Using the case of Nigeria's Dangote Group and an exploratory research technique, we critique CSR practices in a developing country context based on a three‐pillar model—traditional CSR, strategic... Show moreUsing the case of Nigeria's Dangote Group and an exploratory research technique, we critique CSR practices in a developing country context based on a three‐pillar model—traditional CSR, strategic CSR and strategic business engagements. Our paper makes a unique contribution by revealing how a company can transform its strategic CSR into strategic business engagements that permit it to circumvent public procurement laws and secure public contracts at non‐competitive terms. We show how, in weak institutional and regulatory contexts, strategic CSR could be turned to a tool for rent extraction and profit maximization. We advocate for regulatory measures that impose ex ante and ex post limits on the extent to which firms can go in integrating CSR into their normal business operations. Based on the outcomes from this important African case study, we illustrate and propose the strategic business engagement model as a new framework for analysing the social benefits of strategic CSR practices in developing countries. Show less
This volume investigates the development of biographical study in African history and historiography. Consisting of 10 case studies, it is preceded by an introductory prologue, which deals with the... Show moreThis volume investigates the development of biographical study in African history and historiography. Consisting of 10 case studies, it is preceded by an introductory prologue, which deals with the relationship between historiography and different forms of biographical study in the context of Western history-writing but especially African (historical and anthropological) studies. The first three case studies deal with the methodological insights of biographical studies for African history. This is followed by three case studies dealing with personas living through fundamental societal transitions, and four case studies focusing on the discursive dimensions of biographical subjects (including religion, cosmology and ideology). Countries or regions discussed include South Africa, Zambia, Gold Coast, Cameroon, Tanganyika, Congo-Kinshasa and the Central African Republic in colonial times. Show less
This book celebrates Maarten Mous, professor of African Linguistics at Leiden University. For many people engaged in the field of African linguistics (and beyond), Maarten has been a teacher, an... Show moreThis book celebrates Maarten Mous, professor of African Linguistics at Leiden University. For many people engaged in the field of African linguistics (and beyond), Maarten has been a teacher, an engaged colleague, and an inspiration. On the occasion of his 65th birthday, the present volume offers essays written by his former and current PhD students. The volume is divided into four sections: Language in use and contact, Morphosyntax, Number and numerals, and Phonology. It contains 25 articles and presents a variety of disciplinary and regional approaches to African linguistics. Show less
This document presents the preliminary findings from the quantitative data generation and analysis conducted as part of the project “Financial decision-making, gender and social norms in Zambia”.... Show moreThis document presents the preliminary findings from the quantitative data generation and analysis conducted as part of the project “Financial decision-making, gender and social norms in Zambia”. Using a series of specially designed behavioural experiments, we generated an extensive set of insights into the normative environment within which spouses in Eastern Province, Zambia, make decisions about individual money holding and saving. Here are some of those insights. Spouses in Eastern Province, Zambia, are willing to compromise household-level earnings in order to maintain individual control over money. Wives, but not husbands, are more likely to compromise household-level earnings in order to maintain individual control over money, when they can keep that money and their actions hidden from their spouses. Individually-held behavioural prescriptions, i.e., the “shoulds” and “oughts” that individuals have in mind and reference as guides for their own behaviour and as benchmarks against which to evaluate others’ behaviour, inform decision-making about maintaining individual control over money at a cost to the household. Further, when individuals know that their spouses will find out about their descisions regarding maintaining individual control over money (or not) at a cost to the household, the individuals take their spouses’ opinions about what they should do into account, i.e., they compromise. There is strong but not unequivocal evidence pointing to the existence of a social norm, i.e., a “should” or “ought” that is collectively held and enforced by members of a community, forbidding saving in secret from one’s spouse, with the secrecy not the saving being the problem. Assuming it exists, this social norm forbidding saving in secret from one’s spouse applies to both husbands and wives, and this is acknowledged by both husbands and wives. However, the extent to which violations of this norm are tolerated depends on who is doing the violating and who the evaluating. In patrilineal communities (as compared to matrilineal communities), both husbands and wives are especially intolerant of secret saving by husbands and in both patrilineal and matrilineal communities, wives are less tolerant than husbands of secret saving by husbands and more tolerant than husbands of secret saving by wives. This relative tolerance of secret saving by wives notwithstanding, just under one in three wives and one in six husbands think that a man is justified in beating his wife if he discovers that she is saving in an e-wallet or has joined a savings group without his knowledge and, as grounds for wife beating, saving in secret is on a par with neglecting the children, visiting friends or family in secret and refusing to have sex. For further insights, see the main text of the report. Show less
Akinyoade A., Kazimierczuk A.H., Ekumankama O. Agbaje T., Dietz A.J. 2020
This report presents the research findings on the key social, economic and agronomic dynamics in communities whose livelihoods depend predominantly on the farming of sorghum in northern Nigeria.... Show moreThis report presents the research findings on the key social, economic and agronomic dynamics in communities whose livelihoods depend predominantly on the farming of sorghum in northern Nigeria. Sorghum has become a major element in producing beer and malt by companies like Nigeria Breweries (NB), which is partly owned by Heineken. The two main objectives of this study were to obtain NB’s diverse sourcing modalities and sourcing practices and to examine farm-level issues. In order to achieve the stated objectives, a mixed methods approach was adopted. Four-stage fieldwork was undertaken in 2018 and 2019 in six sorghum- producing states: Kaduna; Niger; Zamfara; Gombe; Katsina; and Yobe States. Researchers from Dutch and Nigerian academic institutions conducted interviews with six vendors from Kaduna and Kano state, administered a questionnaire survey among 433 farmers in the six sorghum- producing states, and conducted interviews and focus group discussions (FGD) with selected sorghum farmers. Based on the data collected, two main groups of sorghum value chain actors were distinguished for further analysis: ‘regular farmers’ and ‘aggregator-farmers’. The former group is further divided into five sub-groups, based on the size of owned land: smallholder farmers I (< 5 ha), smallholder farmers II (6-10 ha), smallholder farmers III (11-20 ha), middle-range farmers (21-200 ha) and large scale farmers (over 201 ha). The latter group consists of vendors and aggregators who combine their commercial activities with sorghum farming Show less
Using a carefully designed series of public goods games, we compare, across monogamous and polygynous households, the willingness of husbands and wives to cooperate to maximize household gains.... Show moreUsing a carefully designed series of public goods games, we compare, across monogamous and polygynous households, the willingness of husbands and wives to cooperate to maximize household gains. Compared to monogamous husbands and wives, polygynous husbands and wives are less cooperative, one with another, and co-wives are least cooperative, one with another. The husbands' and wives' behavior in a corresponding series of inter-household games indicates that these differences cannot be attributed to selection of less cooperative people into polygyny. Finally, behavior in polygynous households is more reciprocal and less apparently altruistic. Show less
Samenvatting: Veel Europese trekvogelpopulaties laten een (sterk) negatieve trend zien. De oorzaken zijn divers en te vinden in broedgebieden, langs trekroutes en in - veelal Afrikaanse -... Show moreSamenvatting: Veel Europese trekvogelpopulaties laten een (sterk) negatieve trend zien. De oorzaken zijn divers en te vinden in broedgebieden, langs trekroutes en in - veelal Afrikaanse - overwinteringsgebieden. In de Sahel vormen met name veranderingen in het landschap een serieuze bedreiging voor veel trekvogelpopulaties. Deze veranderingen zijn zowel een gevolg van, als ook een risico voor de mensen die in deze regio in grote mate afhankelijk zijn van het landschap voor hun levensonderhoud. De door trekvogels en mensen gedeelde afhankelijkheid creëert echter ook mogelijkheden voor oplossingen; duurzaam landgebruik leidt tot behoud van natuurlijke hulpbronnen én tot herstel van biodiversiteit. Naast ecologisch inzicht is daarom ook sociaalgeografische kennis onontbeerlijk voor beschermingswerk. In dit artikel brengen we deze onderzoeksvelden dichter bij elkaar.Summary: Many European migratory bird populations show a (strong) negative trend. The causes are diverse and can be found scattered throughout their breeding grounds, along their migratory routes and in their - mostly African - wintering areas. In the latter category, landscape changes in the Sahel are a serious threat to many migratory bird populations. These landscape changes are both a consequence of, and a risk to, the people that depend to a large extent on the landscape for their livelihood in this region. This dependence shared by migratory birds and people also creates opportunities for solutions; sustainable land use leads to the conservation of natural resources and to the restoration of biodiversity. This appears to be an important strategy for the protection of migratory landbirds, as these species are widespread in the largely cultivated Sahel landscape. So, in addition to ecological insight, socio-geographical knowledge is also essential for this type of conservation work. In this article we strive to bring these fields of expertise closer together.Knowing what our migratory birds do when they are not in the Netherlands’ is usually the strongest drive for researching migratory routes and wintering areas of migratory birds among European researchers. In recent years an enormous amount of knowledge and insight has been generated in that area; insights that are necessary for shaping and prioritizing protection: where and when do which limiting factors occur? But just as important is the insight into the wider context of those limiting factors, for which socioeconomic knowledge is essential. After all, conservation starts with understanding. Show less
