Corporate social responsibility in the mining industry: an exploration of host-communities’ perceptions and expectations in a developing-country

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how and what drives corporate social responsibility (CSR) in host communities of mining companies in developing countries. Design/methodology/approach To address this knowledge gap, this paper used Ghana as a test case and conducted 24 in-depth interviews with participants drawn from mining host communities. Findings The paper discovered that while CSR is broadly understood and encompasses six thematic categories in the mining host communities, there are emphases on philanthropic and environmental responsibilities. Contrary to the evidence found in other studies, this paper discovered that CSR rhetoric plays a more positive/significant role than so far explored in CSR research, as it incentivizes the host communities to push for the fulfilment of their CSR expectations and/or CSR initiatives proposed by mining companies. Research limitations/implications Quantitative studies are needed to strengthen the findings from the present paper. Practical implications Because developing countries share similar socio-economic and geo-political realities, the findings of this paper may be applicable not only for CSR advocates, but also for policy-makers in developing countries. Originality/value The paper provides new inputs from a developing country perspective to the current debate about the CSR performance of the extractive industry.