Beyond the conventional meaning of CSR as a voluntary obligation
for enhancing the social, economic and environmental wellness of the society,
the developmental-oriented CSR is emerging and requires exploratory and
empirical investigations. This research attempts to fill the gap in this
direction by examining the Entrepreneurship Development through Corporate Social Responsibility – A Study of the Nigerian
Telecommunication Industry. In specific terms, the research seeks deeper understanding of CSR and Entrepreneurship with a view to
refocusing both constructs as support mechanisms for small enterprise
development in Nigeria. Considering the multidisciplinary nature of this research, an extensive
review of literature was carried out which provided deeper insights into the
research problem. Arising from the
review of literature, the human capital theory and stakeholder theory provided
the required theoretical grounding for the study. For easy triangulation, the
study adopted mixed research methods (an amalgam of qualitative and quantitative research methods). The target population for the study was the Nigerian
telecommunication industry, which comprised the 24 telecommunication companies
and the 65 million proxy telephone users.
Lagos state was preferred as the sample location. From the target
population, sample sizes of 9 telecommunication companies and 384 telephone
users were selected with justifications using purposive sampling and
snowballing sampling respectively. The
qualitative aspect of research used interview instrument for data collection.
The interview data from 9 interviewees were analysed using content and thematic
analyses. The quantitative research on the other hand used web-enabled
questionnaire instrument for data collection. Out of the 384 telephone users targeted, only 369 responses were analysed, using descriptive and inferential
statistics (Chi-Square Test, Friedman Rank Test, Structural Equation Modelling
and Multiple Linear Regression Analysis).
At end of the investigation, it was found that the stakeholders’ perception of CSR is largely a philanthropic
perspective; while the perception of entrepreneurship in the same industry is the
act of setting up businesses for self-employment and wealth creation. Furthermore,
the dominant CSR activity is sports and entertainments, while entrepreneurship
development was poorly supported. With
regards to the potentials, the study found that CSR is a potential
means for funding entrepreneurship education; funding start-up venture capital
for unemployed graduates/trainees; funding business clusters and technology
business incubation centres for small businesses; funding purchase of equipment and tools for
poor artisans, craftsmen and petty traders in disadvantaged host communities;
and also CSR could be an effective instrument for political risk mitigation in
hostile communities like Niger-Delta and Northern Nigeria. Finally, it was
found that there is a relationship between CSR and entrepreneurship in the Nigerian
telecommunication industry, but the predictability of CSR dimensions on
entrepreneurship is weak. The study has therefore enriched the literature with an enhanced understanding of CSR
incorporating entrepreneurship, as opposed to viewing CSR in terms of social,
economic and environmental dimensions. The study concludes with a discussion of the academic and practical
implications of the findings as well as recommendations for further research in
this multidisciplinary field.
Keywords: Corporate
Social Responsibility, Development, Entrepreneurship, Nigeria,
Telecommunication, Industry
Lukman, R (2019). Entrepreneurship Development through Corporate Social Responsibility – A Study of the Nigerian Telecommunication Industry. Afribary.com: Retrieved March 08, 2021, from https://afribary.com/works/entrepreneurship-development-through-corporate-social-responsibility-a-study-of-the-nigerian-telecommunication-industry
Raimi, Lukman. "Entrepreneurship Development through Corporate Social Responsibility – A Study of the Nigerian Telecommunication Industry" Afribary.com. Afribary.com, 24 Aug. 2019, https://afribary.com/works/entrepreneurship-development-through-corporate-social-responsibility-a-study-of-the-nigerian-telecommunication-industry . Accessed 08 Mar. 2021.
Raimi, Lukman. "Entrepreneurship Development through Corporate Social Responsibility – A Study of the Nigerian Telecommunication Industry". Afribary.com, Afribary.com, 24 Aug. 2019. Web. 08 Mar. 2021. < https://afribary.com/works/entrepreneurship-development-through-corporate-social-responsibility-a-study-of-the-nigerian-telecommunication-industry >.
Raimi, Lukman. "Entrepreneurship Development through Corporate Social Responsibility – A Study of the Nigerian Telecommunication Industry" Afribary.com (2019). Accessed March 08, 2021. https://afribary.com/works/entrepreneurship-development-through-corporate-social-responsibility-a-study-of-the-nigerian-telecommunication-industry