IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/cwk/ajocsl/2026-062.html

Challenges Affecting the Effectiveness of Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives in Promoting Environmental Sustainability in Mining Communities: Evidence from North-Western Zambia

Author

Listed:
  • Chisi, Christopher J.

    (Mulungushi University)

Abstract

This study examined the challenges affecting the effectiveness of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives in promoting environmental sustainability within mining-affected communities in Solwezi and Kalumbila districts of North-Western Zambia. Despite substantial CSR investments by mining companies, environmental degradation continues to affect local communities, raising concerns regarding the effectiveness of such initiatives. A descriptive cross-sectional mixed-methods design was employed. Quantitative data were collected from 190 household respondents using structured questionnaires, while qualitative data were obtained through 30 key informant interviews and six focus group discussions. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression, while qualitative data were analyzed thematically. The findings revealed that CSR initiatives positively and significantly influence environmental sustainability (β = 0.460, p

Suggested Citation

  • Chisi, Christopher J., 2026. "Challenges Affecting the Effectiveness of Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives in Promoting Environmental Sustainability in Mining Communities: Evidence from North-Western Zambia," African Journal of Commercial Studies, African Journal of Commercial Studies, vol. 7(4).
  • Handle: RePEc:cwk:ajocsl:2026-062
    DOI: 10.59413/ajocs/v7.i4.29
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ijcsacademia.com/index.php/journal/article/view/655
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.59413/ajocs/v7.i4.29?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hilson, Gavin & Murck, Barbara, 2000. "Sustainable development in the mining industry: clarifying the corporate perspective," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 26(4), pages 227-238, December.
    2. Andrew Ngawenja Mzembe & Julia Meaton, 2014. "Driving Corporate Social Responsibility in the Malawian Mining Industry: A Stakeholder Perspective," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 21(4), pages 189-201, July.
    3. Deanna Kemp, 2010. "Community relations in the global mining industry: exploring the internal dimensions of externally orientated work," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 17(1), pages 1-14, January.
    4. Carroll, Archie B., 1991. "The pyramid of corporate social responsibility: Toward the moral management of organizational stakeholders," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 39-48.
    5. Heledd Jenkins, 2004. "Corporate social responsibility and the mining industry: conflicts and constructs," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 11(1), pages 23-34, March.
    6. Hilson, Gavin, 2012. "Corporate Social Responsibility in the extractive industries: Experiences from developing countries," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 131-137.
    7. Esteves, A.M., 2008. "Mining and social development: Refocusing community investment using multi-criteria decision analysis," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 39-47, March.
    8. Mudd, Gavin M., 2010. "The Environmental sustainability of mining in Australia: key mega-trends and looming constraints," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 98-115, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Veronica Devenin & Constanza Bianchi, 2018. "Soccer fields? What for? Effectiveness of corporate social responsibility initiatives in the mining industry," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(5), pages 866-879, September.
    2. Vintró, Carla & Fortuny, Jordi & Sanmiquel, Lluís & Freijo, Modesto & Edo, Joaquín, 2012. "Is corporate social responsibility possible in the mining sector? Evidence from Catalan companies," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 118-125.
    3. Bongani Munkuli & Renee Horne, 2018. "Financial Markets Value Reputation for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) – A Study of the South African Mining Sector," Africagrowth Agenda, Africagrowth Institute, vol. 15(2), pages 17-22.
    4. Shen, Lixin & Muduli, Kamalakanta & Barve, Akhilesh, 2015. "Developing a sustainable development framework in the context of mining industries: AHP approach," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(P1), pages 15-26.
    5. Fuisz-Kehrbach, Sonja-Katrin, 2015. "A three-dimensional framework to explore corporate sustainability activities in the mining industry: Current status and challenges ahead," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(P1), pages 101-115.
    6. Pouresmaieli, Mahdi & Ataei, Mohammad & Nouri Qarahasanlou, Ali & Barabadi, Abbas, 2024. "Corporate social responsibility in complex systems based on sustainable development," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    7. Olsen, Brett C. & Awuah-Offei, Kwame & Bumblauskas, Daniel, 2021. "Setting materiality thresholds for ESG disclosures: A case study of U. S. mine safety disclosures," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    8. Hector Viveros, 2016. "Examining Stakeholders' Perceptions of Mining Impacts and Corporate Social Responsibility," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 23(1), pages 50-64, January.
    9. Justyna Woźniak & Katarzyna Pactwa, 2017. "Environmental Activity of Mining Industry Leaders in Poland in Line with the Principles of Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-13, November.
    10. Pons, Adrià & Vintrò, Carla & Rius, Josep & Vilaplana, Jordi, 2021. "Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility in mining industries," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    11. Wirth, Herbert & Kulczycka, Joanna & Hausner, Jerzy & Koński, Maciej, 2016. "Corporate Social Responsibility: Communication about social and environmental disclosure by large and small copper mining companies," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 53-60.
    12. Olivier Boiral & Iñaki Heras‐Saizarbitoria & Marie‐Christine Brotherton, 2023. "Sustainability management and social license to operate in the extractive industry: The cross‐cultural gap with Indigenous communities," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(1), pages 125-137, February.
    13. Amoako, Kwame Oduro & Lord, Beverley R. & Dixon, Keith, 2021. "Narrative accounting for mining in Ghana: An old defence against a new threat?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    14. Andrew Ngawenja Mzembe, 2016. "Doing Stakeholder Engagement Their own Way: Experience from the Malawian Mining Industry," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 23(1), pages 1-14, January.
    15. Baobao Song & Jing (Taylor) Wen, 2020. "Online corporate social responsibility communication strategies and stakeholder engagements: A comparison of controversial versus noncontroversial industries," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(2), pages 881-896, March.
    16. Abdul–Wadood Moomen & Ashraf Dewan, 2017. "Probing the Perspectives of Stakeholder Engagement and Resistance Against Large‐Scale Surface Mining in Developing Countries," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 24(2), pages 85-95, March.
    17. Sharon McLennan & Glenn Banks, 2019. "Reversing the lens: Why corporate social responsibility is not community development," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(1), pages 117-126, January.
    18. Prno, Jason & Scott Slocombe, D., 2012. "Exploring the origins of ‘social license to operate’ in the mining sector: Perspectives from governance and sustainability theories," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 346-357.
    19. Lin, Philip T. & Li, Bin & Bu, Danlu, 2015. "The relationship between corporate governance and community engagement: Evidence from the Australian mining companies," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 28-39.
    20. Dmitry A. Ruban & Vladimir A. Ermolaev & Antonius J. (Tom) van Loon, 2021. "Exploitation of Mineral Resources Requires Proper People: Expectations of the World’s Top Mining Companies," Resources, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-19, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • M14 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Corporate Culture; Diversity; Social Responsibility
    • Q56 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth
    • Q58 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Government Policy
    • L72 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Primary Products and Construction - - - Mining, Extraction, and Refining: Other Nonrenewable Resources

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:cwk:ajocsl:2026-062. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Dr. Charles G. Kamau (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://ijcsacademia.com/index.php/journal .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.