Abstract
This article argues that the global chocolate industry’s endeavours to assist cocoa communities do not engage sufficiently with the micro-context of the farmers’ lives, and this undermines the efficacy of their interventions. Our analysis contrasts the global discourses relating to CSR, sustainability and partnerships with empirical evidence from Ghana and the Dominican Republic. We argue that whilst integrating micro-contextual data is a necessity, implementing such an approach remains a considerable challenge because it represents a significant shift away from established practices in the realms of CSR. However, the industry’s long-term future will be precarious unless there is greater recognition of the complex dynamics of the micro-contexts within which cocoa production occurs. Furthermore, this paper challenges the management research community to engage more pro-actively with the micro-contextual research.