Retooling Tullow Ghana’s CSR strategy: A communication lens

Abstract

PurposeDespite several years of its implementation, the corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy of Tullow Ghana has not been able to produce the desired results for host coastal communities in south-western Ghana. This inability has resulted in many community agitations, mistrust and unresolved conflicts between Tullow and the beneficiary communities of its CSR initiative. This paper aims to examine Tullow’s CSR programme by juxtaposing the company’s annual reports with beneficiary views on CSR need satisfaction in proximate communities to determine the effectiveness of the company’s communication strategy and its impact on the performance of the programme.Design/methodology/approachThis study was conducted using both secondary and primary data. The secondary data comprised CSR reports from Tullow Oil Plc. and reflected the company’s attempts at addressing social, environmental and economic issues in its host communities of southwestern Ghana. At the time of this research (February-March 2015), only the 2012 and 2013 CSR reports were available, and so the researchers relied on the two reports for secondary data. These annual reports and other relevant documents were downloaded from the company’s website, as advised by officials of the company’s CSR programme. The primary data for the research were, however, collected using face-to-face interviews with leaders of the company’s host communities, and focus group discussions with a cross-section of ordinary residents of affected communities. In all, 20 community leaders (five chiefs, five stool secretaries and ten youth leaders) were interviewed on the nature and impact of Tullow?s CSR programme on the socio-economic development of host communities.FindingsThe study revealed that although Tullow’s reports show considerable CSR success in Ghana, the experiences of fishing communities in the country’s western region were largely inconsistent with the company’s reports on its CSR interventions for the fisher folks. The study also suggested that an improved community-outreach strategy is required to sanitise the relationship between Tullow and its CSR beneficiaries.Research limitations/implicationsA limitation of the study is that there are no current CSR reports of the company. Moreover, researchers would have wished to talk directly to company officials instead of relying on the company’s website for reports.Practical implicationsThis study has unearthed a new pathway to improving Tullow Ghana’s CSR strategy. Unlike previous studies that have proposed a top-down approach (Ackah-Baidoo, 2012, 2013; Hilson, 2014) or a bottom-up redress (Andrews, 2013) of the conflict between Tullow Ghana and its host communities, these researchers have argued that the conflict between Tullow and its beneficiaries is a communicative one and that mistrust is one of the underlying factors of such community agitations.Social implicationsThe study has pointed out that achieving an effective communication strategy is a shared responsibility between Tullow, the coastal fishing communities and third parties – NGOs, CSOs, and others. Tullow can help pursue this strategy by adopting a more inclusive CSR reporting and education. The current practice of uploading global reports on the company’s website is not helpful to the fishing community.Originality/valueThis study is an original piece of work with primary data collected directly from beneficiaries of the company’s activities. The study will contribute to CSR practice in Ghana particularly in the extractive sector.