Jedrzej George Frynas

Beyond csr? Business, poverty and social justice: an introduction

Abstract How far can Corporate Social Responsibility (csr) initiatives help to address poverty, social exclusion and other development challenges? What is the balance of responsibilities between state, market and civil society in addressing these problems and meeting the UN Millennium Development Goals (mdgs)? What new tools, strategies and methodologies are required to harness the positive potential contribution of business to development and deter corporate irresponsibility? This special issue brings together a dynamic mix of academics and development specialists to address these themes in a focused and innovative way. In this introductory article, we consider some of the key cross-cutting themes and insights raised by the contributions. The aim of the introduction and the special issue is to start to fill the gap in our understanding of how, when and through what means business can help to reduce poverty, while recognising the equally powerful potential of the business community to exacerbate poverty. Taking particular csr initiatives as a starting point, we seek to look at the broader developmental footprint of business-as-usual strategies, as well as those which fall under the banner of csr, to gain a fuller picture of how business is implicated in the development process.

Political Instability and Business: Focus on Shell in Nigeria

Business managers name Africas political instability as a key obstacle to economic development, but many companies continue to invest in Africa. The article explains this apparent contradiction by looking at the case of Shell in Nigeria. Nigeria experiences serious political instability, yet Shell is expanding its investment in the country. This article deals with sources of firm-specific political instability that have affected Shell in Nigeria in the past and attempts to explain why a specific corporation such as Shell may want to make investments in the country despite political instability. The examination of three different angles of Shells activity, which forms the core of this paper, reveals that political instability does not hinder Shell from operating in Nigeria. Firstly, the international perspective illuminates in what way Nigeria may be more attractive to Shell than other countries. Profits in Nigeria appear to be higher than elsewhere, while Shell occupies a dominant market position unriva...

Oil in Nigeria : conflict and litigation between oil companies and village communities

This well-researched book on the oil industry in Nigeria deals with the major consequences of foreign oil operations in village communities. The study gives a comprehensive overview of the environmental and social impact of oil operations, which have so far been little understood. In addition, a wide range of background data is presented on oil companies and their conflicts with village communities and government policy in Nigeria. Statistical tables, allow the book to be used as a reference for scholars and non-scholars alike.Frynas describes the interaction between oil companies and village communities, and discusses the economic, social and legal problems that may be encountered in this context. He derives important conclusions regarding the involvement of multinational companies in developing countries. Drawing on a large number of court cases, he uses a new approach to illustrate the social and environmental impact of multinational companies. Using exemplary cases from Nigerian courts on topics such as oil spills and compensation payments for land acquisition, Oil in Nigeria demonstrates how legal materials can be used to understand conflicts between multinational companies and indigenous people. The court cases deal with large multinational companies such as Shell, in addition to smaller oil company subcontractors such as Seismograph Services. It provides a wealth of information on issues such as land conflicts, loss of property and life, as well as oil company compensation efforts. This information is supplemented by recent political inside material related to Shells Nigerian operations.

A Review of the Nonmarket Strategy Literature Toward a Multi-Theoretical Integration

Two parallel strands of nonmarket strategy research have emerged largely in isolation. One strand examines strategic corporate social responsibility (CSR), and the other examines corporate political activity (CPA), even though there is an overlap between the social and political aspects of corporate strategies. In this article, we review and synthesize strategic CSR and CPA research published in top-tier and specialized academic journals between 2000 and 2014. Specifically, we (a) review the literature on the link between nonmarket strategy and organizational performance, (b) identify the mechanisms through which nonmarket strategy influences organizational performance, (c) integrate and synthesize the two strands—strategic CSR and CPA—of the literature, and (d) develop a multi-theoretical framework for improving our understanding of the effects of nonmarket strategy on organizational performance. We conclude by outlining a research agenda for future theoretical and empirical studies on the impact of nonmarket strategy on organizational outcomes.

Corporate Social Responsibility and International Development: Critical Assessment

This article critically evaluates recent claims about the positive role that corporate social responsibility (CSR) could play in contributing to international development goals such as poverty alleviation and health improvements. The article suggests that many recent claims about the positive contribution of CSR to international development are unjustified based on four arguments: (1) lack of empirical evidence; (2) analytical limitations of CSR; (3) the constraints of the business case for CSR; and (4) unresolved governance questions. On the one hand, the article implies that private firms are unlikely to act as successful development actors without corporate governance reforms, which would align the interests of non-traditional stakeholders with corporate interests. On the other hand, the article implies that international development priorities may misalign the intrinsic interests of shareholders and company executives. The current CSR agenda seems inappropriate for addressing international development goals.

Corporate Social Responsibility or Government Regulation? Evidence on Oil Spill Prevention

Major oil spills normally occur from oil pipelines and oil tankers that are under operational control of companies, namely, oil companies and tanker owners. There are two generic responses for changing the behavior of companies with regard to oil spill prevention: mandatory government regulation or voluntary initiatives often pursued under the banner of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Here we investigate to what extent voluntary CSR initiatives can be effective in oil spill prevention. A global perspective on voluntary mechanisms is taken by looking at the progress of 20 oil and gas firms from around the world toward oil spill prevention, using the companies’ 2010 sustainability reports for self-reported oil spill information. The analysis includes ten oil companies from OECD countries (including Exxon and Shell, among others) and 10 oil companies from non-OECD countries (including Brazil’s Petrobras and Indian Oil, among others). The study finds that oil spill prevention has generally improved over recent decades. Government regulation played a significant part in these improvements whereas it is less clear to what extent CSR played a significant part in these improvements. Some of CSR’s key limitations are highlighted. It is not suggested that CSR should be abandoned; however, new hybrid forms of regulation that combine voluntary and mandatory elements are advocated.

Oil and War in Angola

This article investigates the impact of oil on the war in Angola. It demonstrates that mineral wealth has not only financed Angolas war but has also intimately shaped the contours of the conflict. MPLAs access to oil revenues and UNITAs to diamonds can help to explain the duration and character of the conflict, and, to some extent, even the timing of military operations. The logic of the ‘resource curse’ has had a major impact on the make‐up of Angolas political economy and has been decisive in the erosion of state legitimacy, which in turn has had important consequences for the prospects for peace. The activities of foreign oil companies have affected the shape of the conflict; the intense competition for oil concessions has led to a number of different companies seeking the favour of the Angolan state elite through dubious charitable donations, weapons deals, and other forms of assistance. On a theoretical level, the article questions liberal assumptions about the positive effects of trade on peace.

Transnational Corporations and Human Rights

TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATIONS AND HUMAN RIGHTS Edited by Jedrzej George Frynas and Scott Pegg New York: Palgrave Macmillan 2003. xiv, 223pp, US

Maintaining Corporate Dominance after Decolonization: the 'First Mover Advantage' of Shell-BP in Nigeria

65.00 cloth (ISBN 0333-98799-3)The concept of global governance is indeed a daunting one. All actors, state and non-state, have their own areas of expertise, their own limitations, and their own interests. The development of predictability, standards, and norms, therefore, would appear to be an exercise of herding cats. It also follows that making sense of these developments would be a challenging task.Nevertheless, through examination of a particular slice of global-economic activity, this is the challenge accepted by the editors of Transnational Corporations and Human Rights. The book rises to the challenge in its analysis of the behaviour of transnational corporations (TNCs) and the state and non-state actors with which they interact. The books chapters collectively illustrate the impact of TNC activities and the advantages and limitations of standards pertaining to human rights that are set by states, international organizations, nongovernmental organizations, industry associations, and the TNCs themselves. Overall, the book makes plain that standards and norms do exist, that TNCs, in many cases, do follow (eventually) useful codes of conduct, but that more efforts by all actors are required.The book works as a coherent whole, rather than as a collection of individual essays, because the chapters are consistently pragmatic in approach. In a self-conscious way, the authors realize that globalization or the world capitalist system cannot be wished away. There is also a similar recognition that one type of actor cannot control and dominate global governance, even in a particular sphere of activity. As such, the findings in each chapter are nuanced. Similarly, while the book presents some highly disturbing cases, it also offers successes brought about through corporate activity or through the interaction of TNCs with other actors. And in most cases, the authors go the step further and supplement their findings with informed suggestions as to how state and non-state actors alike may improve their efforts so that human rights are more uniformly respected.Coherency of the book is also promoted through its organization: four introductory conceptual/theoretical chapters lead to five empirical chapters on certain TNCs or industry activities. The initial chapters effectively outline the three general areas by which to assess TNCs with respect to human rights: their role in violence committed against individuals, their impact upon economic and social rights (e. …

Legal Change in Africa: evidence from oil-related litigation in Nigeria

Nigerias oil industry came into being during colonial rule. Preferential treatment by British colonial authorities had given a British oil company — Shell — a virtual monopoly over oil exploration in the country and Shell has remained the dominant oil company in Nigeria. While there is substantial evidence to suggest that Shell‐BP established its dominant position in Nigeria with the support of British colonial officials, it was by no means clear that Shell would be able to maintain this advantageous position. Indeed, the historical record shows that both the Nigerian government and a number of competitors posed a potential threat to Shells dominant position. The purpose of this article is to answer the question why Shell was able to maintain a position of dominance in Nigeria. It examines Nigerias diversification and nationalisation policies from the late 1950s to‐date with the view of identifying the factors which allowed Shell to maintain its position vis‐à‐vis potential competitors. This investigation is based on the analysis of secondary sources as well as documents from the Public Record Office (PRO) in London and the BP Archive. In order to explain Shells dominance in Nigeria, the article proposes to utilise the concept of a ‘first mover advantage’. On the most basic level, this concept suggests that pioneering firms are able to obtain positive economic profits as the consequence of early market entry, that means, profits in excess of the cost of capital. The article concludes that a micro‐theoretical analysis based on the idea of a ‘first mover advantage’, which explores the position of individual corporate entities within a political economy framework, provides a superior explanation of Shells dominance in Nigeria as compared to conventional macro‐theoretical structuralist approaches.