CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE IN KENYA’S TELECOMMUNICATIONS SECTOR: A SIXTEEN-YEAR PANEL ANALYSIS

Although, there are still limited firm level studies that correlate CSR with a firm’s real business performance within the telecoms of Africa, the practice is becoming more of a strategy execution approach than a choice of doing good for its own sake. This study was based on Schein’s Organizational Culture Theory which sought to determine how CSR affects organizational performance among telecoms in Kenya. An explanatory longitudinal data design was preferred in the positivist approach based on panel data from the three mobile providers of Safaricom, Airtel Kenya and Telkom Kenya for 2010-2025. After data was treated, the number of firm-years composing the analytical panel was equal to 45. Environmental, social and organizational impact was used to measure CSR using z-standardized metrics; CSR component scores were averaged to obtain z-standardized scores. Similarly market share, subscriber growth and product value addition were used to measure organizational success, and CSR component scores were averaged to form z-standardized scores. Descriptive statistics, diagnostic tests, Pearson correlation and simple regression were used. CSR was substantially linked with performance (r = 0.620, p < 0.001) and explained 38.5% of its variation (R² = 0.385; F(1, 43) = 26.91, p < 0.001), rejecting the null hypothesis. CSR is a 1st order factor of performing, where it is at the highest level on the organizational and social dimensions and at the lowest level on the environment.