Transparency and Corporate Social Responsibility: A South African Perspective

Zusammenfassung

In this chapter the link between transparency and corporate social responsibility will be discussed from a South African perspective. Transparency can be understood as the reliability, relevance, clarity, timelessness and verifiability of information, although it does not entail the disclosure of competitive or sensitive information detrimental to a company’s legitimate interests. In terms of business, transparency can therefore be understood as “the ease with which an outsider is able to make a meaningful analysis of a company’s actions, its economic fundamentals, and the non-financial aspects pertinent to that business” (Institute of Directors in Southern Africa 2002: 10).