Social sustainability performance: developing and validating measures in the context of emerging African economies

Mathias Kofi Denu
,
Yongmei Bentley
,
Yanqing Duan

Business & Management Research Institute (BMRI)

Research Output: Contribution to journal Article Peer-review

Open access

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 1 No Poverty
SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production

Abstract

Social sustainability has attracted growing research interest. However, studies on social sustainability in emerging African economies are still in their early stages. This study found that companies in these countries are keen to improve their social sustainability, but they often lack an adequate understanding of measuring their company's social sustainability performance (SSP). This study addresses this knowledge gap by identifying the SSP measures relevant to emerging African economies. The study adopts a mixed research method involving several stages. First, fifty initial SSP evaluation measures across eight dimensions were identified based on an extensive literature review and interviews. Second, these measures were examined in a pilot survey followed by a formal survey with senior managers and business owners of 110 companies in Ghana's manufacturing and service industries. A total of 369 valid responses were received. Based on the statistical analysis of exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, 26 specific measures of SSP were established. These measures cover seven broad dimensions: community, equity, poverty alleviation, human rights, ethics, regulatory enforcement, and employees. The validated multidimensional measures provide valuable guidance to managers on evaluating and improving their organisation's social sustainability performance.