Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Nigeria: western mimicry ...

16Although,someNigerianbanksarebeginningtoexpandintoneighbouringWestAfricanCountries.Page17of44As typical of MNCs, the motivations to engage in CSR are varied –response to market forces, globalization, consumer and civil societypressures, etc. The activities of these firms are therefore visiblebecause of their global reach. As such, there is a higher incentive toprotect their brands and investments through CSR. However, most ofthese compelling pressures to be engaged in CSR may not necessarilybe applicable to most Nigerian indigenous firms. For instance, noindigenous Nigerian firm has operations16multinational and less than20 percent of all registered companies are publicly quoted. Mostindigenous firms in Nigeria are SMEs, privately held, family owned andoperated (Limbs and Fort 2000; Oyejide and Soyibo, 2001; Ahunwan,2002). Local consumer and civil society pressures are almost nonexistent.And moreover, law enforcement mechanisms are weak andmade inefficient by institutionalised corruption.However, some traditional/indigenous values could be glimpsed, albeitwith some difficulties, in the midst of these colonial influences onbusiness practices. Limbs and Fort (2000) for example identifiedethnicity, language and religion as the three major contexts thatshaped Nigerian business practices. A common trend among the