IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eme/srjpps/v6y2010i4p522-535.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

CSR and sustainable community development in Nigeria: WAPCO, a case from the cement industry

Author

Listed:
  • Adeolu O. Adewuyi
  • Afolabi E. Olowookere

Abstract

Purpose - Following the scarcity of studies in the developing countries, particularly Africa, on corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainable community development, this paper intends to examine the case of a major cement company, WAPCO plc, and its host communities. Design/methodology/approach - A total of 15 CSR factors covering the three elements of sustainable development (economic, social and environment) were adopted, and with data extracted from the company's annual reports the contributions of WAPCO to sustainable development in the host communities in Nigeria were analysed. Findings - Analysis of 15 CSR factors shows that WAPCO has gone beyond assistance and community development per se to sustainable development in the host communities; its recent inclusion as a member of Lafarge SA may have attributed to this. However, the position of WAPCO seems not to be clear in the area of social and environmental reporting, and codes of conduct on bribery and corruption. Some areas such as health seem not to be given priority in the WAPCO's CSR expenditure. Further, WAPCO's CSR activities are observed to be directly related with its turnover; however, CSR as a ratio of turnover is less than 0.5 per cent throughout the study period. Research limitations/implications - The limitation of this study lies in the fact that although the firm used as a case study accounted for over half of the output in the industry, this study is based on a single firm in the cement manufacturing industry. Besides, data extracted from the company's annual reports are taken as given. Thus, caution needs to be exercised in the interpretation and generalisation of the results and conclusions/recommendations. Practical implications - WAPCO and polluting firms in general should devote more resources to CSR activities. Besides, there is the need to design a clear policy/strategy and enforcement mechanism in the area of social and environmental reporting, and codes of conduct on bribery and corruption. The area of health needs to be given priority in a firm's CSR expenditure and regulations. Originality/value - The study adopts both theoretical and empirical approaches to analyse the contributions of a firm (which generates negative externalities) to sustainable development of its host communities so as to forestall crisis between the two stakeholders. To the authors' knowledge, no previous study in a developing continent such as Africa has taken such an approach to analyse the case of a firm in the cement industry.

Suggested Citation

  • Adeolu O. Adewuyi & Afolabi E. Olowookere, 2010. "CSR and sustainable community development in Nigeria: WAPCO, a case from the cement industry," Social Responsibility Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 6(4), pages 522-535, October.
  • Handle: RePEc:eme:srjpps:v:6:y:2010:i:4:p:522-535
    DOI: 10.1108/17471111011083419
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/17471111011083419/full/html?utm_source=repec&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=repec
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers

    File URL: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/17471111011083419/full/pdf?utm_source=repec&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=repec
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1108/17471111011083419?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. World Commission on Environment and Development,, 1987. "Our Common Future," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780192820808.
    2. Uwem E. Ite, 2004. "Multinationals and corporate social responsibility in developing countries: a case study of Nigeria," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 11(1), pages 1-11, March.
    3. Musa Obalola, 2008. "Beyond philanthropy: corporate social responsibility in the Nigerian insurance industry," Social Responsibility Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 4(4), pages 538-548, October.
    4. Uwem E. Ite, 2007. "Changing times and strategies: Shell's contribution to sustainable community development in the Niger Delta, Nigeria," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 15(1), pages 1-14.
    5. Jeremy Moon, 2007. "The contribution of corporate social responsibility to sustainable development," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 15(5), pages 296-306.
    6. C. Christopher Baughn & Nancy L. (Dusty) Bodie & John C. McIntosh, 2007. "Corporate social and environmental responsibility in Asian countries and other geographical regions," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 14(4), pages 189-205, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Monday Nweke Igwe & Saleh F. A. Khatib & Ayman Hassan Bazhair, 2023. "Sustainability reporting in Africa: A systematic review and agenda for future research," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(5), pages 2081-2100, September.
    2. Azilah Kasim & Bussalin Khuadthong & Noormala Jailani & Muhammad Fauzi Mokhtar & Jasmine Zea Raziah Radha Rashid Radha & Maebel Leong, 2022. "The Importance of Community Perspectives on Hotel Community-Related CSR: A Position Paper," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-17, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Milica Maricic & Milica Kostic-Stankovic, 2016. "Towards an impartial Responsible Competitiveness Index: a twofold multivariate I-distance approach," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 50(1), pages 103-120, January.
    2. Peter Dobers & Minna Halme, 2009. "Corporate social responsibility and developing countries," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 16(5), pages 237-249, September.
    3. Bert Scholtens & Feng‐Ching Kang, 2013. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Earnings Management: Evidence from Asian Economies," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 20(2), pages 95-112, March.
    4. Jesús J. Cambra‐Fierro & J. Alfredo Flores‐Hernández & Lourdes Pérez & Guadalupe Valera‐Blanes, 2020. "CSR and branding in emerging economies: The effect of incomes and education," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(6), pages 2765-2776, November.
    5. Tomina Saveanu & Daniel Badulescu & Sorana Saveanu & Maria-Madela Abrudan & Alina Badulescu, 2021. "The Role of Owner-Managers in Shaping CSR Activity of Romanian SMEs," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-19, October.
    6. Anselm Schneider, 2015. "Reflexivity in Sustainability Accounting and Management: Transcending the Economic Focus of Corporate Sustainability," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 127(3), pages 525-536, March.
    7. Lucie Kvasničková Stanislavská & Ladislav Pilař & Klára Margarisová & Roman Kvasnička, 2020. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Social Media: Comparison between Developing and Developed Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-19, June.
    8. ahmadu, aminu & Md. Harashid, Haron & Azlan, Amran, 2018. "Critical Factors Towards Philanthropic Dimension Of CSR in The Nigerian Financial Sector: The Mediating Effects Of Cultural Influence," MPRA Paper 85557, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. GĂNESCU, Cristina, 2014. "Responsible Corporate Behaviour Towards Consumers And Business Innovation – Prerequisites Of Sustainable Development. A Study On Eu Countries," Journal of Financial and Monetary Economics, Centre of Financial and Monetary Research "Victor Slavescu", vol. 1(1), pages 272-281.
    10. John Child & Terence Tsai, 2005. "The Dynamic Between Firms’ Environmental Strategies and Institutional Constraints in Emerging Economies: Evidence from China and Taiwan," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(1), pages 95-125, January.
    11. Sarah Elena Windolph & Dorli Harms & Stefan Schaltegger, 2014. "Motivations for Corporate Sustainability Management: Contrasting Survey Results and Implementation," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 21(5), pages 272-285, September.
    12. Joseph I. Uduji & Elda N. Okolo-Obasi & Simplice A. Asongu, 2019. "Multinational Oil Companies in Nigeria and Corporate Social Responsibility in the HIV/AIDS Response in Host Communities," Research Africa Network Working Papers 19/012, Research Africa Network (RAN).
    13. Kozica, Arjan & Kaiser, Stephan, 2012. "A Sustainability Perspective on Flexible HRM: How to Cope with Paradoxes of Contingent Work," management revue - Socio-Economic Studies, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 23(3), pages 239-261.
    14. Javier Aguilera‐Caracuel & Jaime Guerrero‐Villegas, 2018. "How Corporate Social Responsibility Helps MNEs to Improve their Reputation. The Moderating Effects of Geographical Diversification and Operating in Developing Regions," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(4), pages 355-372, July.
    15. Asterios Stroumpoulis & Evangelia Kopanaki, 2022. "Theoretical Perspectives on Sustainable Supply Chain Management and Digital Transformation: A Literature Review and a Conceptual Framework," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-30, April.
    16. Robert L. Engle, 2007. "Corporate social responsibility in host countries: a perspective from American managers," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 14(1), pages 16-27, February.
    17. Lueg, Rainer & Radlach, Ronny, 2016. "Managing sustainable development with management control systems: A literature review," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 158-171.
    18. Nguyen Hoang Tien & Dinh Ba Hung Anh & Nguyen Minh Ngoc, 2020. "Corporate financial performance due to sustainable development in Vietnam," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(2), pages 694-705, March.
    19. Benedict Sheehy & Federica Farneti, 2021. "Corporate Social Responsibility, Sustainability, Sustainable Development and Corporate Sustainability: What Is the Difference, and Does It Matter?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-17, May.
    20. Fikru, Mahelet G., 2016. "Determinants of International Standards in sub-Saharan Africa: The role of institutional pressure from different stakeholders," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 296-307.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eme:srjpps:v:6:y:2010:i:4:p:522-535. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Emerald Support (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.