A Review of Corporate Social Responsibility: Its Perception, Practice, Impact, and Challenges in Nigeria

Abstract

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has received comparatively less
attention in developing countries like Nigeria. This review provides an overview of CSR
in general including the conceptual definitions, aspects and benefits of CSR; and
subsequently, focuses on the Nigerian context including the perception, practice, impact
and contemporary challenges of CSR implementation in Nigeria. CSR, which has been
defined in numerous ways, basically refers to the demand on business organisations to
extend their relevance beyond profit making to taking responsibility for the welfare of
their environment and stakeholders. Five aspects of CSR are discussed including
economic, legal, ethical, philanthropic and political responsibilities. The perception and
practice of CSR in Nigeria has been largely in the aspect of philanthropic responsibilities
and although CSR activities of corporate organisations has been widely reported, the
impact is yet apparently very low. Contributory to the reported low levels of CSR define
the tone of CSR obligations of corporations in Nigeria is still largely voluntary, unlike in
some countries like India and China that have made CSR mandatory by law. Recent
empirical studies reviewed on the outcomes of CSR in Nigeria showed both positive and
negative outcomes of CSR on businesses, suggesting that more research is needed to
validate the findings. Finally, challenges to CSR implementation in Nigeria include:
failure of government, lack of an effective CSR enforcement framework, institutionalized
corruption as well as political and social insecurity.