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Supporting National Responsibilities in the Quest to Achieve an International Agenda: An Exploratory Case Study from the UAE

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Practising CSR in the Middle East

Abstract

This chapter aims to explore how corporate social responsibility (CSR) can contribute to national responsibility to achieve the international agendas related to sustainability. This research reveals that in the context of sustainability within the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the private sector through CSR is influenced/motivated to support the national and international sustainability agenda. Findings from this research contribute to the process of designing sustainable development strategies for the federal government of the UAE to encourage the private sector to support sustainability agenda.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    National responsibility (NR) refers to the direct and indirect responsibility of national leaders, institutions, or groups in society to shape particular policies, actions, and outcomes (Shaw 2011).

  2. 2.

    Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) refer to an international agenda managed by the United Nations and implemented by the developed countries to support underdeveloped countries. Comprising 8 goals and 18 targets, this agenda provides a concrete framework for tracking poverty, hunger, maternal and child mortality, communicable disease, education discrepancies, gender inequality, environmental damage, and the global partnership for development. This agenda covers the period between 2000 and 2015 (Cohen 2014; Lomazzi et al. 2014).

  3. 3.

    Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a follow-up on the MDGs, to be enacted between 2015 and 2030. The goals are still fluid but targeted enough to focus on developing and developed countries in parallel, with a focus on achieving sustainable development through economic growth and diversification, social development, and environmental protection (Sachs 2012; Sarabhai 2014).

  4. 4.

    Corporate social responsibility (CSR): when a business surpasses its profit-making functions to advance social objectives such as sustainable economic development, quality of life, and/or increasing the national standards of living, among others (Boulouta and Pitelis 2014).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Wollongong in Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    Kamal Al Yammahi & Vijay Pereira

  2. Faculty of Business, University of Wollongong in Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    Yama Temouri

Authors
  1. Kamal Al Yammahi
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  2. Vijay Pereira
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  3. Yama Temouri
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Vijay Pereira .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Economic Research and Sustainable Business Development, Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    Belaid Rettab

  2. Centre for Responsible Business, Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    Kamel Mellahi

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Al Yammahi, K., Pereira, V., Temouri, Y. (2019). Supporting National Responsibilities in the Quest to Achieve an International Agenda: An Exploratory Case Study from the UAE. In: Rettab, B., Mellahi, K. (eds) Practising CSR in the Middle East. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02044-6_7

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