Drivers of Corporate Social Responsibility within Construction Organization in Nigeria

Abstract

This paper examined the drivers of corporate social responsibility within construction organisations in Nigeria. The objectives were to determine the critical factors driving corporate social responsibility implementation in Nigeria and to examine the level of its uptake. It involved a semistructured interview conducted on 36 respondents. The sample include 4 key accountable persons in four constructions firms in Akwa Ibom State Nigeria; 16 employees comprising four from each firm and 16 community stakeholders in which these firms had executed projects in the past six years. Qualitative data collected were sorted and interpreted. The need to mitigate community stakeholder's risk; government push, competitive advantage and diverting attention of key stakeholders are the key drivers of corporate social responsibility among construction organisations in Nigeria. There is also a wide uptake of corporate social responsibility although with limited implementation in key areas in the social and environmental agendas. Constructions organisations need be innovative in their implementation policy while exploring ways to improve on the agendas where there are lapses in order to be social responsible organisations. The study provides an understanding of the most critical barrier to creating a safe commercial environment devoid of stakeholders' opposition.

The state of corporate social responsibility practice in the construction sector

“…The negative perception of CSR is attributed to the problems encountered by construction operators owing to the characteristics of the construction sector which is inimical to the effective CSR implementation. The sector is fragmented (Ekung et al , 2014; Loosemore, 2015; Hong et al , 2008) in terms of its diverse processes and the related professions, which, in turn, affects any transition towards socially responsible practices (Loosemore, 2016; Myers, 2005). Equally, many trade organisations such as the contractors and the supervision firms exist in the sector (Wu et al , 2015; Zhao et al , 2016).…”

“…The reason is that journal publications are more scientifically valid than the other types of publications due to the rigorous review process (Olanipekun, Chan, Xia & Ameyaw, 2017). Meanwhile, despite that research on CSR in construction has been increasing since the year 2000 (Ekung et al, 2014), it is significantly later than the field of management where research on CSR started in the 1950s (Hamidu et al, 2015). Therefore, to ensure more coverage and to obtain more publications as possible, we placed no restriction on the scope of journals that we focused on.…”

“…The research provides a reflection of researchers’ viewpoints on the subject. Ekung et al (2014) stated that research on CSR in the construction sector has been increasing since the year 2000. Exploring the published literature assures more breadth as the aggregate of the research may encompass multiple contextual characteristics such as location, professional differences and focus.…”

Modelling the Relationship Between the Level of Adoption of Sustainability Practices and Performance of Construction Firms Using Structural Equation Modelling

“…However, they were unable to evaluate the factors that accounted for poor implementation, nor did they determine the impact of low adoption rates on business performance. Other studies conducted on sustainability issues in Nigeria include Ikediashi et al (2012), Ujene (2014), Ijaiya (2014), Ekung et al (2014), Barde and Tela (2015) and Ujene and Oladokun (2017), with a very scarce study in the Niger Delta. These studies did not establish the influence of the adoption level of sustainable construction practices on firm performance.…”