Business and Society Review 112:3 369–405 © 2007 Center for Business Ethics at Bentley College. Published by Blackwell Publishing, 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA, and 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK. Blackwell Publishing Inc Malden, USA BASR Business and Society Review 0045-3609 © 2007 Center for Business Ethics at Bentley College XXX Original Articles BUSINESS AND SOCIETY REVIEW UWAFIOKUN IDEMUDIA Community Perceptions and Expectations: Reinventing the Wheels of Corporate Social Responsibility Practices in the Nigerian Oil Industry UWAFIOKUN IDEMUDIA T he emergence of corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices in developing countries is a relatively new phenomenon. 1 However, the idea encapsulated within CSR is not at all new to most societies in developing countries, as most do have a long- standing tradition in which businesses are expected to meet certain social obligations. 2 For example, traditional businessmen in India believed they held their business in “trust” for the larger society, and therefore managed their business with a view to contributing to the betterment of their communities. 3 While there is a tacit consensus that CSR will vary from region to region and even within regions, 4 the mainstream CSR agenda has failed to adequately reflect this diversity. As a result, despite the importance of universal principles for both businesses and stakeholders, there is a recurring tension between global expectations and local challenges and opportunities. 5 This disjuncture between local priorities in the south and global expectations can be attributed to the fact that the mainstream CSR agenda has largely been driven by northern actors and agents and therefore reflected the priorities and concerns of Western societies. Uwafiokun Idemudia is an assistant professor with the division of social science at York University, Toronto; e-mail: idemudia@yorku.ca.