Corporate Community Relations Research Articles

Corporate-community engagement strategies in the Niger Delta: Some critical reflections’

The pervasiveness of local protests against transnational oil corporations operating in the Niger Delta is frequently cited as evidence of the industry exploiting local communities in the vicinity of their operation. These transnational oil corporations (TNCs) have responded by embracing corporate social responsibility, operationalizing their policies via a number of different corporate-community involvement (CCI) strategies. Collectively, these efforts were meant to address criticisms of corporate misdemeanours, enable TNCs to secure their social licences to operate (SLO) and build positive corporate-community relations. However, few of these CCIs have had much of an impact, a direct result of the managers of oil companies not wishing to relinquish control over decisions concerning CCI, internal fragmentation within local communities, and unresolved legitimacy crises. The paper concludes by considering the theoretical and practical implications for CCI strategies in the extractive industries in developing countries.

Does mining company-sponsored community development influence social licence to operate? Evidence from private and state-owned companies in Chile

This research compares corporate-sponsored community development (CD) and social legitimacy at two co-located mining operations in Chile (one private and one state owned) to explore the contribution of CD to social licence to operate. The research identifies that varied approaches to corporate-sponsored CD and its outcomes have the potential to either enhance or undermine social licence to operate, but that the relationship between the mine and community, the presence of negative environmental and social impacts, and social development associated with the core activities of the mining project are more significant factors affecting legitimacy. The research used a methodology that consisted of a review of corporate sustainability reports and corporate policies, and qualitative interviews with community leaders, local government and corporate community relations professionals (n = 38). The research found that the approaches to CD undertaken by the private and the state-owned company differed. Pre-selection of community investment parameters and the absence of participatory spaces were found to limit local community co-ownership of projects and positive attitudes towards the corporation. Our findings indicate that community representatives expect the negative social and environmental impacts of development to be addressed before investing in other areas of development. The presence of social development outcomes from mining projects was found to be a necessary, but insufficient factor in achieving community legitimacy and social licence to operate.

Building blocks of success: A rhetorical toolkit for relanguaging corporate community relations

This essay argues that the premise of shared value (Porter & Kramer, 2006, 2011), the latest form of management culture embraced by corporations to address the perceived public relations failings of CSR, functions as a corporate rhetorical “toolkit” that discursively encourages corporations to treat local communities, corporate stakeholders, and the environment as entities to be absorbed into, and utilized by, a for-profit business model. Such a kit is delivered through a new form of languaging of corporate-community relations in order to fully consummate a corporation’s identity with stakeholder audiences. This language of consensus differs from the narratives of CSR due to its proactive approach towards societal issues and explicit focus on a capitalistic agenda. It explores how such rhetoric can be used as a prospect for precursory and proactive forms of corporate identities so that corporations can be seen to be “responsible.

Corporate social responsibility patterns and conflicts in Nigeria’s oil-rich region

Corporate–community relations in the Niger Delta region are, almost without exception, framed in the context of conflict, borne out of dysfunctional or misguided corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies and practices by oil transnationals. Based on a comparative study of the CSR policies and practices of Shell, Total and Agip in six oil-bearing communities in Rivers State, a core oil-bearing state in the Niger Delta, this paper contests this orthodoxy, pointing out significant variations in the intensity and scale of conflicts between host communities and different oil transnational corportions (TNCs) in the region. The key question explored in the study is: to what extent is the variation in CSR policy and practices implicated in variation in the intensity and scale of conflicts between host communities and oil TNCs in the Niger Delta? We conclude that the intensity and scale of conflict in corporate–community relations in the Niger Delta region are a function of the CSR pattern of the operating oil TNC. The implications of this for CSR policy and practice are explored.

Enhancing community capacity: Roles of perceived bonding and bridging social capital and public relations in community building

This study examined whether two types of perceived social capital – bonding and bridging – can affect individuals’ belief in community capacity in the context of a corporate community relations program to develop rural areas in South Korea. The results of the study's Web survey showed that perceived community capacity to resolve problems was significantly affected by their perception of both bonding and bridging social capital. The findings suggest that social capital serves as a mechanism that can foster community capacity through norms of interaction, reciprocity, and trust as aspects of civil society.

Punctuated Generosity

This article focuses on geographic communities as fields in which human-made and natural events occasionally disrupt the lives of organizations. We develop an institutional perspective to unpack how and why major events within communities affect organizations in the context of corporate philanthropy. To test this framework, we examine how different types of mega-events (the Olympics, the Super Bowl, political conventions) and natural disasters (such as floods and hurricanes) affected the philanthropic spending of locally headquartered Fortune 1000 firms between 1980 and 2006. Results show that philanthropic spending fluctuated dramatically as mega-events generally led to a punctuated increase in otherwise relatively stable patterns of giving by local corporations. The impact of natural disasters depended on the severity of damage: while major disasters had a negative effect, smaller-scale disasters had a positive impact. Firms’ philanthropic history and communities’ intercorporate network cohesion moderated some of these effects. This study extends the institutional and community literatures by illuminating the geographic distribution of punctuating events as a central mechanism for community influences on organizations, shedding new light on the temporal dynamics of both endogenous and exogenous punctuating events and providing a more nuanced understanding of corporate-community relations.

Corporate Social Responsibility of Multinational Oil Corporations to Host Communities in Niger Delta Nigeria

The volatile nature of corporate-community relations, which has meant significant loss in oil revenue for government and decline in corporate profit for multinational oil corporations (MNCs), has elevated the obtaining of a ‘social licence to operate’ from the periphery to the heart of strategic business thinking within the Nigerian oil industry. As a result, multinational oil corporations (MNCs) have increasingly responded to this challenge by adopting partnership strategies as a means of contributing to community development, building a mutually beneficial relationship with local communities and reinventing themselves as a force for good in their host communities.This paper critically examines different community development partnership (CDPs) initiatives’ undertaken by Exxon Mobil and Elf oil Nigeria Limited within their corporate-community relations strategy in the Niger Delta, Nigeria. Given the huge environmental control costs and the profit-minded nature of Multinational oil corporations, industry self-regulation is unlikely to be effective where it conflicts with the primary objectives of multinationals. Thus, to turn multinational oil corporations into a more positive force for sustainable development, voluntary initiatives must, by virtual necessity, be combined with effective regulatory mechanisms. The paper concludes by exploring the implications for partnerships’ initiatives and business-society relations in developing countries. KEY WORDS: Community development, sustainable development, partnership, multinational oil corporations

Rethinking the role of corporate social responsibility in the Nigerian oil conflict: The limits of CSR

AbstractThe widespread adoption of corporate social responsibility (CSR) by oil multinational corporations (MNCs) in Nigeria supposedly marked a watershed in corporate–community relations in the Niger Delta. This is because, after decades of initially rejecting such responsibilities, oil MNCs reversal of attitude towards CSR was expected to at least tamper the scale and intensity of violence. However, despite such widespread claims of adherence to the ideals of CSR, corporate–community conflict has remained unabated and oil companies continue to be accused of familiar misdemeanour. This paper argued that structural and systemic deficiencies inherent in CSR practices limit the effectiveness of CSR as a vehicle for conflict prevention and reduction in the Niger Delta. The paper concludes by considering the implications for CSR‐conflict nexuses in the Nigerian oil industry. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Obey the Law and Do a Little Bit Extra?

Obey the Law and Do a Little Bit Extra? The paper provides evidence on how firms’ stakeholder orientation is associated with standard measures of corporate governance using a panel of 1778 US companies during the period of 1995-2006. We construct two binary indicators, one measuring stakeholder hostility and the other stakeholder friendliness using data from KLD ratings agency. Based on these indicators, we classify firms into four groups representing stakeholder hostile, neutral, friendly and ”friendly and hostile” firms. Our results show that both stakeholder friendly and hostile firms tend to have significantly lower insider ownership, smaller option grants, lower pay-performance sensitivities, larger boards, older executive officers and directors, lower institutional ownership and larger number of anti-takeover defenses than the firms in the neutral group. We also find that the probability of stakeholder hostile activity is positively related to the strength of corporate governance, but the effect is insignificant except in local and global community areas. A possible explanation is that in these areas stakeholders are protected mainly by ethics and social norms rather than by various regulations that is commonplace in labour, environment and customer related areas. These findings lend support for the idea that stakeholders are best protected by various regulations. Corporate Governance and Workplace Safety. This paper examines how the weakening in corporate governance affects workplace safety. We use anti-takeover laws in the US in the 1980s as a source of variation in corporate governance. Our measures of workplace safety are the number of violations of OSHA workplace safety regulation, penalties paid for these violations, the number of accidents and employees’ complaints about their workplace safety. We find that firms affected by the regulation presented significantly more workplace safety violations and penalties than otherwise similar firms that were not affected by the regulation. Accidents and complaints tend to decrease as a result of the anti-takeover regulation, but the results are not entirely robust. We also document that the increase in workplace safety violations was significantly smaller in unionized firms. This suggests that unions can play an important role in curbing managerial discretion. How Responsible is Private Equity? The financial success of leveraged buyout targets (LBOs) is frequently associated with deteriorating conditions for other stakeholders, such as workers, customers, suppliers, tax-payers and society as a whole. We obtain a comprehensive set of stakeholder ratings for a sample of 373 LBOs and examine the pre-and post-LBO performance of these ratings. LBO targets are characterized by weak stakeholder relations across a number of measures compared to their peers, in terms of corporate governance, transparency, employee relations and community relations. Controlling for this selection, we do not find systematic evidence in favor of the idea that private equity funds gain at the expense of other stakeholders. Private equity ownership alters targets in the direction of higher pay, improved work-life benefits, increased charitable giving, and decreased concerns related to retirement benefits, adverse economic impact, tax disputes, unfair marketing practices and antitrust problems.

Providing for the Public Good: Corporate–Community Relations in the Era of the Receding Welfare State

In his pioneering research on corporate–community ties in Minneapolis–St. Paul, Galaskiewicz (1985a) examined the social conditions that guided corporate philanthropy in a given metropolitan area. Two conditions, however, suggest the need for revisiting the type of research taken on in that original study. First, Galaskiewicz's study lacked a comparative dimension for examining the institutional environments that drive variation across localities. Second, a great deal has changed in the institutional conditions that drive corporate ties to their communities since the 1980s and early 1990s, the most important institutional change coming from the Tax Reform Act of 1986 . We identify two significant factors that contribute to variation in local philanthropic commitments of corporations to the metropolitan communities in which they are headquartered. First, local corporate tax rates increase corporate giving overall, but they drive down corporate commitments to their localities. Second, the local state's involvement in the Low–Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program of 1986 also drives down local corporate giving. Thus, activist states that are successful in capturing the fiscal resources of corporations through a variety of institutional mechanisms end up driving down the philanthropic commitments of the corporations that are headquartered in those localities. We illuminate these relationships through in–depth qualitative research in three case cities and data on a nationally representative sample of 2,776 corporations.

Can we Have Global Models for Corporate Community Relations? The Case of IBM India*

Can we Have Global Models for Corporate Community Relations? The Case of IBM India^*

Corporate–community relations in Nigeria's oil industry: challenges and imperatives

AbstractThe adoption of corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies and corporate–community relation (CCR) strategies by oil companies has failed to reduce the incidence of violent conflict between the host communities and oil companies in the Niger Delta, Nigeria. This paper argues that the failure to seek, understand and integrate community perceptions into CSR policies and practices, the over‐emphasis of affirmative duties to the detriment of negative injunction duties and the absence of an enabling environment due to government failure are responsible for the observed problem. The paper concludes that unless these gaps are addressed, CSR by the Nigerian oil industry is likely to continue to fail to achieve its full potential. However, CCR in the Nigerian oil industry will be significantly improved if, and when, the needs and aspirations of the major stakeholders are addressed through a tri‐sector partnership approach to development and conflict resolution. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

Corporate Philanthropy and Corporate Community Relations: Measuring Relationship-Building Results

This study explores the impact of corporate philanthropy and corporate community relations programs on the relationship between a company and its customers. Using communal and exchange relationship characteristics as well as the relationship factors of trust, mutual control, commitment, and satisfaction, the study measures the strength of the relationship between a municipally owned utility company and its customers. It compares the strength of the company–customer relationship for those customers who are aware of the corporate philanthropy and community relations programs with the strength of the relationship for those customers who are unaware of these programs. Results demonstrate that these programs and customers' awareness of them corresponds with a stronger relationship, and with the type of relationship being more communal than exchange.

Corporate Citizenship and Community Relations: Contributing to the Challenges of Aid Discourse

Corporate Citizenship and Community Relations: Contributing to the Challenges of Aid Discourse

Managing diversity: toward a globally inclusive workplace

PART I: THE GLOBAL CONTEXT FOR DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT Chapter 1: Introduction and Conceptual Framework The Challenge of Managing Diversity in a Global Context Tensions Posed by Global Workforce Trends Diversity and Exclusion: A Critical Workforce Problem The Inclusive Workplace Model Conceptual Framework and Organization of the Book Chapter 2: Diversity Legislation Goes Global The International Bill of Human Rights and Employment Rights Importance and Influence of the Declaration of Human Rights Implementation Diversity-Related Employment Legislation Broad Based Anti Discrimination Legislation Practical Implications Appendix 2.1. Universal Declaration of Human Rights APPENDIX 2.2. Global Anti-Discrimination and Equal Rights Legislation: Checklist Of Protections Offered By Select Number Of Countries Chapter 3: Discrimination, Equality and Fairness in Employment Discrimination and Equality in Employment Theoretical Perspectives of Discrimination and Affirmative Action Social Policies and Affirmative/Positive Action Programs The Public Debate over Affirmative and Positive Action Policies Challenges for Business Practices Chapter 4: Global Demographic Trends - Martha Farnsworth Riche and Michal Mor Barak International Population Trends Trends in the Working-Age Population Migration Trends National Trends Gender Diversity Age Diversity Racial and Ethnic Diversity Ability and Disability Diversity Sexual Orientation Diversity Chapter 5: Socio-economic Transitions - The New Realities of the Global Workforce 121 Worker Migration Chapter 5: Socio-economic Transitions - The New Realities of the Global Workforce Worker Migration Migration of Employers Implications for Diversity of Gender, Disability and Sexual Orientation Educational Trends and Workforce Diversity PART II: SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES OF WORKFORCE DIVERSITY Chapter 6: Defining Diversity in a Global Context Workforce Diversity Defined Toward a Global Definition of Diversity Stereotypes and Prejudice Dehumanization and Oppression Employment-Related Discrimination Chapter 7: Vive la difference? Theoretical Perspectives on Diversity and Exclusion in the Workplace Diversity and Exclusion: A Critical Workforce Problem Theoretical Underpinnings of the Inclusion-Exclusion Construct Research on Organizational Demography Documenting Exclusion Social Psychological Theories on Diversity and Intergroup Relations Chapter 8: Culture and Communication in the Global Workplace The Cultural Context for the Global Workplace Cross-Cultural Communication Effective Cross-Cultural Communication Chapter 9: Interpersonal Relationships in a Global Work Context Cultural Styles and Relational Schemas Diversity in Interpersonal Relationships Interpersonal Relationships and Cross-cultural communication PART III: MANAGING A DIVERSE WORKFORCE IN THE GLOBAL CONTEXT--THE INCLUSIVE WORKPLACE Chapter 10: Diversity Management Defining Diversity Management From Equal Rights Laws to Affirmative/Positive Action to Diversity Management Diversity Management Paradigms The Impetus for Implementing Diversity Management Chapter 11: Managing the Globalize Workforce Diversity - An Overview of the Inclusive Workplace Model Chapter 12: The Inclusive Workplace - Level I (Diversity Within the Work Organization) Inclusive Policies and Practices Obstacles and Benefits of Implementing the Inclusive Approach Case Illustration: Level 1 - Inclusion and diversity within work organizations -Denny's, Inc. Chapter 13: The Inclusive Workplace - Level II (Inclusion through Corporate-Community Collaborations) Inclusive Policies and Practices Obstacles and Benefits of Implementing the Inclusive Approach Case Illustration: Level II - Inclusion and Corporate-Community Collaboration - Level 2 - Inclusion and corporate-community relations - Unilever Inc. Chapter 14: The Inclusive Workplace - Level III (Inclusion through State/National Collaborations) Inclusive Policies and Practices Obstacles and Benefits of Implementing the Inclusive Approach Inclusion of Distadvantaged Groups at the National/State Level The Eurest Case (Australia) History of the Aboriginals Australia's Plan to Mend the Injustices Eurest Continuing Controversy Further Analysis Chapter 15: The Inclusive Workplace - Level IV (Inclusion through International Collaborations) Level 4 - Inclusion Through Global Collaborations Level IV - Inclusion through global collaborations The Fair Trade Company Fair Trade History Global Village and The Fair Trade Company Fair Trade Future Chapter 16: Putting the pieces Together - Toward a Worldwide Inclusive Workplace The Value Base for the Inclusive Workplace Model Practice Applications of the Inclusive Workplace Model Conclusion References

Associating the Corporation with a Charitable Event Through Sponsorship: Measuring the Effects on Corporate Community Relations

On the basis of balance theory, corporate sponsorship of a well-liked charitable event is hypothesized to result in significant enhancement of consumer-perceived corporate community relations. However, on the basis of attribution theory, it is proposed that subjects would employ negative attributions (i.e., corporate self-interest) to explain the sponsorship. Furthermore, it is hypothesized that a structural equation model of charitable event sponsorship will show a significant negative path leading from the negative attributions construct to the outcome construct. As predicted, event sponsorship resulted in a significant enhancement of corporate community relations. However, the hypothesized path was not significant. The effects of sponsorship linkage on the outcome variable were largely mediated through the positive attributions construct.

Business Citizenship

The concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is being supplanted by a new term—corporate citizenship (CC). For many reasons, it’s not a bad idea to replace the CSR term. But the core content of CSR is also gradually being replaced in a significant portion of the literature by a narrower, voluntaristic concept of corporate community service. This is not a viable replacement for the broad ethics-based and problem-solving norms of social reciprocity that are represented by CSR. A more legitimate successor-term is needed so that corporate community relations and philanthropy take their rightful place among the larger set of rights, duties, stakeholder relationships, and opportunities accruing to business organizations.Therefore, we develop a working theory of business citizenship (BC), a more palatable term, and a concept designed to capture the core moral and social content of CSR. In this article we extract and synthesize several key ideas about individual citizenship that have evolved over several thousand years. We then transpose these ideas from the level of individual members of a polity to the level of organizations within society. In a companion article, we extend the business citizenship concept from its single-polity boundaries to the institutional and global levels of analysis. This approach allows a view of business citizenship that accommodates strong moral guidance, structural and institutional realities, and the flexibility necessary to respond to the structures and dynamics of particular company-stakeholder relationships.

Corporate community relations: the principle of the neighbor of choice

Foreword: Why Merck Needs to Be a Neighbor of Choice by Raymond V. Gilmartin Introduction: The New Expectations for Today's Corporation The Principle of the Neighbor of Choice The Psychological Contract From Balloons and T-Shirts to Neighbor of Choice How to Achieve a Competitive Advantage Implementing Neighbor of Choice The Company Assessment Who Are the Corporation's Communities? The Shadow Constituencies The Community Assessment The Three Strategies The First Strategy: Building Relationships of Trust The Second Strategy: Managing Community Issues and Concerns The Third Strategy: Using Community Programs to Build Trust ...And Achieve a Competitive Advantage The Social Vision Shaping a Social Vision: The Value Premise of the Neighbor of Choice Index

Transformed Corporate Community Relations: A Management Tool for Achieving Corporate Citizenship1

Transformed Corporate Community Relations: A Management Tool for Achieving Corporate Citizenship¹

Corporate Community Relations in the 1990s: A Study in Transformation

Corporate Community Relations in the 1990s: A Study in Transformation