Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainable Firm Growth in Awka, Anambra State

Abstract

The study examines the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on sustainable firm growth in Awka, Anambra State, Nigeria, with a focus on community development and philanthropic activities. It addresses an important gap in the literature regarding the impact of specific CSR initiatives on sustaining firm growth in emerging markets, with a focus on Southeastern Nigeria. Grounded in stakeholder theory and legitimacy theory, this research employed a quantitative approach, surveying 248 firms from the servicing and manufacturing sectors located in Awka between 2020 and 2024. The stakeholder-CSR Performance Model, rooted in Freeman’s framework on CSR, was adapted for developing countries to assess the relationships between community development initiatives, philanthropy, and sustainable firm growth, operationalised through revenue growth, market share expansion, and employee retention rates. Results indicate that community development activities significantly contributed to sustainable firm growth (β = 0.624, p < 0.001) while explaining 38.9% of the variance in growth metrics. Philanthropic activities positively correlated but to a lesser extent (β = 0.387, p < 0.01), explaining an additional 14.7%. Altogether, these factors accounted for just over half the variance—53.6%—providing robust predictive power by illustrating how strategic CSR contributes to measurable outcomes within firms’ developmental trajectories alongside broader socio-economic indicators. This research has practical implications for multinational corporations operating in Sub-Saharan Africa. It presents a model that emerging markets around the world can use to measure the effectiveness of CSR activities.