The Contribution of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to Public Management Reform: The Case of African Administrations

This research examines the contribution of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR, or RSO in French contexts) to public management reform within African administrations. Addressing the structural circularity and conceptual limitations of traditional "catch-all" frameworks, we restructure the theoretical model into a sequential system of systemic relational mediation. Utilizing a multiple case study design encompassing ten public administrations across four African countries (Morocco, Senegal, Nigeria, and Sudan), primary data were collected through sixteen in-depth semi-structured interviews and supplemented by two focus groups. A thematic analysis demonstrates the pivotal role of Politico-Administrative Responsibility (PAR, or RPA). The streamlined model reveals that external environmental pressures from citizen-clients significantly heighten internal operational tensions between public managers and politicians. In response, this friction stimulates the co-construction and activation of a shared PAR framework. Acting as a central regulatory lever, PAR effectively reduces internal organizational conflict and, consequently, restores institutional trust while fostering the success of administrative modernization.