Institutional Pressures and CSR Reporting Pattern: Focus on Nigeria’s Oil Industry

This chapter examines the nexus between institutional mechanisms and corporate social responsibilityCorporate Social Responsibility(CSR) (CSR Corporate Social Responsibility(CSR) ) reportingReporting/disclosure pattern in NigeriaNigeria. It explores the role institutionsInstitutions play in framing and “legitimising” CSR reportingCSR reporting in NigeriaNigeria. The chapter focuses specifically on NigeriaNigeria’s oil industryOil industry, which is habitually known for lack of accountabilityAccountability, legitimacy, responsibility Responsibilities and transparencyTransparency in its operation. Institutional issues are considered as being formal and informal. It is often argued that the combination of formal and informal elements of institution Institutions , in any social settingSocial setting, influences and frames the adoption or otherwise of CSR Corporate Social Responsibility(CSR) by organisations, through their adherence to acceptable governanceGovernance regime. Like any jurisdiction, CSR reportingCSR reporting in NigeriaNigeria, is heavily influenced by politico-cultural, regulatory, governanceGovernance and institutional realities, which constrain and/or enable the adoption of a specific type of CSR reportingCSR reporting: good or bad. Consequently, organisations report CSR Corporate Social Responsibility(CSR) activities in response to regulatory regimes; cognitive pressures that facilitate an understanding and interpreting CSR Corporate Social Responsibility(CSR) practice correctly; and, socio-cultural valuesValues enforcing and regulating the same practice. However, in corrupt regime like NigeriaNigeria, CSR reportingCSR reporting tends to foreground social performanceSocial performances and philanthropyPhilanthropy at the expense of accountabilityAccountability and business responsibility Responsibilities , which disadvantages wider stakeholdersStakeholders’ interests. Through prior literature reviewed, this paper highlighted and found that multinational corporationsCorporations (MNCs) in NigeriaNigeria use CSR reportingCSR reporting to advance shareholder Shareholders interest, legitimise their behaviour and advance profit maximisation, given a lack of poor institutional regulationsRegulations influencing CSR reportingCSR reporting. This CSR Corporate Social Responsibility(CSR) practice results in a lack of accountabilityAccountability, legitimacy and responsibility Responsibilities in CSR Corporate Social Responsibility(CSR) (reportingReporting) in NigeriaNigeria.