Corporate social responsibility, talent development and performance outcomes: The case of youth-led entrepreneurial firms in South Africa

Abstract

This paper investigates the relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility, talent development, and performance in youth-led entrepreneurial firms operating in South Africa, where youth unemployment levels are high. It acknowledges that Corporate Social Responsibility plays a part in talent development and influencing the performance of an organization which is not well developed in young entrepreneurship. Through bibliometric analysis, the paper depicts the landscape of current knowledge and research trends to key themes, main authors and collaborative networks. Findings show that there is an emerging wake-up call to Corporate Social Responsibility as a strategic drive for the development of human capital and enhancing performance in youth-led companies, with notable gaps both conceptually and empirically on the institutional context of South African youth-owned businesses. This paper recommends that there should be more investment in culture-specific, evidence-based research and greater incorporation of Corporate Social Responsibility into programmes for youth talent development. By linking Corporate Social Responsibility to targeted talent development, long-term performance outcomes can be enhanced, and inclusive entrepreneurial growth for youth may be reinforced as a broad-based strategy for job creation, innovation, and sustainable economic development.