Bibliographie sélective OHADA

Previous studies on corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the construction and property-development domain have mainly focused on countries in the Global North with very few studies in the Global South. These prior studies have defined the pyramid elements (economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic) that make up overall CSR, but none of them have assessed how well corporations performed in relation to each pyramid element, particularly in the property-development industry. Consequently, reflecting on the limited CSR studies in the Global South, this study examines the performance of property-development companies regarding the CSR pyramid elements. The study also assesses the barriers and strategic drivers of CSR among property-development companies. The study employed a descriptive survey research, and questionnaires were administered to 43 property-development companies. Descriptive data analysis was done to rank the relative importance of items from the questionnaire. Results showed that, although companies performed ‘well’ in their legal CSR, and ‘average’ in their economic and ethical CSR, companies performed ‘poorly’ in the area of philanthropic CSR. Lack of support by top management, corruption/lack of transparency, lack of knowledge and awareness by professionals, and lack of regulatory framework were identified as significant barriers to CSR implementation among property-development companies. Vision of founders/support by top management, regulatory framework, stakeholder activism, and good relationship-building are potential key strategic drivers of CSR implementation programmes among property-development companies. Given the findings, it is recommended that property-development companies should integrate CSR principles into their vision and mission statement and consider it to be a business function. This can be done by mitigating the barriers identified through the adoption of strategic drivers as postulated by this study.

This study examines Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices in Nigerian public sector organisations using a comprehensive mixed-methods approach. The data collection process involved analysing 185 organisation-year observations from annual reports spanning 2011–2020, as well as questionnaires distributed to key stakeholders and interviews with senior executives from various organisations.The analysis utilised a multi-pronged strategy, including quantitative techniques such as regression analysis to explore the relationship between CSR practices and corporate governance mechanisms and qualitative methods such as narrative analysis and thematic coding to gain insights from survey responses and interviews.The findings indicate that CSR practices in the Nigerian public sector are moving in a positive direction. Organisations demonstrated commitment to CSR activities, including community development, education, environmental conservation, and philanthropy. Survey results showed that 83% of organisations engaged in CSR, driven by community acceptance and moral obligation. Additionally, 84% of organisations complied with regulatory frameworks, and 79% aligned their CSR policies with national or international standards. The analysis also found a significant positive relationship between CSR practices and factors such as larger board sizes, greater board independence, the presence of women on the board, and CEOs with longer tenures, higher educational qualifications, and international exposure.By triangulating these findings, it is clear that organisations have a strong commitment to giving back through various CSR initiatives, such as humanitarian assistance, youth empowerment, and educational programmes. Despite challenges such as budgetary constraints and weak accountability frameworks, organisations recognise the perceived benefits of CSR, including increased public confidence, improved stakeholder perceptions, enhanced organisational reputation, trust-building, community engagement, and empowering marginalised communities through education.The insights gained from this study conducted in an emerging economy namely, Nigeria, provide a new understanding of CSR practices in public-sector organisations. They also highlight the proactive approach of public sector organisations towards responsible practices. Consequently, the implications of this research extend beyond national boundaries, encouraging diverse and dedicated leadership to enhance CSR efforts and create lasting social impact. Future studies could explore comparative analysis between the public and private sectors or different countries, as well as sector-specific impact assessments.

An array of governance initiatives has emerged to address forced labour and labour exploitation in global value chains (GVCs). Drawing on the transnational business governance interactions theoretical framework, as well as Timothy Bartley’s place-conscious transnational governance model, this thesis examines the interaction between two of these hybrid forms of governance: multi-stakeholder initiatives and corporate sustainability laws. I conduct a case study of the cocoa sector, and specifically of the multinational company, Nestlé, using multiple qualitative research methods including legal analysis, key informant interviews, and documentary analysis. My research suggests that the layering of corporate sustainability laws, and particularly the French Duty of Vigilance Law, on top of CSR and MSIs in the cocoa sector, is not addressing the governance gap that permits corporations to evade accountability for human rights abuses in their supply chain. I find that the introduction of corporate sustainability laws may have contributed to a decrease in Nestlé's efforts to address labor violations in certain areas, while in others, it appears to have supported the continuation of existing practices. This raises implications for the continuous efforts in various jurisdictions to introduce these laws as a solution to the shortcomings of private, voluntary rule-making systems. Further research is required to explore how these governance mechanisms are interacting in other sectors, in companies of different sizes, and within various types of MSIs. This will help identify the factors that influence interactions and shed further light on the path forward for policymakers.

This reprint covers 27 papers published in the Special Issue entitled Corporate Finance, Governance, and Social Responsibility, which examines several topics related to corporate finance, financial modeling, corporate governance, and corporate social responsibility. Corporate finance-related articles (Anton and Afloarei Nucu, 2021; Bae et al., 2023; Kedzior et al., 2020; Lts and Lukason, 2022; Miglo, 2020; Mihail et al., 2021; Mota and Moreira, 2023; Tsolas, 2021; Tudose et al., 2021; and Wen et al., 2021) focus on the drivers of the capital structure and firm performance, the effect of working capital management on profitability, and the link between derivative use and profitability. Regarding financial modeling, stock market volatility was explored during COVID-19 (Gherghina et al., 2021). Corporate governance studies (Aluchna and Kuszewski, 2020; Ararat et al., 2021; Ding and Chea, 2021; Kjrland et al., 2020; Loureno et al., 2021; Lukason and Camacho-Miano, 2020; Maier and Yurtoglu, 2022; Mihail and Dumitrescu, 2021; Mihail et al., 2022; Mihail and Micu, 2021; and Pourmansouri et al., 2022) examine the effect of corporate governance compliance practices, board attributes, or employee stock option plans on bankruptcy risk, performance, firm value, or earnings management. Regarding CSR (Bozos et al., 2022; Rossi et al., 2021; Saeed and Sroufe, 2021; Singh and Hong, 2023; and Tseng and Shih, 2022), the research focuses on how CSR affects financial performance, risk management, or analyst profits estimates.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) and green marketing adoption is a twin trend that is fast becoming a global tendency amongst world economies, irrespective of socio-economic outlook. This paper pedagogically links the two concepts in the Nigeria business climes and explores, through a panoramic view the rate of adoption of CSR and green marketing in Nigeria. This study adopted an exploratory research design vis-à-vis a qualitative research approach. Based on the findings, this paper posits that corporate social responsibility in the Nigerian context is highly “localized” to reflect realities in the Nigerian socio-cultural space. However, green marketing adoption is near impossible for the average Nigerian organization; this is due in part to the enormous funds necessary for implementation of green marketing strategies in their businesses. This study therefore recommends the setting up of trust fund for companies (especially, small scale business) by government; this would give the companies the opportunity to fully develop and adopt green marketing strategy

This study aims to understand the accounting effects of the Corona pandemic in more depth and clarity, where the study explores the accounting choices during the pandemic period and the impact of the firm's strategic orientation and its social responsibility performance on those choices. Using data from non-financial Saudi companies, the accounting choices divided into aggressive accounting strategy and conservative accounting strategy, and regression models used to examine the study hypotheses. The results of the study provide a clearer and in-depth vision about the nature of accounting practices during the pandemic and indicated that business strategy affects accounting choices, while corporate social responsibility does not affect. The results can imply useful information for the market regulators that help them in controlling and stabilizing the market, as well as for professional accounting organizations to help them issue guidelines for accounting work during crises.

Since the earlier indirect Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) provisions failed to hold investors responsible for human rights abuses, the recent hardening process of direct CSR clauses has resulted in incorporating CSR clauses under sections or chapters entitled “investors obligations” and tying CSR obligations to binding human rights and environmental prohibitions, as well as to human rights obligations established by the host state's legislation. This paper provides a non-exhaustive analysis of recent developments in treaty practice based on research primarily sourced from investment agreements concluded between 2012 and 2021, doctrinal input, and normative analysis. As shown in this paper the hardening process has not yet been completed, and reformations are necessary. Specifically, new investment agreements should enshrine investor human rights obligations as legally binding obligations, consider violations of these CSR obligations as part of investment disputes and provide direct remedies to victims. This study contributes to the literature on the international responsibility of TNCs with regard to human rights by examining the process of hardening up the CSR obligations within investment agreements as an approach that could lead to effective human rights protection.

This paper discusses the practice of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and its challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa. The main purpose is to highlight and clarify the gaps between CSR regulations and human rights abuses caused by business organizations.

Left alone, economic integration initiatives, which aim to promote growth through investment and trade liberalization, do not automatically generate win-win outcomes for all stakeholders, or lead to the inclusive economic growth and sustainable development of participating countries. This situation which is due among others to possible market failures and externalities of corporations’ activities, has increasingly become a matter of concern with the numerous corruption scandals; human rights violations and environmental degradation involving corporations observed in a recent past. How therefore to continue promoting economic integration while ensuring socially responsible conducts from businesses in societies where they operate? One approach that has recently gained traction is the institutionalization of corporate social responsibility (CSR) clauses in trade and investment agreements. This paper analyses 10 African regional trade and investment agreements concluded between 2000 and 2020 to determine the extent to which they converge with this trend and the approach adopted in regulating CSR. The research complements the literature on the nexus between international law and CSR in the African context. Laissées à elles-mêmes, les initiatives d'intégration économique, qui visent à promouvoir la croissance par la libéralisation commerciale et économique, ne génèrent pas automatiquement des résultats gagnant-gagnant pour toutes les parties prenantes, ou ne conduisent pas à la croissance économique inclusive et au développement durable des pays participants. Cette situation, qui est due entre autres à d’éventuelles défaillances du marché et à des externalités des activités des entreprises, est devenue de plus en plus préoccupante avec les nombreux scandales de corruption, de violation des droits de l’homme et de dégradation de l’environnement impliquant des entreprises. Comment donc continuer à promouvoir l'intégration économique tout en garantissant des comportements socialement responsables des entreprises dans les sociétés où elles opèrent ? Une approche qui a récemment gagné du terrain est l'institutionnalisation des clauses de responsabilité sociale des entreprises (RSE) dans les accords de commerce et d'investissement. Cet article analyse 10 accords régionaux africains de commerce et d'investissement conclus entre 2000 et 2020 pour déterminer dans quelle mesure ils convergent avec cette tendance à l’institutionnalisation des clauses sur la RSE, et l'approche adoptée dans la réglementation de la RSE. La recherche complète la littérature sur le lien entre le droit international et la RSE dans le contexte africain.

Globally, companies pursue profitability; they want lower prices for the goods they buy and for the services they use. To gain profit and keep their prices low, they contribute to human rights violations and/or the devastation of the environment. The UNGP is the UN unanimously endorsed instrument that encourages states to pass legislation to compel companies to exercise human rights due diligence and to report on their efforts. The United Nations Guiding Principles (UNGP) impose a duty on companies to conduct human rights due diligence that apprises them of possible human rights or environmental risk exposure in their international operations. States have a responsibility to assist those harmed by a company’s activities to seek judicial relief. The UNGP is a soft law instrument but has had a major effect in the field of business and human rights. Though a voluntary obligation, the UNGP has become the reference document and is used by Civil Society Organisations (CSO) to pressure states into passing regulations on business and human rights. In 2016 Germany passed a National Action Plan (NAP) and the Lieferkettensorgfaltspflichtgesetz (Supply Chain Due Diligence Act) in 2021. France passed a Vigilance Law (Loi de Vigilance) in 2017. Additionally, a UN resolution has initiated a treaty-making process, which might lead to an internationally legally binding instrument that will articulate companies’ responsibilities to avoid, mitigate and remedy human rights violations that their activities cause. The South African government’s response to the UNGP has focused on negotiating a legally binding instrument at an intergovernmental level. This research examines three countries’ varying responses to the UNGP, a soft law instrument. In February 2022 the EU Commission published a proposed directive on corporate sustainability due diligence. The proposed EU legislation aims to advance respect for human rights and environmental protection. The goal is to create a level playing field within the European Union which leads to the exploration of the role China plays in a globalised world. China aims to be more than the world's factory and to become a leader in innovation and high-end manufacturing.

Dans un contexte marqué par le développement durable, le législateur OHADA n’a eu de cesse d’être accablé de toutes parts pour son statisme vis-à-vis de la montée des problématiques sociétales. Au lendemain des reformes du système comptable OHADA, les problématiques sociétales ont une fois de plus raté le rendez-vous de la normalisation. Toutefois, de nombreuses entreprises continuent à publier leurs informations sociétales parallèlement à leur communication financière. A cet effet, le problème que soulève cet article est celui de la compréhension des modes de production et de diffusion des informations extra-financières en l’absence d’une réglementation en la matière. Une étude empirique de nature descriptive est menée auprès d’un échantillon de 120 entreprises diffusant leurs informations sociétales au sein de l’espace OHADA. Il en ressort que le site internet et l’implication dans le développement de la communauté locale sont apparue respectivement comme support et thème de diffusion les plus utilisés dans l’espace OHADA en matière de reporting sociétal sous la pression de certaines parties prenantes notamment les associations consuméristes, les départements ministériels en charge de l’environnement, du travail et de la sécurité sociale. In a context marked by a widespread awareness of the needs of sustainable development, the OHADA legislator has been constantly burdened on all sides for its statism to the rise of societal problems. However, After the reform of the OHADA system, sustainability problems once more did not met up with the appointment of normalization. However, several enterprises continue to publish their societal information in parallel with their financial communication. As such, the problem raised by this article is that of understanding the mode of production and disclosure of non-financial information in the absence of a regulatory framework. A descriptive empirical analysis is carried out with a sample of 120 enterprises which propagate their societal information in the OHADA zone. It reveals that internet websites and implication in the development of the local community are respectively the medium and theme of the most used disclosures in the OHADA zone with regards to sustainability reporting under the pressure of some stakeholders especially consumer associations, ministerial departments in charge of the environment labor and social security.

This researcher examined the effect of corporate governance (CG) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) on banking performance in the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) region. The data was obtained from the Worldwide Governance and the World Bank sovereign database from 2003 to 2018. This study employs the z-score to proxy the CSR factors such as labor force participation rate, population density, and renewable energy. The results reveal that the fixed effects model is superior to the pooled ordinary least square (OLS) and the random-effects model. The findings show that CSR has a significantly positive relationship, while CG has a positive but insignificant relation with banking performance in the CEMAC region. It suggests an ineffective implementation of CG strategies in the entire CEMAC region.

The study sought to examine the Corporate Social (CSR) and management of oil related conflicts in Host Communities of the Southern States. Corporate Social Responsibility is the commitment of businesses to contribute to sustainable economic development by working with employees, the local community and the society at large to improve their lives in ways that are good for business and for development. The study was guided by three research objectives, three research questions and three hypotheses. The design adopted for this study is exploratory and descriptive research design and was conducted in Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers State in Nigeria. The population of this study comprised of 15,245,247 residents in Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers State in Nigeria. The instrument for data collection was a set of structured questionnaire. Data derived from the field were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23.0. And statistical tools such as mean and standard deviation were used to respond to the research questions, while inferential statistical tool of independent sample T-test was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. Findings from the study showed that there is a significant difference in the mean ratings of male and female respondents on the level of relationship between IOC’s and hosts Communities in Niger Delta Region, Nigeria ((P=0.738>0.05), df (400) =. -0.49273, p=0.738); there is a significant difference in the mean ratings of male and female respondents on the on CSR programs carried out by IOCs in hosts Communities in Southern Nigeria (P=.117>0.05), df (400) = -401.618, p=.117); further findings showed that there is a significant difference in the mean ratings of male and female respondents on the Factors causing conflict between oil companies and host communities in Southern, Nigeria (P=0.775>0.05), df (400) =382.256 p=0.775). Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended that host communities should be integrated into the planning process, a paradigm shift from planning for to planning with the host Communities, amongst others.

La commercialisation de la microfinance a mis au premier plan la performance financière des I MF, les IMF adoptant désormais une logique commerciale de rentabilité en plus de leur logique sociale établie de lutte contre la pauvreté. Cela pose un défi de gestion crucial pour les IMF pour équilibrer l'aspect social et commercial de leur mission. Cette thèse vise à analyser comment les IMF surmontent leurs défis pour atteindre leur double objectif social et commercial. Elle s'appuie sur le concept de bricolage comme perspective théorique et sur une approche méthodologique abductive, exploratoire et qualitative. La thèse vise également à fournir une meilleure compréhension du secteur de la microfinance camerounaise, en termes de son histoire et évolution, et des défis spécifiques au secteur. L'étude identifie diverses pratiques de bricolage que les IMF utilisent pour faire avancer la réalisation de leur double mission. Les résultats suggèrent l'utilisation de ces pratiques de bricolage par les IMF pour mobiliser des ressources, renforcer la légitimité et accroître leur ou/reach, dans un contexte caractérisé par des contraintes de ressources. Ces trois résultats de bricolage se renforcent mutuellement pour faciliter la réalisation du double objectif des IMF. Cette recherche a également mis en évidence les quatre phases d'évolution du secteur de la microfinance camerounaise et les cinq principaux défis auxquels sont confrontées les IMF du secteur. Cette thèse contribue à la littérature sur la microfinance. Elle propose un nouvel regard sur la gestion de la double mission des IMF en montrant comment les IMF mobilisent les stratégies de bricolage pour faire avancer leurs objectifs sociaux et commerciaux. Elle met en lumière le lien entre la littérature sur la microfinance et le bricolage.

Cette thèse propose d’examiner la relation entre la représentation des salariés dans le conseil d’administration et l’engagement RSE de l’entreprise. En particulier, nous étudions comment les investisseurs perçoivent-ils le reporting RSE et laperformance ESG lorsque les salariés sont représentés au sein du conseil d’administration. En utilisant un échantillon de sociétés françaises appartenant à l’indice SBF 120 sur deux périodesdifférentes de 2001 à 2011 et de 2007 à 2017, nos résultats montrent que la présence des administrateurs salariés modère positivement la perception du reporting RSE et négativement la perception de la performance ESG par les investisseurs. Un examin plus détaillé montre que les administrateurs élus par les salariés par leur droit de travail améliorent exclusivement la performance sociale et modèrent négativement la perception des investisseurs vis-à-vis de la performance ESG. Au contraire, les administrateurs élus par les salariés actionnaires renforcent la performance ESG globale ainsi que les performances environnementale et de gouvernance et modèrent positivement la perception de la performance ESG par les investisseurs. Nos résultats mettent en évidence un conflit d’intérêts entre les actionnaires et les administrateurs salariés, notamment avec les représentants des travailleurs. Cette thèse couvre plusieurs disciplines à savoir la comptabilité, la gouvernance d’entreprise et lagestion des ressources humaines. En conséquence, elle intérèsse vivement les législateurs, les investisseurs, les managers et les actionnaires.

My dissertation investigates two streams of managerial accounting literature; specifically, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and executive personality. Paper 1 focuses on whether companies strategically engage in CSR practices to retain employees. Using a difference-in-differences design, I find that an increase in the enforcement of non compete agreements (which enhances a firm’s ability to retain employees) deteriorates CSR performance. Paper 2 extends prior literature and links managerial risk tolerance and firms’ CSR performance. The empirical result of Paper 2 shows that pilot CEOs are less likely to exhibit better CSR performance. Paper 3 examines the spillover effect of managerial risk tolerance along the supply chain. Specifically, I follow Paper 2 to use the pilot status of CEOs to proxy for the customers’ risk tolerance level. Overall, the results support a negative association between customer risk tolerance and supplier investment efficiency, and customer companies ran by pilot CEOs leads to supplier investment inefficiency. Each chapter is designed to be self-contained and provides a more detailed discussion of the research question and contribution.

As globalisation intensifies, the environmental burden of economic development is being shifted to poor countries. This development manifests in waste trade involving the transboundary shipment of toxic waste from developed to developing countries. This article evaluates the strategies with which waste trade is being perpetuated to the detriment of sustainable development and human rights values in Sub-Sahara Africa. It argues that capitalism has influenced massive generation and commodification of waste, especially in industrialised countries. It has also established that globalisation has made the transboundary shipment of waste easy. Moreover, foreign investments in the waste industry in developing countries appear to be a means by developed countries to perpetuate waste shipment to developing countries, which helps waste traders to avoid stringent regulations and high costs of waste management in developed countries. Therefore, such investments in developing countries should not always be viewed as a breakthrough in attracting foreign investments. The findings made include that despite the existence of the Basel and Bamako Conventions at global and regional levels, respectively, waste trade has continued in different forms in Africa, where waste merchants exploit the low-cost facilities, cheap labour and weak regulatory frameworks. The trend includes the reckless dumping of hazardous industrial waste, electronic waste as well as ostensible investment in “dirty industries” in some African countries. It concludes by urging the states to individually establish robust mechanisms that protect the environment and enforce environmental rights. These measures will help complement the collective efforts they have made in multilateral and regional agreements.

This research questions the capacity of the OHADA accounting system to report on the societal commitment of companies. To carry out such a study, we are interested in the companies of the Douala Stock Exchange, which permanently publish green operations. The analysis was done at two levels: the first level of analysis highlighted the categories of green operations reported by the companies of our sample. The second level of analysis consisted in analysing the financial statements produced by these companies, in order to see in which accounts green transactions are recorded. The analysis reveals that, apart from some additional clarifications to be made in the appendices, the financial statements produced according to OHADA do not specifically highlight green information.

The thesis examines the influence of shareholder activism on corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure of targeted firms and its spillover effects on CSR disclosure, corporate social performance (CSP) and financial performance (FP) respectively in peer firms. The research is motivated by filling the research gaps in prior literature and providing insights to shareholders, the management and regulatory bodies in practice. The thesis consists of three parts. Firstly, this thesis reviews the literature surrounding shareholder activism by conducting narrative reviews of 92 working papers and publications and meta-analysis on 55 working papers and publications, published during 2000-2017 period. Theories from prior literature, namely agency theory, stakeholder theory and stakeholder salience theory are analysed through narrative review analysis at the beginning of the chapter. Then, the analysis of narrative review also documents mixed findings of the associations among shareholder activism and FP and CG and CSP, including spillover effects. That is, the associations could be positive, negative and not significant in prior literature. The results of meta-analysis indicate that shareholder activism improves FP and CSP respectively. In addition, the thesis also examines the major types of shareholder activists and main forms of shareholder activism. Overall, through the analysis, the thesis identifies the research gaps of prior literature, thereby pointing out future research directions. Secondly, by employing shareholder proposals from Standard & Poor's 1,500 (S&P 1,500, hereafter) companies in the United States as a proxy of shareholder activism during 2006-2014 period with 13,572 separate observations, this thesis examines whether the whole sample of shareholder activism, institutional shareholder activism and coordinated shareholder activism could influence CSR disclosure level respectively. Simultaneously, this thesis also investigates whether shareholder activism affects CSR disclosure level given the other corporate governance mechanisms, namely board size, the presence of female directors, outside directors and CEO incentives. The results typically demonstrate that: (1) while shareholder activism negatively relates to CSR disclosure level, larger board size or the presence of female directors combined with shareholder activism directly relates to maintaining better CSR transparency; (2) coordinated shareholder activism could decrease social disclosure level. The findings also indicate that CSR disclosure provides an approach to strategically manage risks. Thirdly, the thesis explores spillover effects from different types of shareholder activism on CSR disclosure level, CSP and financial performance by using data gathered from S&P 1,500 companies during 2007-2014 period. The findings show that shareholder activism increases social disclosure level and environmental disclosure level in peer firms. It also shows that there is a weak positive association between shareholder activism and CSP. It therefore demonstrates the weak influences of shareholder activism in changing firms’ CSP. It also illustrates that institutional shareholder activism has an advantage over coordinated shareholder activism in terms of increasing corporate transparency. In this manner, it indicates that the collective action problem among coordinated shareholders could also attenuate the impact of shareholder activism in peer firms. The thesis contributes to the literature on shareholder activism practically and theoretically. The findings provide useful insights to shareholders, management teams and regulatory bodies for their policy-making. Beyond the practical contribution, the thesis also provides empirical evidence to stakeholder salience theory and analyses the collective action problem.

Encyclopaedic Corporate Governance (CG) is now a mainstream issue of concern in the business world. Yet, there has been no systematic investigation of CG practices in general, allowing for a distinction between the profit and non-profit organizations. In this regard, this article aims to investigate the nuances in the application of sound governance principles across different types of organizations in general, together with the understanding and applications of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Corporate Regulation (CR) in the context of the OHADA zone. With CSR envisages as a model of CG that extends the fiduciary duties from fulfilment of responsibilities towards the shareholders of the firm to fulfilment of analogous fiduciary duties towards all the firm?s stakeholders. Thus, after considering the place of CSR in the debate about alternative CG modes, a full-fledged social contract foundation of the multi-stakeholder and multi-fiduciary model is present. The article, therefore, shows that CSR is a social norm that would endogenously emerge from the stakeholders? social contract seen as the first move in an equilibrium selection process that reaches the equilibrium state of a CG institution; and as a global trend involving corporations, states, international organizations and civil society organizations. Besides, the article portrays the trend of CSR in three ways: as a regulatory framework that places new demands on corporations; as a mobilization of corporate actors to assist the development aid of states and; as a management trend. With each of these portraits suggesting certain actors, relations, driving forces and interests as being central. These multiple identities may partially describe the trend?s success, but could equally well describe its contestation, fragility and fluidity. Based on the argument that CSR is not just a fashion but rather the future from another angle, the article explicitly explores the nexus between CSR, CG and CR as appreciated in the OHADA zone. It also presents fresh insights into the applications of CG and CSR principles under the OHADA perspective that has not received systematic attention and consideration in the literature and, thus, provides policy recommendations to mainstream a viable CSR framework in the OHADA zone.