Corporate Social Responsibility, Institutional Work, and Impression Management
: A Case Study of a Nigerian Electricity Distribution Company

  • Aliyu Umar Usman

Student thesis: Doctoral Thesis

Abstract

This thesis explored the implications of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the monopolistic energy sector of developing economies by focusing on BiECom Nigeria, an electricity distribution company in Northern Nigeria. The study examined the evolving participation of CSR practices to manage stakeholder perceptions following the transition from government to private ownership in 2013. Using a qualitative case study methodology, primary data was collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews with 45 BiECom employees at various management levels and key community stakeholders, further triangulating with secondary data sources comprising company CSR documents and media reports. Thematic and Saliency analysis was used to identify key patterns and themes and were interpreted using an integrative theoretical framework of Goffman’s Impression management framework (IMF) and Lawrence and Suddaby’s Institutional work framework (IWF). The findings suggest that post- privatisation, BiECom deployed CSR initiatives to tailored community relations, improve corporate image and reputation and address operational challenges in revenue collections and infrastructure protection. However, these CSR initiatives were primarily philanthropic and reactive, lacking strategic alignment and often comforting to short-term crisis management intervention with minimal long-term impact on community development. The study also highlighted divergent stakeholder perceptions of CSR. While some stakeholders perceived it as a superficial exercise in public relations lacking any genuine moral commitment, others recognised its potential to contribute meaningfully to the human societal transformation of the community by providing resources, values, and actions to beneficial community development. This study contributes to the existing literature on CSR in developing economies, underscoring the need for contextualised, strategically aligned CSR initiatives in developing countries. In an emerging market, this study theorised the context specificity of CSR initiatives to promote sustainable business practice, community development and institutional legitimacy while advocating for a more strategic and transformative CSR approach to the energy sector in developing countries.
Date of Award11 Jan 2025
Original languageEnglish
Awarding Institution
  • University of Portsmouth
SupervisorRoza Sagitova (Supervisor), Xinxiang Li (Supervisor) & Dan Shen (Supervisor)

Cite this

'