Host communities’ infrastructural development expectations of multinational mining companies in Ghana’s mining industry

ABSTRACT This paper, through an ethnographic research approach, examines the infrastructural development expectations that host communities have of multinational mining companies (MNMCs) and how these expectations influence corporate-community relationships in two of Ghana’s mining districts. Using data triangulation from multiple stakeholder perspectives, two MNMCs ranked among the ten best corporate social responsibility firms in the world are studied to explore how and why these expectations impact corporate-community relationships. Theoretically, the paper argues that the Ubuntu philosophy (culture) of the rich sharing their wealth with the underprivileged in society influences community expectations. These expectations, in turn, affect social legitimacy of companies. It therefore emphasizes the need to consider the informal context when using institutional and stakeholder theory to examine corporate social responsibility (CSR) in African countries. By this, the paper contributes to the reorientation of stakeholder theory from a firm-centric to community-centric focus. Managerially, the paper suggests that multinational companies coming to Africa’s mining communities need to understand this cultural norm and set aside enough resources to provide infrastructure projects in host communities to enhance corporate-community relations.