Paying the price for corporate social responsibility: social costs and dividends of oil and gas company approaches in Nigeria.

Vertigans, Stephen

Abstract

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has grown in prominence over recent years. And rising levels of interest have been accompanied by contests within academic and business circles over the purpose and suitability of businesses having social responsibilities. The spectrum of opinion ranges from the view that CSR is an unnecessary and inappropriate cost for businesses to an integral and essential way for organisations to operate in order to secure sustainable futures. This debate has been well documented and it is not intended to review here. Although trans-national corporations' (TNCs) intentions are disputed, it is apparent that many organisations are spending considerable amounts of money under the remit of CSR. Financially, TNCs are paying the price for their policies. Again the extent to which this is investment to be subsequently recovered through accompanying business opportunities is not under discussion here. Instead, the author is interested in the social consequences of CSR and the implications for Southern hemisphere societies and communities. The particular focus in this paper is upon oil and gas TNC approaches within Nigeria. By looking at the social costs in the Niger Delta region in particular we can begin to identify why investments in CSR policies have failed to reap community dividends.

Citation

VERTIGANS, S. 2012. Paying the price for corporate social responsibility: social costs and dividends of oil and gas company approaches in Nigeria. Social responsibility review, 2012(1), pages 35-48.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 31, 2012
• Online Publication Date: Mar 31, 2012
• Publication Date: Mar 31, 2012
• Deposit Date: Feb 19, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 19, 2018
• Journal: Social responsibility review
• Print ISSN: 1759-5886
• Publisher: Social Responsibility
• Peer Reviewed: Not Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 2012
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 35-48
• Keywords: CSR; Transnational corporations; Social consequences; Nigeria
• Public URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10059/2762
• Publisher URL: https://web.archive.org/web/20180914073040/http://www.socialresponsibility.biz/2012-1.pdf