Corporate social responsibility of construction and real estate development companies in developing countries: An assessment model

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) contributes significantly to the community development which is based on the principles of fairness, social justice, participation, and continuous learning with core emphasis on educating, enabling, and empowering community members. CSR not only helps to develop the community but also contributes toward sustainable development of business. Companies involved in the construction industry are serving several stakeholders internally and externally. In this dissertation, CSR, with regard to two stakeholders (company employees and the community) is studied to assess the mutual impacts between the company and the community. The main objective of this research is to develop guidelines for implementing internal and external CSR practices for construction and Real Estate (RE) development companies in developing countries. Several theories were applied in addition to utilizing econometrics tools to develop an internal CSR model and external CSR protocol. Quantitative and qualitative data was collected at three well-known construction and RE development companies in the Middle East, taking into consideration the companies’ characteristics. The data collection methods included; case study interviews, numerical reports for financial investments, quantitative and qualitative questionnaires, and analytical reports. The data was analyzed using exploratory tests and statistical analysis methods to select the efficient modeling techniques and methods. A protocol is developed for external CSR practices towards the community applying the program theory and the power theory following McLaughlin logic model. Also, a linear regression model is developed using ordinary least squares method. It was made to assess the correlation between different internal CSR practices and the engineers’ productivity. Moreover, a weighted system is developed to assess the relative importance of the different internal CSR practices. Finally, the model and protocol are validated through the exit-interview consultation method, and applications were implemented on a fourth construction and RE development company with similar characteristics and within the same ecosystem. The study concluded that while large construction and RE development companies in developing countries have adopted CSR strategies, they lack the requisite CSR knowledge, codes, and models. The study found that, from the engineers’ viewpoint, training; career development; and competitive salaries significantly influence engineers’ productivity, while safety and health strategies have a relatively low influence.