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The purpose of this chapter is to critically examine the extent to which oil multinational corporations (MNCs) can be both money makers and peace makers in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria, and to consider its implication for the role of business in conflict mitigation in resource-rich African countries.

The chapter presents a theoretical analysis based on secondary data and empirical research.

There is now an emerging consensus that business can be peace makers and money makers in developing countries as part of their social responsibility. However, the tendency to explore business-conflict linkage largely from a business perspective and to see conflict as an “incidence” that business has to respond to, as opposed to a “dynamic process” that is a function of the breakdown of stakeholder relationship, limits our understanding of the relationship between business and conflict. Focusing on the Niger Delta in Nigeria, it is argued that the contradictory tension inherent in the peace making efforts of oil MNCs and the nature of their core business activities (i.e., oil extraction) limits the incentives and undermines the capacity of oil MNCs to be peace makers.

The chapter contributes a critical perspective to the literature on business and conflict informed by nearly two decades of empirical research undertaken by the author in Africa. It analyzes how contextual factors in resource-rich African countries, previously neglected in the literature, influence both the willingness and ability of business to contribute to peace. It concludes by discussing the theoretical and practical implications for the role of business in conflict zones.

Purpose — This study explores organizational ‘honesty’ when implementing corporate community initiatives (CCIs) with a particular focus on those community projects which are carried out in developing countries.Design/methodology/approach — This exploratory chapter adopts a qualitative case study approach and uses both primary and secondary data.Findings — The exploratory examination of organizational ‘honesty’ in relation to the ‘motives, decision-making and outcomes’ when implementing CCIs, provides unique findings which indicate the multi-faceted nature of organizational motives, the engagement of salient stakeholders in CCIs’ implementation and the underlying economic nature of the expected outcomes from the initiatives which are largely considered to be socially progressive. Framework consisting of four evaluative criteria is proposed as a possible evaluative framework to examine organizational ‘honesty’ in the implementation of CCIs.Research limitations — Although this study provides an initial explorative perspective of the debate on organizational ‘honesty’ in corporate social responsibility (CSR), it is limited by its scope and generalizability of the findings as it was based only on three cases.Originality/value — The chapter provides a unique and internal perspective of the manifestation of organizational ‘honesty’ in the implementation of CCIs. It shows that determining such ‘honesty’ within CCIs is complex and requires an in-depth assessment of a range of evaluative criteria.

To develop a model that bridges the gap between CSR definitions and strategy and offers guidance to managers on how to connect socially committed organisations with the growing numbers of ethically aware consumers to simultaneously achieve economic and social objectives.

This paper offers a critical evaluation of the theoretical foundations of corporate responsibility (CR) and proposes a new strategic approach to CR, which seeks to overcome the limitations of normative definitions. To address this perceived issue, the authors propose a new processual model of CR, which they refer to as the 3C‐SR model.

The 3C‐SR model can offer practical guidelines to managers on how to connect with the growing numbers of ethically aware consumers to simultaneously achieve economic and social objectives. It is argued that many of the redefinitions of CR for a contemporary audience are normative exhortations (“calls to arms”) that fail to provide managers with the conceptual resources to move from “ought” to “how”.

The 3C‐SR model offers a novel approach to CR in so far as it addresses strategy, operations and markets in a single framework.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The purpose of this article is to improve our understanding of the nature of social responsibility in actual practices and, specifically, the influence of individuals on these processes.

An abductive approach is applied (Alvesson and Sköldberg 1994), i.e. theory is developed by moving between theory and four empirical cases. The stories highlight the importance of the individual and closeness to local stakeholders and the presence of overlapping rationales.

The individuals’ simultaneous roles – as owners, managers and community members – influence how they are held or see themselves as accountable and how they account for the firms’ engagement in the community. The activities are conducted in the name of the firm but originate from private as well as business-oriented concerns. Our conclusions encourage an extension of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) construct to approach it as an entangled phenomenon resulting from the firm and the individual embeddedness in internal and external cultures.

This study brings the individual managers and owner-managers into focus and how their interplay with the surrounding context can create additional dimensions of accountability, which impact on the decisions taken in regard to CSR. A micro-perspective is applied. Corporate community responsibility, particularly in smaller and rural communities, contributes to recognize and understand how individuals influence and are influenced by CSR.

Input‐output modeling can accurately forecast the benefits associated with corporate real estate projects. This paper aims to address the economic and employment impact analysis practices used in input‐output modeling and identifies resources for corporate real estate executives when working with community groups and public officials. By understanding this topic, corporate real estate executives can more effectively demonstrate the value of corporate activities to a community. An impact analysis case study is presented that includes an example of economic impact report content. Input‐output modeling is an effective analytical tool for corporate real estate site selection, facilities expansion, and other community relations projects. This study addresses the major issues in corporate/community relationships and focuses on the corporate need to demonstrate project contributions to community economic vitality. As political, special interest, and public views about business expansion and development harden, corporate real estate executives and specialists need to utilize effective tools to balance the debate.

This study presents a review of input‐output economic modeling techniques, application of the model, key terms, a case study of a $2.1 billion expansion project, and a sample outline of an impact analysis report. This approach provides a good conceptual framework, terms, and the application of an economic and employment impact approach to measuring the total contribution of corporate real estate activities in a community or region.

Demonstrates methods measuring economic and employment multipliers resulting from direct, indirect, and induced corporate project impacts. The findings will assist professionals responsible for corporate/community relations by enhancing their understanding of economic impacts.

This paper presents an overview of an effective modeling technique that can be used to accurately estimate the community economic and employment contributions resulting from a new corporate real estate project. Emerging corporate/community relations issues are discussed and resources are identified.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the link between community of place and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Lombard industrial districts in Italy.

A brief literature review of international authors from the stakeholder approach and Corporate Community Relations (CCRs) field is presented. This paper refers to a survey of Lombard industrial districts conducted by ALTIS. The data were collected via a telephone survey from 834 firms.

The main finding is that managing CCRs is of major importance for company success. The results of the survey show that there are some tools and actions that Italian industrial district SMEs use to interact with their particular communities of place to develop effective and coherent relationships with their stakeholder groups. Moreover, although the survey shows that though SMEs do implement different CCR activities, they are not able to communicate these effectively through systematic communication strategies. However, the narrow sample includes only a sample of some Lombard districts. Nonetheless, the findings indicate that effective CCR seems to confer competitive advantage based on stakeholder responses and rewards sought.

The framework could assist in supporting CCR developments between industrial districts as various players would know how to improve CCR activities. One further suggestion is that University and Research Centers could have a role to play in creating and communicating codified knowledge concerning community relations in industrial districts, while other public players still have to develop specific tasks in improving infrastructures.

This study is in line with the main focus of CCR, which is in striving to meet stakeholder and societal needs. However, industrial district SMEs have to learn how to communicate their CCR activities from the examples set by large Italian companies. The paper links the notion of CCR with tools and actions to develop meaningful relationships with both community of place and interest. Moreover, considering the survey results, a new framework for local player roles is proposed.

The purpose of this article is to discuss a humanistic perspective on corporate community involvement (CCI), proposing the concept of humanistic corporate community involvement (HCCI). This concept is illustrated through a case study.

The understanding of humanism applied is one drawn from Catholic social teaching. The case has been developed from the personal experience of one of the authors (Mammoser), enriched with interviews and reports, along with some public information, which helps to understand the socio‐cultural context.

HCCI is defined by four characteristics: recognizing and respecting human dignity and rights, fostering integral human development, acting virtuously; this means that the social actions included in CCI have the direct motive of doing good, and organizing social actions in accordance with both the Principle of Solidarity and the Principle of Subsidiarity. The specification of these characteristics can vary from one situation to another. Here we discuss a real case in which these characteristics underlie a successful project in the USA, jointly developed by the US company Walgreens and the Midtown Educational Foundation, a Chicago‐based NGO.

The case study does not seek to suggest that this is the only way for CCI with a humanistic approach, but to shed light on and motivate other similar initiatives.

Findings provide new horizons to undertake CCI and a project, which could be included within the best practices in this field.

The paper provides a new approach to CCI based on a humanistic perspective, which enriches other approaches. In doing so, it does not consider such involvement as a means for public relations, reputation enhancement, and ultimately profits. It goes beyond a generic contribution to public good, or of a fair return to society for what a company has received from it. Integral human development of individuals and communities is its goal.

The purpose of this paper is to increase knowledge about community relations and development (CRD) activities done in conjunction with mining activities of multinational companies affecting indigenous peoples and thus help improve relationships between them, despite continuing bad consequences the people continue to endure. It is through such better relationships that these consequences may be redressed and mitigated, and greater sharing of benefits of mining may occur, bearing in mind what constitutes benefits may differ from the perspectives of the indigenous peoples and the miners.

A qualitative approach is taken, including interviews with company officials responsible for CRD activities, elaborated with observations, company and public documents and previous literature about these mining operations and the peoples.

The CRD activities have gradually increased compared with their absence previously. They are officially labelled social investment in community development programmes, and are funded from profits and couched in terms of human development, human rights, preservation of culture and physical development of infrastructure. Dissatisfied with programme quality and relevance, company officials now relate with indigenous people, their leaders and representatives in ways called engagement and partnerships.

The findings can inform policies and practices of the parties to CRD, which in this West Papua case would be the miners and their company, CRD practitioners, the indigenous peoples and the civil authorities at the local and national level and aid industry participants.

The study acknowledges and addresses social initiatives to develop the indigenous peoples affected by mining.

The study extends older studies in the same territory before CRD had matured, and corroborates and elaborates other studies of CRD in different territories.

Multinational corporations (MNCs) are experiencing a number of major challenges in the international business arena. Can business diplomacy help them to deal with these challenges effectively? In this introductory chapter we conceptualize and identify the relationship between MNCs’ international business diplomatic activities and firm performance.

We conducted a literature review and interviews with five large MNCs that are operating in distinctive industries. Business diplomatic activities have been classified into three particular areas to support the analysis, namely: (1) MNC–Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) relations, (2) MNC–Host Government relations, and (3) MNC–Local Community relations.

The main findings suggest that international business diplomacy has a direct positive effect on firm performance with regard to so-called soft or nonfinancial indicators. These indicators include knowledge sharing, reputation, company image, and marketing possibilities. The effect can in turn lead to a better financial performance and market stance in the long run.

The results of this study are important for the future awareness and execution of business diplomacy in large MNCs.