article · Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management
Multinational companies operating in Africa frequently promote sustainable development through corporate social responsibility initiatives, yet the relevance and timing of these initiatives to local communities face scrutiny. An investigation of multinational companies in Nigeria examined how appointing local directors influences these corporate sustainability efforts. Findings derived from content analyses and semi-structured interviews indicate that local directors significantly advance consistent and continuous corporate social responsibility activities in host communities. Compared to conventional approaches that merely consult community leaders, board-level representation allows local directors to gain deep insight into company operations and advocate directly for relevant projects. Ultimately, the presence of local directors helps bridge the expectation gap between multinational firms and host regions, demonstrating that local board representation actively enhances corporate contributions to sustainable development across Africa.
Multinational corporate social responsibility programmes often miss the real needs of host communities. Demonstrating that local directorship leads to more relevant and continuous community investment offers companies and policy makers a structural mechanism to align corporate activities with regional development priorities, moving beyond token consultations toward genuine institutional representation.
These findings provide practical guidance for multinational enterprises, corporate governance bodies, and regional regulators seeking to improve the effectiveness of corporate sustainability strategies. Organisations can apply these insights immediately to board recruitment and stakeholder engagement frameworks. Because the work is empirical management research rather than a commercial product or technical invention, it serves directly as an applied governance model rather than an asset for commercialisation.
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Abstract Many multinational companies (MNCs) in Africa claim to support the continent's sustainable development through corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. However, the timing and relevance of these projects to local communities have often been questioned. Little is known about how local directors shape the sustainability activities of MNCs in their host regions. Drawing on image motivation theory, we investigated the influence of local directors on MNCs' sustainability activities in Nigeria, an emerging economy. We conducted content analyses and a series of semi‐structured interviews with local directors in MNCs. Consistent with our expectations and stakeholder theory, we find that local directors significantly drive the consistent and continuous sustainable development activities of MNCs through CSR in their host communities. Many local directors indicated that, unlike the traditional approach of MNCs consulting with local leaders, being a director provides the opportunity to understand the firms' activities and advocate for appropriate projects for the host region. The presence of local directors helps bridge the expectation gap between MNCs and the host region. Our study provides evidence of the relevance of local individuals in the directorship of MNCs and their contribution to sustainable development in Africa.
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DOI: 10.1002/csr.3028
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