Mining Sector CSR and Stakeholder Management: A Comparative Developing Country Study

Abstract

This study examines the stakeholder management approaches practiced by gold mining multinationals within a developing country context. A qualitative case study approach was employed purposively to select forty-seven (47) key informants including top company officials, chiefs, and community members. Face-to-face in-depth interviews was the main instrument for primary data collection. The study found that though CSR practice is not mandatory, companies consider it a desirable requirement and have established institutional arrangements for stakeholder engagement in CSR through the establishment of Community Consultative Committees,a Community and Mine Consultative Committee, a Trust Fund, and a Development Foundation. The study established that the stakeholder engagement approaches adopted have prevented confrontations between the firms and community members, promoting a very congenial atmosphere for mining operations. Furthermore, outstanding issues with communities have been amicably settled to the satisfactions of community members. The study recommends that, mining firms need to effectively manage expectations and demands that come from various stakeholders by prioritizing stakeholders on the basis of the legitimacy and urgency of the demands; and secondly, according to whether these demands fall within the mutually agreed action points already identified by the joint consultative committees.