ABSTRACT
The term 'polestar' is used to describe the structural underpinning of a governance mechanism: the basic tenet of guidance offered to corporations. This chapter suggests that many corporate governance structures in South Africa are progressive and espouse an enlightened definition of corporate citizenship, indicating that they stem from a markedly different polestar. Commonly accepted interpretations of the role of business in society offer two corporate polestars. The first follows traditional economic theory viewing the primary responsibility of the corporation as its agency to the shareholder. The second approach to corporate governance acknowledges obligations to shareholders, but also recognises a corporation's responsibility to stakeholders. Alignment with the stakeholder polestar suggests that increased agency costs may be necessary in South Africa, supporting the premise that meeting the needs of society is the responsibility of every citizen, corporate. The chapter is concerned with the immediacy and importance of progressive regulatory guidance of South African corporate citizens operating on a continent besieged by poverty and disease.
