rCorporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has recently assumed strategic significance in the industrial world for companies and governments alike. In emerging countries that seek to build vital economies, CSR has taken on an added value. Increasingly, there is the understanding that national development and CSR are characteristically intertwined. Indeed, it has become clear that developing nations will not be able to move forward without the purposeful engagement of corporations in societal affairs and their active contribution to capacity building. The underlying reasoning is that the competitive position and the national standing of a country and the well being of its citizens are inextricably linked to environmental, technological and competency challenges. These mounting challenges can only be managed through corporate initiatives in partnership with government.
The United Nations Industrial Development Organization1 has reported that corporations in partnership with governments can make a vital contribution to developing innovative solutions to developmental challenges. Furthermore, in its study, "CSR and Developing Countries," the UN's Division for Sustainable Development2 has argued that governments across the globe have promoted CSR to enhance national competitiveness and to help deliver public-policy goals and priorities.
The Arab countries are no exception. Governments in the Arab world have in recent decades espoused certain tenets of CSR. In particular, there has been increasing emphasis on environmental sustainability, water conservation and healthy living. The Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED) has underscored the major challenges that Arab countries face. In a 2011 report, it concluded that, given mounting challenges, "transitioning to the Green Economy is not only an option for the Arab region; rather it is an obligation to secure a