Mediating Effect of Civic Engagement in CSR Effects on Mining Community Infrastructure: Evidence from Ghana

Abstract

The study investigates the influence of CSR diversity and inclusion, CSR expenditure, and civic engagement on infrastructure sufficiency in gold mining host communities in Ghana. Utilizing a positivist paradigm and cross-sectional data collection from 400 residents in seven mining communities, PLS-SEM is utilized by the study to test direct and mediating relationships. The findings imply that CSR diversity and inclusion have a significantly positive association with infrastructure sufficiency, whereas CSR expenditure does not affect infrastructure sufficiency. CSR civic engagement also works as an important predictor of infrastructure sufficiency. The CSR civic engagement played a positive mediating role between CSR diversity and inclusion and infrastructure sufficiency. CSR civic engagement mediated the relationship between CSR spending and infrastructure sufficiency in the host mining communities in Ghana. The results contribute to the social exchange theory, showing that perceived fairness and inclusiveness motivate positive community responses. The study also advances empowerment theory and fills a gap in the literature by identifying civic engagement as an important mechanism through which communities can transform CSR inputs into grassroots development impacts. The paper provides practical and policy implications for a more inclusive, transparent, and empowerment-based co-branding CSR approach.