Looking through the African lenses: a critical exploration of the CSR activities of Chinese International Construction Companies (CICCs) in Africa

Oluwasegun Oluwaseyi Seriki

doi:10.1186/s40991-020-00055-1

Abstract

The importance of Chinese International Construction Companies (CICCs) within the construction sector in Africa can no longer be ignored, as these firms hold a considerable amount of market share within the African continent. The construction industry is of high importance to African economic renaissance, and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is becoming a key issue in business processes on the developing continent. Narratives around the implementation of CSR within construction in African economies have been largely one-sided, viewed from foreign perspectives and outsider anecdotes, without engaging locals in evaluating these initiatives. As a result, this paper explores CSR as a critical component of the continued penetration and dominance of Chinese contractors in the highly competitive African construction markets. The paper adopts a quantitative survey to explore the areas of implementation of CSR by CICCs, how they line up against current local and international counterparts and the future of these firms in Africa using CSR as a metric. Residents of Africa’s largest economy, Nigeria, who have Chinese-led projects ongoing in their communities, were surveyed for the study, and the findings used to propose solutions for future CSR policy-making in local African communities where Chinese contractors carry out business. The study found that in terms of CSR strategy implementation, CICCs were ranked highly on quality of construction and respect for local laws and customs, but ranked low in perception of employee welfare and environmental protection. The study highlighted that African governments taking responsible leadership by formulating a CSR policy for all international contractors might stem the tide of increasing anti-Chinese rhetoric within the construction sector on the African continent.

Highlights

The importance of the construction industry in every economy cannot be overemphasized, as the sector is considered a key contributor to the creation of employment and contribution to GDP
This is an interesting finding for Chinese International Construction Companies (CICCs), and they would benefit from liaising with local contractors to learn how they can implement and scale Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives, in view of the long-term sustainability of doing business on the African continent
Theoretical implications Having explored three key areas in the CSR implementation of CICCs, in the Nigerian construction market, the following theoretical/ practical implications are realised: respondents

Summary

Introduction

Given that there exists no current best practices model or benchmark for CSR in the construction sector in Africa, the evidence from the study supports while CICCs might be doing well in comparison to other international contractors, they are faring much less in CSR terms when compared to local firms. This is an interesting finding for CICCs, and they would benefit from liaising with local contractors to learn how they can implement and scale CSR initiatives, in view of the long-term sustainability of doing business on the African continent.

Conclusions

Findings

Limitations