Abstract
This chapter sets out to examine the application of responsible investment (RI) principles through the lens of Ubuntu philosophy as an alternative corporate governance approach. The authors seek to understand why African investment managers are more grounded in Western philosophies compared to Ubuntu. Data were collected on the institutional investors’ environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices in South Africa and through the interviews of seven institutional asset owners. Evidence indicates that, apart from weak regulatory environments, corporate governance standards in many developing countries do not resonate with native cultural values and philosophies. Although the Ubuntu philosophy is a growing phenomenon, an increase in contextualization of its economic and financial cases through business education is warranted for it to be well grounded.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | African Virtue Ethics Traditions for Business and Management |
| Editors | Kemi Ogunyemi |
| Publisher | Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd. |
| Chapter | 9 |
| Pages | 137-154 |
| Number of pages | 18 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9781789905960 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9781789905953 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 21 Jul 2020 |
Keywords
- asset ownership
- ESG
- institutional investment
- RI discourse
- South Africa
- Ubuntu
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Economics, Econometrics and Finance(all)
- General Business,Management and Accounting
- General Arts and Humanities
- General Social Sciences
Documents and Links
- Author accepted manuscript
Reproduced in accordance with the publisher policy. This is a draft chapter. The final version is available in African Virtue Ethics Traditions for Business and Management edited by Kemi Ogunyemi, published in 2020, Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd http://dx.doi.org/10.4337/9781789905960.00015 The material cannot be used for any other purpose without further permission of the publisher, and is for private use only.