Entrepreneurs’ personal values and CSR orientations: evidence from SMEs in Zambia

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between entrepreneurs’ personal values and corporate social responsibility (CSR) orientations among small- and medium-sized enterprises in a developing country, Zambia. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected through questionnaires. Two linear regression models were used to test the hypotheses. Findings: Self-transcendence values have a significant positive influence on socially oriented CSR but do not influence environmentally oriented CSR. Self-enhancement values do not affect social and environmental CSR orientations. Conservation values have a marginally positive influence on environmentally oriented CSR but no influence on socially oriented CSR. Finally, openness to change has a significant positive influence on environmentally orientated CSR but no influence on socially oriented CSR. Research limitations/implications: The limitations of this study relates to the sector from which the sample was drawn, other predictors of CSR orientations, use of cross-sectional data, and the replication of this study to validate its findings. Practical implications: The findings inform policy-makers, scholars, educators, and regulators on the importance of aligning personal values with environmental and social concerns, thereby influencing entrepreneurs’ CSR orientations for the well-being of society and the natural environment. Originality/value: This paper shows the influence of personal values on CSR orientations among entrepreneurs in a hardly researched Sub-Saharan Africa country.