Fostering Corporate Social Responsibility Among Nigerian Small and Medium Scale Enterprises

This study seeks to contribute to the growing body of literature on corporate social responsibility (CSR) in African countries from a Nigerian standpoint. In particular the paper explores the role of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SME’s) in promoting CSR initiatives in Nigeria as well as their motivation and challenges. The review in subsequent sections draws on the ethics, CSR and entrepreneurship literature in arriving at a working theoretical base for the study. The rationale stems from the fact that very little is known about SME awareness of CSR practices and strategies adopted by such firms within the Nigerian context. Data for the study was obtained from a face-to-face questionnaire survey with 371 SME owner/managers in Lagos, Nigeria. The finding obtained from the survey conducted with the SME owner/managers supports the view that Nigerian SMEs adoption of CSR is closely linked to the owner/managers values, religious orientation and SME entrenchment in the local socio-economic environment. The study has several theoretical implications. The study makes an empirical contribution to the meager literature in this area thus fills gaps in the literature on SME CSR practices thereby providing a theoretical perspective on which future research can be developed. The study also highlights the importance of more NGO and government support for CSR initiatives amongst SME owner/managers especially in the context of developing countries.