Contribution of sustainable development goals and corporate social responsibility initiatives of multinational enterprises (MNEs) to social development in Nigeria: a critical assessment of the different parties and the dynamic involved in mandating CSR to identify best practices for developing nations

There is evidence in the academic literature to suggest that developing nations’ governments lack the capacity to satisfy many of the population’s needs that industrial nations’ governments provide for their own populations. Consequently, there are increasing pressures upon companies to perform philanthropic corporate social responsibility (CSR) directed at the developing world’s socio-economic problems. The narrow focus of this research is upon the relationship between developing nations and the multinational enterprises (MNEs) that operate within them. MNEs are increasingly recognized as playing an important role in social development through their active engagement in CSR activities. While it is argued that philanthropic CSR represents a means of bringing improvement to the population’s situation and changing the business environment within developing nations, the reality is that the contribution of MNEs to such development has, however, been contested. There is a dearth of local information on how MNEs shape CSR activities within the African context and the development outcomes. Furthermore, there has been little tangible change in companies’ profit focus and the imbalance of power between the governments and the corporations. While obligatory CSR spending has increased, decades of CSR spending have not produced the desired improvements in the well-being of the population or the relationship between corporations and governments. The dynamic is affected by the motivations and expectations of the different players; each having expectations that they place upon themselves and others. In order to address these objectives, primary data was collected using questionnaire surveys and semi-structured interviews. A broad-reaching study of secondary sources was also performed and focused upon the perspectives of the different parties and the motivations upon which the perspectives are grounded. A basic premise has driven the approach; namely, by understanding the perspectives and motivations of the different parties, then more practical solutions can be identified. The result shows that while MNEs do indeed contribute to social development, they are unable on their own to resolve the problems of poverty and social inequality in Africa. There is a need for local community and governmental participation and guidance of CSR activities to make the best choices for the population’s long-term well-being. This research makes an empirical contribution both in a theoretical and practical way by contextualizing CSR within a local and broader national institutional framework in Nigeria. Furthermore, the study has the potential to contribute to policy and practice, raising awareness of the influence of institutions on company activities, and helping MNEs disseminate CSR practices and to align and plan their operational strategy regarding CSR practices more effectively. The conclusions of this research also signal for further exploration into the behavior of authentic legitimacy theory companies and a means to identify them within the crowd of camouflaging legitimacy theory companies.