University-host community relations: perception of iwo community members of bowen university’s corporate social responsibility.

Abstract

This study examined the Perception of Iwo community members on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities of Bowen University. The aim of the study was to empirically find out the community members awareness and satisfaction level of these CSR activities carried out by the institution. The theories which underpinned this study are; Uncertainty Reduction theory, Stakeholder theory and Relational theory. On review of literature, it was observed that the perception of the host community on CSR is reliant on the impact of such activity on community development. The survey research method was adopted with the questionnaire serving as the instrument. The sample size is 300 respondents from Iwo community. The findings reveal that a majority of the respondents are not aware of some of the CSR activities executed by Bowen University. Findings also reveal that some of the respondents are satisfied with some of the CSR activities carried out by the institution, while a majority of the respondents 228 (76%) do not rate the CSR activities of Bowen University as commendable; they feel that these activities can be greatly improved upon. The study recommends that Community Needs Analysis must be executed before embarking on CSR projects, so as to make them more impactful. The study also recommends that necessary information diffusion campaigns should accompany CSR activities to create awareness, understanding and thereby enhance the appreciation and goodwill of Iwo community.