Critical Corporate Governance and CSR: An African extractive sector perspective

by Sharif Mahmud Khalid

Overview

This book addresses the relationship between corporate governance (CG) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) and does so in the context of extractive industries in Africa. Arguments are made as to what constitutes CG and CSR and whether or not one is a subset of the other. A series of case studies regarding governance, accountability, transparency and sustainability issues within the extractive sector are discussed. It proposes a model of good corporate governance for Africa’s extractive sector.

CG and CSR have remained hotly debated subjects since their emergence. Evidence from these debates points to no apparent end in sight in the ongoing sustainability agenda. This book aims to augment the debate by filling existing gaps in research such as illuminating CG and CSR practices within the African context. The book seeks to analyse case studies to assess engagements between stakeholders and multinational extractive sector firms in the context of appreciating accountability and transparency. It is difficult to deny that there has been a modest surge in the field of mainstream social and environmental accounting in the last three decades or so, and it is still considered a growing domain within accounting research. Social and environmental accounting is seen here as a vehicle to reveal intertwined corporate and social events aimed at liberating and guiding society towards a just, accountable, transparent and sustainable pathway. This book applies Habermas’ theory of communicative action and postcolonial theory in the critical examination of the practice of CG and CSR. Through qualitative content analysis of corporate annual/integrated reports of multinational extractive sector with operations in Africa and analysis of interviews with stakeholders of the extractive sector industry, the research reveals colonised features of the industry by multinational firms and in extreme cases racial issues. These issues represent obstacles to the attainment of accountability and transparency between firms and their stakeholders. The book proposes a corporate accountability framework reminiscent of indigenous local and international best practices towards a more stakeholder-centric model of multinational corporate accountability and transparency in the ‘Third World’.

Case studies on Africa’s extractive sector will be interspersed throughout the text including: mining in Ghana, South Africa, Zambia; and oil and gas in Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana and Nigeria.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783110715378
Publisher:	De Gruyter
Publication date:	03/14/2025
Series:	De Gruyter Studies in Corporate Governance , #8
Pages:	200
Product dimensions:	6.69(w) x 9.45(h) x 0.00(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Dr Sharif Mahmud Khalid is an Assistant Professor of Accounting and Financial Management at the University of Sheffield Management. His research resonates around corporate governance and social responsibility practices approached from a critical and interdisciplinary perspective. Sharif has a particular interest in Africa, frontier and emerging markets development. In line with his broader research engagement are extractive sector governance, international trade, political accountability and sustainable development. Sharif sits on the British Accounting and Finance Association Special Interest Group on Corporate Governance. He serves as an Associate Editor of Qualitative Research in Financial Markets and is also a Senior Fellow of the High Education Academy, UK. Sharif holds a PhD from Henley Business School, University of Reading, UK.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction: Discusses the aims and objective of the book and set the tone for what is expected within the broader context of the book.

2. Corporate Governance in Context: Offers a chronological discussion of corporate governance and its evolution from the Anglo-Saxon context through to Middle East and Africa (MENA)

3. The Sustainability Debate: critical discussion of the role of suitability as a measure of good corporate governance and embeddedness within corporate governance.

4. Africa’s Political, Economic and Social Background: Discusses the role of the political, economic and social influence of Africa and its settings (past and presence) on modern day corporate governance.

5. Corporate, Governance, Stakeholder Accountability and Social, Ethical and Environmental Reporting

6. Responsible Investment (IR) in Africa

7. Policy recommendation

8. Conclusion