CSR as an organizational routine: Bintulu Development Authority

Abstract

Subject area

Business ethics, corporate social responsibility (CSR), corporate strategy and public administration.

Study level/applicability

Undergraduate (final year) and Master level course (e.g. MBA, EMBA, Master in management and Master in public administration).

Case overview

This case accounts the experience of a Malaysian Governmental Development Agency cum City Council, Bintulu Development Authority (BDA), in organizing and strategizing its CSR initiatives so as to discharge its self-interests and societal expectations. BDA was established following the discovery of huge reserves of natural gas and oil offshore in Bintulu, an industrial town in the state of Sarawak, Malaysia. It serves as the governmental instrument to undertake and coordinate development initiatives in Bintulu. There have been several driving forces prompted BDA to be more vigilant in discharging its social obligations along with its statutory obligations as a development agency and municipal services provider. They are, namely, the BDA Ordinance 1978 that governs its legitimate existence, the emergence of social media era that alters the access of people to information, the growing ecological and social concerns, and the unpredictable geopolitical environment that makes the logic of long-term strategic planning questionable. To ensure discharging its statutory and social obligations, BDA articulated vision and mission statements with strong social orientation. Two master development plans, embedded with social and environmental considerations, have guided BDA in translating its strategic mission into real structured development and action plans from 1978 to present. Through institutionalization of CSR elements as part of the organization's core business routines, annual budget allocation, performance control and reward mechanisms, CSR becomes an organizational routine of value to BDA.

Expected learning outcomes

This case has three learning objectives: it assists students to understand the contextual background of the case so as to establish the strategic position of CSR initiatives within the organization; it assists students to assess the embeddedness of CSR in an organization's core business routines and its potential sources of value creation; and it encourages students to examine the possible critical factors that enable or impede the initiation and implementation of regular CSR programs in an organization.

Supplementary materials

Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

Citation

Loi, T.H. (2013), "CSR as an organizational routine: Bintulu Development Authority", , Vol. 3 No. 7. https://doi.org/10.1108/EEMCS-07-2013-0151