Changing times and strategies: Shell's contribution to sustainable community development in the Niger Delta, Nigeria

2007 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Uwem E. Ite
Keyword(s):  
Community Development ◽  
Niger Delta ◽  
Sustainable Community Development ◽  
Sustainable Community ◽  
Changing Times

scholarly journals Shell Nigeria’s Global Memorandum of Understanding and corporate-community accountability relations

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Osamuyimen Egbon ◽  
Uwafiokun Idemudia ◽  
Kenneth Amaeshi
Keyword(s):  
Community Development ◽  
Multinational Corporations ◽  
Niger Delta ◽  
Community Relations ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Sustainable Community Development ◽  
Social Legitimacy ◽  
Sustainable Community ◽  
Corporate Community

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine whether Shell Nigeria’s Global Memorandum of Understanding (GMoU) promotes corporate-community accountability as a basis for fostering sustainable community development in the Niger Delta. Design/methodology/approach Shell Nigeria’s GMoU stand-alone reports were analysed through the lenses of accountability and transparency theoretical frameworks to explore the extent to which GMoU, as a corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative, is dialogically embedded and practised. Meaning-oriented content analysis was deductively used to isolate pertinent themes and generate findings from the background theoretical literature. Findings The authors find that Shell discursively appropriates the meaning of accountability and transparency in a manner that allows it to maintain its social legitimacy and the asymmetric power relations between itself and host communities whilst restricting communities’ agency to hold it accountable. Shell does this by interpreting the notion of participation restrictively, selectively deploying the concept of transparency and accountability and subtly exerting excessive control over the GMoU. Thus, the GMoU’s potential to contribute to sustainable community development and positive corporate-community relation is unlikely tenable. Originality/value Accountability and transparency are core and critical to corporate-community relations and for achieving community development CSR objectives, but are often taken for granted or ignored in the CSR literature on the Niger Delta of Nigeria. This paper addresses this gap in the literature by using accountability and transparency lenses to unpick GMoU model and contribute to studies on CSR practices by oil multinational corporations (MNCs) in developing countries. Indeed, the use of these lenses to explore CSR process offers new insights as to why CSR practices have failed to contribute to sustainable community development despite increased community spending by oil MNCs.

Interventions of Corporate Social Responsibility of Oil Companies in Promoting Sustainable Community Development in Host Communities in Niger Delta, Nigeria

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 208-216
Author(s):  
A. N. Ugwu ◽  
E. O. Aruma
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Community Development ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Niger Delta ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Sustainable Community Development ◽  
Oil Companies ◽  
Sustainable Community ◽  
Social Settings ◽  
Corporate Social

The paper focused on intervention of corporate social responsibility of oil companies in the promotion of sustainable community development in host communities. The paper identified the strategies of corporate social responsibility intervention in the promotion of sustainable community development to include understanding the operations of corporate organizations, understanding social settings in host communities, identification of relevant stakeholders among others. The highlights of the paper on the reasons of corporate social responsibility for sustainable community development in host communities include improving people’s living conditions, satisfying the interest of many stakeholders, value-added to the operations of corporate organizations, partnership funding, an opportunity to give back to host communities, social justice among others. The paper recommends among other things that corporate social responsibility should stimulate mutual trust among relevant stakeholders as well as that corporate social responsibility should be very helpful to all the relevant stakeholders in the corporate organizations and host communities. The involvement of corporate social responsibility intervention in sustainable community development demands institutionalization of corporate organizations in development initiatives of the host communities in the society.         

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