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Archives of Business Research – Vol. 9, No.3
Publication Date: March, 25, 2021
DOI: 10.14738/abr.93.9832.
Ugwu, A. N., & Aruma, E. O. (2021). Interventions of Corporate Social Responsibility of Oil Companies in Promoting Sustainable Community
Development in Host Communities in Niger Delta, Nigeria. Archives of Business Research, 9(3). 208-216.
Interventions of Corporate Social Responsibility of Oil
Companies in Promoting Sustainable Community Development
in Host Communities in Niger Delta, Nigeria
Dr. A. N. Ugwu
Department of Adult & Non-Formal Education
University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt
Rivers State, Nigeria
Dr. E. O. Aruma
Department of Adult & Non-Formal Education
University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt
Rivers State, Nigeria
ABSTRACT
The paper focused on intervention of corporate social
responsibility of oil companies in the promotion of sustainable
community development in host communities. The paper
identified the strategies of corporate social responsibility
intervention in the promotion of sustainable community
development to include understanding the operations of
corporate organizations, understanding social settings in host
communities, identification of relevant stakeholders among
others. The highlights of the paper on the reasons of corporate
social responsibility for sustainable community development in
host communities include improving people’s living conditions,
satisfying the interest of many stakeholders, value-added to the
operations of corporate organizations, partnership funding, an
opportunity to give back to host communities, social justice
among others. The paper recommends among other things that
corporate social responsibility should stimulate mutual trust
among relevant stakeholders as well as that corporate social
responsibility should be very helpful to all the relevant
stakeholders in the corporate organizations and host
communities. The involvement of corporate social
responsibility intervention in sustainable community
development demands institutionalization of corporate
organizations in development initiatives of the host
communities in the society.
Keywords: Interventions, Corporate Social Responsibility, Oil
Companies, Sustainable Community Development, Host
Communities and Niger Delta.
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INTRODUCTION
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is development policy of corporate organizations
which enables concerned corporate establishments to conduct their operations in a
manner that takes into consideration socio-economic interventions that will positively
impact on improving the living conditions of people of host communities in human
environment. In the views of Armstrong (2009) corporate social responsibility is employed
by organizations when such establishments or corporate bodies conduct their activities in
an ethical way which takes into account the social, economic and environmental impact of
their operations in general and going beyond compliance in particular in human
environment. The intervention of corporate social responsibility in promotion of
sustainable community development in host communities offers an opportunity to
corporate organizations to really go beyond their own interest as required in the spirit of
give and take in host communities of many companies in human environment.
In the context of this study, sustainable community development is defined as a
development initiative which articulates on meeting the needs of present generation
without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs through
the intervention of corporate social responsibility of corporate organizations in the cost
communities in the society. The focus of sustainable community development is on
addressing key elements of socio-economic prevailing realities and effective environmental
management for the benefit of both present generation and future generations in human
environment.
STRATEGIES OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY INTERVENTION IN
PROMOTION OF SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT OF HOST COMMUNITIES
IN HUMAN ENVIRONMENT
The strategies of corporate social responsibility intervention in promotion of sustainable
community development in host communities in human environment are the followings:
1. Strategy of understanding operations of corporate organizations: An important
strategy of corporate social responsibility is to promote good understanding of the
operations of corporate organizations by relevant stakeholders. An understanding
of the operations of corporate organizations will be helpful in identifying
appropriate areas of corporate social responsibility intervention in promotion of
sustainable community development in host communities in the society.
2. Strategy of understanding the social settings in the host communities of corporate
organizations. Indeed, a good understanding of the social settings in the host
communities where the corporate organizations operate will enable the
organizations to identify appropriate community leadership and various segments
to deal with in order to promote sustainable community development through the
instrumentality of corporate social responsibility.
3. Identification of relevant stakeholders. The identification of relevant stakeholders is
a good strategy in corporate social responsibility intervention in promotion of
sustainable community development projects in the host communities. SPDC (nd)
states that identification of stakeholders, problems and opportunities are possible
areas of intervention of corporate organizations in their corporate social
responsibility activities in host communities. This can be achieved through
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Ugwu, A. N., & Aruma, E. O. (2021). Interventions of Corporate Social Responsibility of Oil Companies in Promoting Sustainable Community
Development in Host Communities in Niger Delta, Nigeria. Archives of Business Research, 9(3). 208-216.
210
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/abr.93.9832.
community engagement. Aruma (2014) asserts that community engagement helps
all the relevant stakeholders to understand their responsibilities in promotion of
sustainable community development process in various participating communities
in human environment.
4. Identification of areas of intervention of corporate social responsibility in host
communities. A democratic approach is required to elicit the views of the people of
host communities in identification of areas of intervention of corporate social
responsibility. Participatory rural appraisal (PRA) offers an opportunity to the
people of host communities to identity areas of intervention.
5. Prioritization of identified needs in areas of intervention of corporate social
responsibility. The application of pair-wise ranking becomes imperative in the
prioritization of areas of need in the intervention of corporate social responsibility.
The prioritization of identified needs in areas of intervention of corporate social
responsibility facilitates emergence of community development plan in host
communities.
6. Corporate social responsibility intervention community development plan (CDP):
The emergence of corporate social responsibility intervention community
development plan is based on prioritized community needs assessment in the host
communities in human environment. This requires active participation of all the
relevant stakeholders in the host communities.
REASONS OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY INTERVENTIONS OF OIL
COMPANIES IN SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT IN HOST COMMUNITIES
IN NIGER DELTA
The reasons of corporate social responsibility intervention in promotion of sustainable
community development are the followings:
1. Improving people’s living conditions: It is pertinent to state clearly that
improving people’s living conditions through provision of corporate social
responsibility intervention projects is an important reason for promotion of
corporate social responsibility in host communities of corporate organizations in
human environment. The desire to improve people’s poor living conditions is the
cardinal reason of corporate social responsibility intervention in promotion of
sustainable community development projects in participating host communities in
the society.
2. Enhancing people’s understanding of corporate social responsibility to
address prevailing problems: Another reason for promotion of intervention of
corporate social responsibility in stimulating sustainable community development
projects is to enhance people’s understanding of the operations of corporate
organizations and their expectations to address prevailing problems in the host
communities. Armstrong (2009) strongly observes that corporate social
responsibility is simply about taking decision initially on the extent which corporate
organizations should be involved in addressing social issues and then creating a
corporate social agenda to focus on and to what extent in host communities.
Interestingly, the establishment of corporate social responsibility framework
stimulates conscious efforts and concerns on corporate organizations to set up a
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corporate social agenda of deciding on issues to address to a certain extent in host
communities in human environment.
3. Satisfying the interest of many stakeholders: While commenting on reasons of
corporate social responsibility, Armstrong (2009) employed stakeholder theory
which was first propounded by Freeman in 1984 to illustrate that managers of
corporate organizations must satisfy many constituents or components notably
employees, suppliers, customers, local community organizations among others that
can influence the outcomes of firms. He further explained that it is not sufficient for
managers of corporate organizations to focus exclusively on the needs of
stakeholders or the owners of the organizations. He continued to state that
stakeholder theory simply means that it can, indeed, be beneficial for the
organizations to engage in certain corporate social responsibility projects and
programmes which non-financial stakeholders consider to be important to them in
the host communities. The implication of this is that the interest of relevant
stakeholders in issues of corporate social responsibility should be taking into
consideration in the host communities.
In corporate social responsibility intervention in promotion of sustainable community
development, it is appropriate that corporate organizations and host communities seek
broad participation of relevant stakeholders. The key element for the success of corporate
social responsibility intervention in promotion of sustainable community development
depends on the ability of the organization satisfying its important stakeholders. Bryson and
Farnum (1995) assert that the key success for public and non-profit organization is seen to
be dependent on its ability to satisfy its relevant stakeholders in accordance with each
stakeholder’s criteria for achieving satisfaction. Meeting the desired needs of relevant
stakeholders is a critical concern of corporate social responsibility intervention in
promotion of sustainable community development in host communities.
In the views of Mulwa (2008), the criteria for satisfaction of the desire of relevant
stakeholders can only best be understood through the full participation of concerned
relevant stakeholders. The application of the instrumentality of full participation of
relevant stakeholders in corporate social responsibility intervention will yield the desired
dividends in promotion of sustainable community development in the host communities.
4. Value-added to the operations or business of corporate organizations in the
host communities: The mere existence of corporate social responsibility can better
be seen as value-added internal development projects or returned to the
stakeholders in the host communities (Armstrong, 2009). The implication of this is
that corporate social responsibility is merely for a corporate organization to give
back to the host community or society what it has taken away from the area
concerned. This helps to reduce tension in host communities of corporate
organizations.
5. Added value to the living conditions of people of host communities: The desire
for corporate social responsibility intervention in promotion of sustainable
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Ugwu, A. N., & Aruma, E. O. (2021). Interventions of Corporate Social Responsibility of Oil Companies in Promoting Sustainable Community
Development in Host Communities in Niger Delta, Nigeria. Archives of Business Research, 9(3). 208-216.
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URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/abr.93.9832.
community development calls for assessing the added value in host communities.
Armstrong (2009) notes that assessing the added value that is the value for money
which is provided by existing practices or by new practices when such practices are
implemented is a major consideration in human efforts in human environment.
Added value is, indeed, achieved in corporate social responsibility initiative in
promotion of sustainable community development when the benefits accruing from
such development initiative exceed its cost in the host community. In certain
situations, the accruing benefits justify the cost of establishing the project.
6. Promotion of change of attitude and orientation of corporate organizations:
Essentially, promotion of change of attitude and orientation of corporate
organizations is another important reason of corporate social responsibility
intervention in promotion of sustainable community development in host
communities in the society. Indeed, change of attitude and orientation of corporate
organizations from being passive beneficiaries of their business initiatives to active
participants in promotion of sustainable community development can be seen as
favourable approach to stimulate peaceful atmosphere to initiate sustainable
community development projects in host communities in human environment.
7. Partnership funding of sustainable community development projects:
Provision of adequate funds for corporate social responsibility in promotion of
sustainable community development concerns is equally considered as another
reason of intervention of corporate social responsibility in host communities.
Essentially, partnership funding guarantees adequate funds for effective
implementation of corporate social responsibility stimulated sustainable
community development projects in host communities in the society. The
involvement of relevant stakeholders notably federal, state, local government, non- governmental organizations, oil companies, contractors handling major projects in
oil and gas establishments as well as other corporate organizations, host
communities among others strengthens partnership funding of intervention of
sustainable community development in host communities. Shell Petroleum
Development Company SPDC (2000) states that the contributions of relevant
stakeholders will depend on how transparent and accessible a corporate
organization is on the development of project document. The stakeholders are likely
to make commitment if they are adequately involved. The partnership funding of
corporate social responsibility intervention in promotion of sustainable community
development becomes obvious in joint ventures in host communities.
8. Provision of an opportunity for a corporate organization to give back to host
community or society what it has taken from the area concerned in human
environment.
It is pertinent to state that prior to the introduction of corporate social
responsibility that many corporate organizations have been like vampires which are
only interested in sucking out the wealth of their host communities or country
without given back to the concerned communities or country. This is unacceptable
to host communities in the activities of corporate organizations in the contemporary
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global environment. While commenting on a similar subject, Bassey (2017) likened
our Nigerian leaders who have been mostly like vampires that are only interested in
sucking out the wealth of the country. The introduction of necessary corporate
policies on corporate social responsibility and corporate governance have been in
favour of corporate social responsibility as seen in many host communities in
human environment.
9. Social partnership: Another important reason of corporate social responsibility
intervention in promotion of sustainable community development in host
communities is the desire to stimulate social partnership in human environment. In
a desperate desire to promote social partnership, relevant stakeholders in corporate
organizations’ activities collaborate to work together for a common purpose of
improving people’s living conditions in the host communities in the society.
Armstrong (2009) perceives the concept of social partnership as stakeholders who
are involved in working together to the greater good of all people in the society.
Essentially, social partnership as a concept elicits collaborative engagement of all
relevant stakeholders to work together for the ultimate purpose of improving
people’s living conditions in human environment. Fasel (2000) asserts that in
successful business partnering relationships across organizational boundaries that
people and corporate organizations grow and develop in human environment.
Indeed, corporate organizations and host communities learn from their partnering.
Social partnership or social partnering encourages collaborative relationship and
strong collective bargaining among relevant stakeholders in human environment.
10. Collective bargaining: The provision of an opportunity for collective bargaining is
also another reason of corporate social responsibility intervention in promotion of
sustainable community development in host communities in the society. Collective
bargaining involves people negotiating or discussing with a view to reaching
agreement on terms and conditions of provision of certain projects and services to
ameliorate people’s poor living conditions. The focus of collective bargaining in this
circumstance is on improving the prevailing reality in an area in human
environment. Collective bargaining is characterized by certain features in the
society. Armstrong (2009) states the followings as main features of collective
bargaining:
i) Parties involved: The parties involved in collective bargaining must be about two
or more groups.
ii) Outcomes of collective bargaining: The outcomes of collective bargaining must be
based on collective agreement.
iii) Procedure of collective bargaining: There must be agreed procedure stating
clearly how the parties involved in the collective bargaining relate to each other.
iv) Negotiation: The negotiation will be based on agreed framework and consultation
v) Sanctions: There is need for the existence of sanctions to check the attitude of all
people.
Essentially, achieving collective bargaining in corporate social responsibility intervention
in promotion of sustainable community development requires mutual trust, respect,
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Ugwu, A. N., & Aruma, E. O. (2021). Interventions of Corporate Social Responsibility of Oil Companies in Promoting Sustainable Community
Development in Host Communities in Niger Delta, Nigeria. Archives of Business Research, 9(3). 208-216.
214
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/abr.93.9832.
consultation and engagement of relevant stakeholders in the development projects.
Commenting on a similar subject, Aruma (2014) identifies community consultation,
community engagement, community participation, partnering and community capacity
building as strategies to stimulate effective service delivery in community development
process. This elicits collaborative efforts of all relevant stakeholders in corporate social
responsibility intervention in promotion of sustainable community development in host
communities.
11. Social Justice: Corporate social responsibility enthrones social justice in the spirit
of give and take in the host communities. This social justice syndrome encourages
corporate organizations to give back to the host communities where they have been
carrying out their operations over the years. Jhingan (2009) advocates for social
justice and equity in development plan in the society. The intervention of corporate
social responsibility enthronement of social justice in the spirit of give and take in
the host communities will lead to corporate organizations concern of providing
sustainable community development projects that will complement other
stakeholders’ efforts to improve people’s living conditions, reduce high rate of
poverty and unemployment, stimulate wealth creation, provide adequate electricity,
improve health and educational services among others.
Essentially, social considerations are usually taken into account in corporate social
responsibility intervention in promotion of sustainable community development in host
communities in human environment. In the views of Templar (2005) people are
encouraged to know a corporate organization’s social standing and what it, however, does
for the host community. This is, indeed, what an ideal situation presents in a corporate
organizational environment and the host communities.
CONCLUSION
Corporate social responsibility as a corporate development policy of corporate
organizations should always endeavour to set agenda on promotion of good community
relations in their host communities. This can be achieved through the instrumentality of
corporate social responsibility intervention in promotion of sustainable community
development in the host communities in the society. This will, undoubtedly, add value to
corporate organizations’ activities in the host communities in human environment.
The intervention of corporate social responsibility in promotion of sustainable community
development in host communities will hopefully create enabling environment for
corporate organizations to operate in their host communities. This will ensure
uninterrupted corporate organizations’ operations in their host communities in the society.
The intervention of corporate social responsibility in promotion of sustainable community
development will, indeed, help to secure license to operate (LTO) for corporate
organizations in their various host communities in the society. A well implemented
corporate social responsibility will also help to improve the reputation of corporate
organizations in their various host communities in the society.
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RECOMMENDATIONS
The following recommendations are made based on the discussion on intervention of
corporate social responsibility in promotion of sustainable community development in
host communities:
1. Corporate social responsibility as a corporate development policy should stimulate
mutual trust among the relevant stakeholders for smooth corporate business. Trust
of all the relevant stakeholders in corporate business has the potential to create a
peaceful and harmonious working environment in host communities in the society.
2. Corporate social responsibility as a corporate development policy of corporate
organizations should be very helpful to all the relevant stakeholders in an
organizational environment and its host communities in the society. This will
promote harmonious working environment in corporate organizations and their
host communities in the society.
3. Corporate social responsibility as a corporate development policy of corporate
establishments should be mutually beneficial to all the relevant stakeholders in
corporate business. This will certainly sustain good working relationship between
corporate organizations and their host communities in human environment.
4. Corporate organizations should always try to be good corporate partners in
conformity with the corporate social responsibility as a corporate development
policy in their host communities in the society. This will enable corporate
organizations to partner with their host communities and other relevant
stakeholders in promotion of sustainable community development.
5. Corporate social responsibility should equally endeavour to encourage corporate
organizations to be good corporate neighbours and citizens in accordance with the
corporate social responsibility as a corporate development policy that promotes
sustainable community development in host communities. This corporate
intervention as demonstrated in corporate social responsibility will help corporate
organizations to impact positively on their host communities in human
environment.
References
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Fasel, D.K. (2000). Partnering in action. Oxford: How To Books Ltd.
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Ltd.
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Africa.
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Ugwu, A. N., & Aruma, E. O. (2021). Interventions of Corporate Social Responsibility of Oil Companies in Promoting Sustainable Community
Development in Host Communities in Niger Delta, Nigeria. Archives of Business Research, 9(3). 208-216.
216
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/abr.93.9832.
SPDC (2000). SPDC 2000 stakeholders’ environment and community development workshop: Actions follow- up report. Port Harcourt: SPDC.
SPDC (n.d). Sustainable development management framework. Port Harcourt: SPDC.
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