Influence of Corporate Social Responsibility of Belema Oil on Community Development in Rivers State

Abstract

This study examined influence of corporate social responsibility of Belema Oil on community development in Rivers State, Nigeria. three research questions generated from three research objectives were used for the study. three null hypotheses were tested. Descriptive survey research design was used for the study. The population for the study was 1295 comprising 1078 members of community-based organizations and adult learners and 217 community development committee members in the study areas. The sample for the study was 756 comprising 539 (50%) members of Community Based Organizations selected with the use of proportionate sampling technique while all the members of the Community Development Committee were taken as census to accommodate the entire population because it was a manageable size. The instrument used for data collection was a structured questionnaire titled, “Influence of Corporate Social Responsibility of Belema Oil on Community Development Questionnaire”. The face and content validity of the instrument were determined by the researcher and two other experts from the Department of Adult Education and Community Development, Rivers State University. The reliability coefficient (r) value of 0.82 for the validated instrument was established using Cronbach Alpha Statistic.  The responses from the eight research questions were analyzed with Mean and Standard Deviation Statistic, while the three null hypotheses were tested with t-test statistic at 0.05 level of significance with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 20. The findings from the study revealed that corporate social responsibilities of Belema Oil which include infrastructural development scheme, scholarship scheme, vocational skill training programme to a high extent, influence community development in the host communities in Rivers State. Also, that Belema Oil company corporate social responsibilities projects are sustained in their host communities in Rivers State to a high extent. Based on the findings, the study recommended among others, that Belema Oil Company in partnership with community stakeholders should increase the number of infrastructural development projects based on the felt need of host communities in Rivers State.