The role of Nongovernmental Organisations (NGOs) in promoting Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives in Vietnam

Abstract

The present thesis aims to investigate the collaboration between the nongovernmental organisations (NGOS) and business with regards to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives. Specifically, the research seeks to shed light on the current role of NGOs in promoting CSR practices in Vietnam, where the government does not enforce businesses' CSR initiatives. The lack of partnership research between the two sectors in a developing country, such as Vietnam, underscores the need to examine the performance of NGOs in this area. The research contributes to both theory and practice by providing insights for NGOs, businesses, and the government to implement effective policies. Interpretivism serves as the research philosophy of this study, allowing for the exploration of the social realities of NGOs in their partnership with businesses. Induction has been utilised as the research approach, with qualitative methods enabling an in-depth exploration of the issues involved in the current relationship between businesses and NGOs. An exploratory research design has been employed to uncover potential new data in the context of a developing country. Semi-structured interviews have been conducted with 23 NGOs, including 11 INGOs and 12 local NGOs, with participants in high-ranking positions in the NGOs. The interviews were carried out over a four-month period from September to December 2021, utilizing online platforms such as Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, Zoom, and Skype, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Participants from both English and Vietnamese speaking backgrounds were included in the interviews. Thematic analysis was conducted through the three-stage coding method following the transcription of the interviews. This investigation contributes significantly to both theory and practice. Theoretically, the research provides evidence that NGOs have a crucial role in promoting CSR practices in Vietnam. This study highlights the effectiveness of the partnerships between NGOs and businesses based on CSR practices in four areas. Firstly, NGOs have developed their partnership management tools and strategies to adapt to the challenging environment in Vietnam for their collaboration with businesses. Secondly, the study identifies three types of partnerships between NGOs and businesses, namely philanthropy partnerships, engagement/integration partnerships, and transformation/innovation partnerships. These partnerships differ in the level of resource sharing and participation between the two sectors. Thirdly, the research demonstrates the limited role of the II Vietnamese government in promoting CSR practices among businesses, which reduces the effectiveness of NGOs' activities. Finally, NGOs have established a CSR collaboration network by connecting various actors in society, including government, international donors, banking institutions, technology companies, businesses, and their supply chain, to promote CSR practices in businesses. The above-mentioned aspects can provide potential partnership insights between NGOs and businesses for similar developing nations in Asia region. From a practical perspective, there are several valuable insights for related sectors. NGOs can enhance their capacity through NGO-business partnerships, improve their CSR and sustainable development initiatives, and develop strategic policies in CSR and sustainable practices. These findings also provide practical implications for businesses, government, and policymakers in Vietnam to develop feasible policies that support the CSR practices of businesses, enhance their collaboration with NGOs, and improve their overall sustainable development programmes.

Date of Award	28 Mar 2024
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Northumbria University
Supervisor	Hyemi Shin (Supervisor), Patricia Prado (Supervisor) & James Cunningham (Supervisor)