Supporting National Responsibilities in the Quest to Achieve an International Agenda: An Exploratory Case Study from the U nited Arab Emirates

The principle objective of this thesis is to explore how corporate social responsibility (CSR) can be influenced and motivated to 1) contribute to national responsibility (NR) and 2) achieve the international agendas related to sustainability. More specifically, this study aims to answer the following three research questions: Q1: What factors are the supranational expecting from the national and corporate levels in the context of sustainability? Q2: What factors is the national community expecting from the corporate level in the context of sustainability? Q3: What factors can influence/motivate CSR to positively contribute to NR to achieve the supranational agenda related to sustainability? The research design and methodology adopted in this study was a sequential multimethod approach, beginning with a review of the historical evolution of CSR and NR. This was followed by a series of open-ended interviews with government professionals. Thereafter, based on the results of the interviews, a survey was designed and distributed to companies registered in United Nations Global Compact United Arab Emirates (UNGC UAE) network to identify the factors that influence CSR to positively contribute to NR in the context of sustainability at national and supranational levels. Key findings from this research revealed that within the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the federal government can influence and motivate the private sector to support national and supranational sustainability agendas by building strategic investment opportunities, raising awareness about sustainability agendas and raising the capacity of candidates within the community to meet the private sector’s employment needs. In terms of academic contributions, this thesis fulfils the need for research that links CSR and NR in the context of sustainability. Further, to the researcher’s knowledge, there is little or no research discussing NR in the Middle East and, more specifically, in the UAE.