Corporate social responsibility strategy and its impact on the socio-economic development of the Niger Delta region: a case study of the Shell petroleum development company of Nigeria limited
Creators: name: Amole, Oluwakemi Victoria
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: Corporate Social Responsibility
strategy
multinational corporations
Niger-Delta region
crude oil production
Petroleum Industry
environment
pollution
sustainability and development

description: The increasing drive by corporations to incorporate Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR)policy has highlighted the multifaceted face of the concept and the significant role it plays insociety. Large international businesses are often required to handle social issues such asunemployment, poverty, environmental pollution etc., in some of the regions in which theyoperate. Such is the case with the multinational oil companies that operates in the Niger-Deltaregion of Nigeria, who are often confronted with significant social and environmental challengesthat have continued to impact business sustainability and growth.Over the years, stakeholders including the governments, multinational oil companies, NGOs, civilsociety organisations, and other development actors, have tried to find solutions to the problemsof the Niger Delta. However, most of their efforts have proved abortive. CSR is a policy that wasdesigned to enable businesses to make positive contributions in society especially within thecommunities in which they operate. Evidence has suggested that by adopting and implementingCSR policy and approaches, businesses not only mitigate challenges in society; they also enhancedevelopment.The study evaluates the effectiveness of the CSR strategy adopted by multinational oil companiesin the Niger Delta with particular reference to the Shell Petroleum Development Company ofNigeria Limited, and how its CSR policies and initiatives have impacted the development of theregion. The research followed a mixed-method approach using a Case Study strategy. Qualitativedata was collected from eight management staff of SPDC and seven external stakeholdersthrough structured and unstructured interviews that were then organised and analysed usingNVIVO 11 statistical software and thematic analysis. 400 questionnaires were distributed acrossthree States of the region including Rivers, Bayelsa and Delta, 351 people responded. Theresulting data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software.The study developed five frameworks; the Conceptual framework, the Hypothesis and OutcomesVariables framework, the Global Compact Social Responsibility (GCSR) model, a frameworklinking SPDC‘s approaches to CSR, and a Community-oriented CSR framework that linkedcommunity-oriented CSR policies and practices with sustainable socio-economic developmentthat businesses can adopt to enhance operational ethics and practices. This study shows thatcorporations have a role to play in society; however, governments have bigger roles to play insociety. By bridging the gaps in society, corporations are able to ease some of the pressures insociety and on governments. Consequently, if the government plays its role by enhancing thedevelopment of its citizens, developing an infrastructure base across the country, addressing thesecurity challenges in the country and by developing a corporate governance framework thatwould effectively regulate, manage and monitor the activities of oil companies in Nigeria,sustainable, transformational changes will occur in the Niger Delta region and across the country.