Corporate social responsibility: towards a context-specific perspective in developing countries

Abstract

Purpose – This paper aims to empirically test, in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, the external perceptions which hold that a firm that has acted in a socially irresponsible manner can have negative consequences, as an organisation’s success and very survival depends, in part, on satisfying normative expectations from its environment. Design/methodology/approach – A purposive sample of 28 respondents was selected from three communities within the region. In addition, 20 in-depth interviews took place with oil workers, community leaders and elders within the region. These interviews lasted for approximately an hour and were transcribed verbatim. Findings – Drawing on qualitative research methodology, it is proposed that socially responsible investment could promote and facilitate business and social cohesion between corporations and broader communities that impinge on the company, rather than simply viewing business practice exclusively from an economic or political point of view. Research limitations/implications – This study has examined a small range of companies from an interpretivist ethnographic position in the Niger Delta region using data collected from interviews and observations. Future research could take a more positivistic position and explore a wider range of companies using a variety of data collection methods. Practical implications – Understanding corporate social responsibility (CSR) tends to be contextually bound, and should be divorced from the mechanistic Western perspective prevailing in most extant literature. Despite this context-specific notion to CSR relevance, there is still an overwhelming dominance of the understanding of CSR from the Western perspective, so companies should more closely consider local issues when drawing up CSR policy guidelines in a non-Western environment. Originality/value – Forty-eight individuals in the Niger Delta region have been interviewed, and their opinions on CSR issues have been reported.

Attitudes and Perceptions of Employees toward Corporate Social Responsibility in Western Balkan Countries: Importance and Relevance for Sustainable Development

“…This is mostly because in developing countries research on CSR is still neither mainstreamed nor found relevant [91]. However, the numerous positive effects of CSR on companies in developed countries, especially improvement of financial performance and attraction and engagement of employees [92] have influenced companies/organizations in developing countries to follow their footsteps [93,94], which is of great importance for the Western Balkan countries in which more and more business organizations introduce the practice of CSR [47,[95][96][97][98][99][100][101][102][103]. Studies pertaining to CSR in the Western Balkan countries are mainly descriptive or qualitative.…”

“…However, considering the fact that in most of the cases the implementation of CSR standards is voluntary, the development of CSR practices and initiatives is still not at satisfactory level, despite the existence of legislation and a number of undertaken activities regarding the concept of CSR [47,90,[95][96][97][98][99][100][101][102][103]. In other words, although there are significant government initiatives in the analyzed countries, as well as adopted policies and strategies, the issue of social responsibility is still perceived as declaratory, i.e., voluntary, rather than obligatory, i.e., imperative [90,94]. So, the employees' attitudes and perceptions were recognized as one of the potentially important factors for future development and implementation of this concept.…”

Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure by State-Owned Enterprises in Indonesia

“…The implications of this view are, first, corporate profitability is a necessary condition of social responsibility (Scott, 2007). Second, companies should more closely consider local issues when drawing up CSR policy guidelines in a non-Western environment (Ozuem et al, 2014). Third, conceptual framework for the corporate citizenship notion implies business and political perspective of corporate citizenship (Camilleri, 2017).…”

CSR Initiatives and Practices: Empirical Evidence From Indian Metal and Mining Companies

“…Ignoring CSR and indulging in socially irresponsible behavior (e.g., pollution, faulty or dangerous products resulting into consumer injuries, worker accidents due to poor safety conditions) can have dire consequences (Campbell, 2007). At the same time, socially responsible investments enhance cohesion between corporate and communities (Ozuem et al, 2014). By using carefully crafted social strategies, firms take actions to maintain the complex relationships with shareholders, employees, clients and the community (Husted & Allen, 2007).…”