Corporate Citizenship and Wealth Maximisation: A Re-evaluation of Stakeholder Theory Using Evidence from Listed Industrial Goods Firms in Nigeria

Abstract

Based on stakeholder theory, the study examined the extent to which firm involvement in corporate citizenship influences the wealth maximisation of listed industrial goods firms in Nigeria. While corporate citizenship was measured using corporate donations, the proxy for wealth maximisation was market value of the firms. Ex-post facto research design was used on a population of thirteen listed industrial goods firms in Nigeria, from which a sample size of nine was purposively selected. Secondary data were gleaned from the firms’ annual reports from 2013 to 2023 (11 year interval). Panel Cross-section Heteroskedasticity LR Test was conducted while White cross-section standard errors and covariance was applied to correct the heteroskedasticity anomaly. In addition, Residual Cross-Section Dependence Test was carried out of which Cross-section Seemingly Unrelated Regression was used to address the issue of cross-sectional dependence. Therefore, the hypothesis were tested using estimates from Panel Estimated Generalised Least Squares, which revealed that involvement in corporate citizenship significantly and positively influences wealth maximisation among listed industrial goods firms in Nigeria (β = 32.79912; p-value = 0.000). In conclusion, firms that engage in meaningful corporate citizenship are likely to build stronger relationships and this, in turn, contributes to increased sustainable wealth creation. We recommend that senior management of listed industrial goods firms in Nigeria should prioritise and formalise their corporate citizenship initiatives as integral parts of their corporate strategies in order to ensure that the community development efforts they make are not ad hoc but embedded in the firm's strategic planning and operations.