The Enigma of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Operationalization: An Examination of Five Deficiencies in an African Context

Abstract

Although much has been written on what transnational corporations should do to attain the social legitimacy needed to realize their core objective (i.e. maximizing profits), there is still more that is yet to be known about the actual operationalization of ideas such as corporate social responsibility (CSR), accountability, and ethics in the host communities within which they operate, particularly in the African context. The paper attempts to fill part of this identified gap in the literature by exploring how Newmont Ghana Gold Ltd.'s much-advertised 'best practice', the Newmont Ahafo Development Foundation (NADeF), is implemented on the ground. Drawing upon fieldwork conducted in 2013, the overarching goal is to contend that CSR in theory often tends to be different from practice, highlighting that even a thoroughly-developed project such as NADeF faces many ongoing challenges that require the company to become more progressive and proactive if it indeed hopes to contribute to sustainable livelihoods in its surrounding communities. This specific case helps to broadly contextualize the rationale and utility of CSR in the African context.