CSR partnership model in Egypt and provided useful recommendations to improve those

partnerships in Egypt for sustainable development. The analysis and findings showed that there is

a huge gap between the existing literature supporting CSR partnerships in Egypt and the reality of

CSR partnership practices and challenges between the three CSR stakeholders.

Being one of the very few researchers studying current CSR partnership models and dynamics

between different stakeholders in Egypt, this study and findings contributes significantly to the

current limited literature and acts as a foundation for future research in this topic. Lastly, the study

provides valuable insights on current partnership practices, develops a conceptual framework for

the four stages of partnership, observes the current partnership stages that CSR stakeholders go

through to execute their CSR strategies, sheds light on the current challenges and limitations for

84
CSR partnerships, and finally provides recommendations to stakeholders involved in CSR

partnerships and CSR practitioners in Egypt.

As recommended by important members of the CSR community in Egypt, the research can be also

presented in CSR conferences and events to shed light on current partnership models and dynamics

between the three stakeholders in Egypt. CSR stakeholders need to be informed with and updated

on the current situation of CSR practice and CSR partnerships in Egypt, observe CSR partnership

model in Egypt from a holistic view, learn how each stakeholder can improve their CSR

partnership strategies and practices and eventually take the recommendations into real practice

during their next CSR partnerships.

Additional interesting research areas were detected during the progress of creating this paper. One

of them is that this study focused on analyzing CSR partnerships between private sector companies

the state, and NPOs, while partnership practices among companies in the public sector may

uncover interesting differences or similarities in approach.

6.3 Limitation of the study

Since interviewed participants, including CSR companies and NPOs are based on a snowballing

technique, whereas companies in which their CSR projects are not adequately publicized loses the

opportunity of recognition and inclusion in the pool of interviewed companies and NPOs. Also,

generalization of concepts can be that of challenge as the number of participants is not enough to

generalize concepts and also because most of the respondents interviewed for this study are

considered “high performers” within the CSR field.

85
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Documentation of Informed Consent for Participation in Research Study

Project Title: The cooperation between corporate companies and CSR stakeholders in relation to
CSR and sustainable development in Egypt.

Principal Investigator: Menna El Nenaei

*You are being asked to participate in a research study. The purpose of the research is to
understand the existing collaboration methods/partnerships between CSR service providers or
Non-Governmental Organizations with corporate companies in Egypt. The findings of this study
will be submitted to and published by The American University in Cairo in partial fulfillment of a
Master’s Degree in Sustainable Development. The results of the study will be presented at the
university. The expected duration of your participation in this interview is about 1 hour.

This research project uses a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods
including interviews with representatives of companies and service providers in Cairo, as well as
with consultants. I will also be assessing company reports and statistics.

*There will be no risks or discomforts associated with this research.

*There will not be benefits to you from this research. However, I will be sharing a summary of my
research with you at the end of my project.

*The information you provide for purposes of this research is confidential. Your name will not be
included anywhere in the presentation of the research results.
Questions about the research, my rights, or research-related injuries should be directed to Menna
El Nenaei at +2 01005266519 and my advisor’s name is Dr. Charles Kaye-Essien (charles.kaye-
essien@aucegypt.edu)
*Participation in this study is voluntary. Refusal to participate will involve no penalty or loss of
benefits to which you are otherwise entitled. You may discontinue participation at any time without
penalty or the loss of benefits to which you are otherwise entitled.

Signature ________________________________________

Printed Name ________________________________________

Date ________________________________________

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