Effects of Corporate Social Responsibility on Organisational Performance: Evidence from Nigeria

Abstract

The study drew empirical evidence from indigenous firms in Nigeria by exploring the meaning and practices of Corporate Social Responsibility in Nigeria. It was found that indigenous firms perceive and practice Corporate Social Responsibility as corporate philanthropy aimed at addressing socio-economic development challenges in their host communities and the country in general. This finding reaffirms the fact that Corporate Social Responsibility is a localized and social embedded construct, as the "waves", "issues" and "modes" of Corporate Social Responsibility practices identified amongst indigenous firms in Nigeria reflect the firms’ responses to their socio-economic context.The research design adopted for the research work is the survey research design, the data analysis was based on primary data through the administration of questionnaires. The data collected for the study were analyzed in tables, simple percentages and the hypotheses tested using Chi-Square. Based on the information supplied and the analysis of the data gathered, it was discovered that failure to adequately carry out Corporate Social Responsibility has played a significant role in the increase in occurrences and consequences of conflict between organizations and their host communities and eventually impacted negatively on their performances.Based on the foregoing therefore, the study recommends that in order to encourage the implementation of Corporate Social Responsibility a committee should be established to oversee the social responsibility activities of companies. The government should also partner with these companies to ensure that company’s management observes key principles of Corporate Social Responsibility in order to ensure effectiveness in running its social responsibility programmes without endangering corporate survival.