Abstract

A case study on a thriving small building contractor was undertaken in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. The objective of the study was to determine the social responsibility approaches used by the contractor to survive and thrive when many similar businesses struggle to do the same. A qualitative single case-study was conducted. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with the respondent who is the owner-manager of the construction company. The findings were that incorporating social responsibility initiatives had many spin-offs for the business. These spin-offs included acceleration of aggressive marketing without huge investments, created a brand for the business and provided company market differentiation. Recommendations were that businesses that did not engage in social responsibility should start to relook at social responsibility with positive aspects in mind, and to use marketing initiatives as a motive for engaging in social responsibility.

Key words: Building contractor, small business, social responsibility, township.