Search

The thesis contributes to the emerging critical perspective on CSR and development from the context of corporate-community relations in the Nigerian oil industry. I take a critical look at the link between oil multinationals' (MNCs) CSR initiatives and community development in the Niger Delta. This research focus can be attributed to the contested nature of the debate over the CSR-development relationship (i.e., theoretical concerns), and the inability of oil MNCs to secure their social licence to operate despite increases in community development spending in the region (i.e., policy and empirical concerns). Hence, unlike previous analysis, a stakeholder .analytical approach that focuses on- the 'social responsibility' of oil MNCs and the 'reciprocal responsibility' of other stakeholders was adopted for exploring the link between oil MNCs' CSR initiatives and community development. The research thus attempted to assess and understand the CSR-development nexus from a beneficiary perspective (i.e., host communities), a practitioner perspective (i.e., oil MNCs) and an institutional context perspective (i.e., government). The research carefully interrogates the issues of community perceptions, expectations and sociocultural mores with which they make sense oftheir relationship with oil multinationals (MNCs). Efforts were also made to explore the strengths and limitations of corporate social responsibility (CSR) as an effective vehicle for fostering community development and harmonious stakeholder relationship in the Nigerian oil industry. Finally, the research critically examined whether the Nigerian government facilitated or inhibited CSR practices and the possible drivers and constraints for CSR in the Nigerian oil industry. A combinatio~ of quantitative (e.g., household questionnaires) and qualitative (e.g., interviews and focus group discussions) methods informed the process of data collection during fi~ldwork in Nigeria and subsequent analyses presented in the thesis. Findings from the research suggest that the relationship between CSR and community development is often more complex than presently assumed, and the extent to which oil MNCs' CSR initiatives positively or negatively affect community development is best understood in terms of the interplay of corporate motivation and strategy, local culture and institutional context. The research synthesises. an explanation for the inability of oil MNCs to secure their 'social licences to operate', and proposes ways to strengthen oil MNCs' CSR initiatives to enable stakeholders to derive maximum benefits from CSR practices.