CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1      BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Recent corporate scandals and the increasingly international context within which modern businesses operate have raised important issues concerning the roles and responsibilities of companies. Pressures on companies to behave ethically have intensified and in consequence, firms face pressure to develop policies, standards and behaviours that demonstrate their sensitivity to stakeholder concerns. In consequence, corporate social responsibility (CSR), defined by the European Commission as "a concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and in their interaction with their stakeholders on a voluntary basis" (European Commission, 2001) and in the academic literature as "actions that appear to further some social good, beyond the interest of the firm and that which is required by law" (McWilliams and Siegel (2001) has become a more salient aspect of corporate competitive contexts. In this climate, organised religion has sought to play a significant role in establishing and disseminating moral and ethical prescriptions that are consistent with religious doctrines and that offer practical guidance to those involved in business concerning ethical conduct. For example, the interfaith declaration on business ethics was developed to codify "the shared moral, ethical and spiritual values" of Christianity, Islam and Judaism in order to "draw up a number of principles that might serve as guidelines for international business behaviour" (Interfaith Declaration, 1993). More direct action has been taken by the Interfaith Centre on Corporate Responsibility, an organisation com mitted to using the "power of persuasion backed by economic pressure from consumers and investors to hold corporations accountable." In this paper, we conduct an analysis of the relationship between individual religious affiliation and attitudes towards CSR that draws upon a large cross sectional database of over 17,000 individuals from 20 countries. We make two main contributions. First, we develop the empirical literature on the relationship between religious denomination and attitudes towards the corporate social responsibilities of businesses by encompassing a more diverse range of religions than has been previously analysed in the literature. In doing so, we are able to shed more light on the importance of religion and the diversity in religious beliefs in general, for individual expectations concerning CSR. Given the increasingly global business context that many large multinational corporations operate in, managing these diverse societal expectations is likely to become a more significant task. Understanding the variation in these attitudes across cultures is an important first step in that process. Second, in contrast to several earlier studies, we are able to examine the role played by religion in shaping individual attitudes both towards the broad responsibilities of businesses and towards a range of specific aspects of CSR (Carroll, 1979; Griffin and Mahon, 1997; Wood, 1991). Thus, our analysis builds upon the cardinal dimension of Christian corporate responsibilities.

1.2      STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The challenges facing growth and development of Christian organisations like churches in recent years have increased just like its expansion and proliferation in Nigeria. The poor development of Christian organisations in Nigeria has been a major concern to all stakeholders as it has led to several Christina organisations like churches closing down as a result of poor management policies and abilities. The negative perception about Christian organisations like the church in some quarters may have been attributed to the poor image being created by owners and administrators which has negatively affected the growth of Christian organisations in Nigeria thus the need to examine the impact of corporate social responsibility in other to ensure church growth, expansion and development.

1.3      AIMS OF THE STUDY

The major aim of the study is to examine the cardinal dimension of Christian corporate social responsibilities in Nigeria. other objectives of the study are;

1.          To examine the dimension of Christian corporate social responsibilities

2.          To examine the need for an improved image of Christian organisations in Nigeria.

3.          To examine the major challenges to the growth and ddvelopment of Christian organisations in Nigeria.

4.          To examine the level of corporate social responsibility in Nigerian Christian organisations.

5.          To determine the relationship between the dimensions of corporate social responsibility and growth and development of Christian organisations in Nigeria.

6.          To recommend other ways of improving growth and development of Christian organisations in Nigeria.

1.4      RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1.          What are the dimensions of Christian corporate social responsibilities?

2.          What is the need for an improved image of Christian organisations in Nigeria?

3.          What are the major challenges to the growth and development of Christian organisations in Nigeria?

4.          What is the level of corporate social responsibility in Nigerian Christian organisations?

5.          What is the relationship between the dimensions of corporate social responsibility and growth and development of Christian organisations in Nigeria?

6.          What are the other ways of improving growth and development of Christian organisations in Nigeria?

1.5 RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS

H0: Christian corporate social responsibility does not improves innovation, transparency and competency in Christian organizations.

H1: Christian corporate social responsibility improves innovation, transparency and competency in Christian organizations.

1.5      SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

It is expected that this study will provide an indication of how the corporate social responsibility landscape looks like in Christian organisations in Nigeria since there are no much differences in the structural and operational models in the various Christian organisation in Nigeria. More so, this study is important because it will add to the existing literature of christian corporate social responsibility in particular on how socially responsible is the Nigerian Christian organisations in addressing the challenges and enhancing the Christian organisation growth in Nigeria.

1.7SCOPE OF THE STUDY 

The study is based on  the cardinal dimension of Christian corporate social responsibilities, case study of Akure south L.G.A, Ondo State.

1.8 LIMITATION OF STUDY

Financial constraint- Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).

Time constraint- The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.