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Corporate Hegemony Through Sustainability

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Corporate Hegemony Through Sustainability Corporate Hegemony through Sustainability What does the implementation of sustainability standards and CSR practices do to power relationships at the local level? Corporate Hegemony In this study I take an autoethnographic approach and focus on my previous employer, the oil company Bankers Petroleum Ltd. (Bankers) and their opera- through Sustainability tions in Patos-Marinza, an area in south-central Albania where oil extraction facilities and residences lie close to one another. Through the lens of Political A study of sustainability standards and CSR Discourse Theory, I examine three grievances raised by Patos-Marinza practices as tools to demobilise community residents and Bankers’ response to these complaints. My analysis shows how resistance in the Albanian oil industry community demands, that could otherwise have put pressure on improved corporate practices, were isolated and silenced in the name of sustainability and corporate responsibility. As sustainability discourses continue to expand in Sara Persson the corporate world, this study highlights the need to critically examine what they do in local settings, if they foster change away from harmful business models or simply function as legitimising mechanisms that allow corporate power to grow stronger. Sara Persson is a researcher in Business Studies at Södertörn University and has extensive experience from implementing international sustainability standards in the hydropower and oil industries in Albania. She has a multidisciplinary background with a B.A. in Political Science from Uppsala University, a B.A. in Economics and a M.Sc. in International Development and Management from Lund University. SARA PERSSON Business Studies, Politics, Economy and the Organisation of Society, School of Social Sciences, Baltic and East European Graduate School (BEEGS), Södertörn University. ISBN 978-91-89109-31-5 (print) / 978-91-89109-32-2 (digital) | Södertörn University | [email protected] SÖDERTÖRN DOCTORAL DISSERTATIONS SDD 179 Corporate Hegemony through Sustainability A study of sustainability standards and CSR practices as tools to demobilise community resistance in the Albanian oil industry Sara Persson Subject: Business Studies Research Area: Politics, Economy and the Organisation of Society School of Social Sciences Baltic and East European Graduate School (CC BY 3.0) Sdertrns hgskola (Sdertörn University) Biblioteket SE-141 89 Huddinge www.sh.se/publications © Sara Persson Cover image: Patos-Marinza Oilfield, Sidonie Hadoux (© 2014) Graphic form: Per Lindblom & Jonathan Robson Printed by Elanders, Stockholm 2020 Sdertrn Doctoral Dissertations 179 ISSN 1652–7399 ISBN 978-91-89109-31-5 (print) ISBN 978-91-89109-32-2 (digital) Till Farmor You said: Your grandfather died of cancer, and so did the rest of his colleagues at the factory. I said: Why did you not sue the company? You said: It was a hard time. I took long walks all over the city. You said: When I finished school I had three options – factory worker, shop worker or secretary. I said: I am so grateful for the opportunities that I have been given. You said: I am so proud of you. I whispered in the dark: I miss you. Abstract Many critical business scholars have disregarded sustainability standards and corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities as mere window dressing, operating as a smokescreen to hide illegitimate corporate practices. Others have pointed to these activities as hegemonic articulations, as a way to strengthen corporate alli- ances with and dominance over other actors in society. In this PhD project I investigate how corporate hegemony and the implementation of sustainability standards and CSR practices are linked at the local level, focusing on the Canadian oil company Bankers Petroleum Ltd. (Bankers) and their operations in Patos- Marinza, an area in south-central Albania with residences in close proximity to oil extraction activities. Between 2010 and 2015, I was involved as a consultant and staff member working in Bankers’ Community Relations Department at Patos-Marinza. In this dissertation I take an autoethnographic approach, meaning that I write about and analyse my own role in the subject I am studying. Through the lenses of the Gramscian concept of hegemony and Political Discourse Theory, I examine two competing discourses in Patos-Marinza. The discourse describing company oper- ations as an ‘investment’ was Bankers’ hegemonic narrative, giving meaning to company activities and incorporating various groups in Albanian society into a corporate alliance. The ‘investment’ was a narrative aiming at closure, of incur- porating ‘all’ as beneficiaries of the oil industry and thus trying to reduce griev- ances and requests from society by satisfying them. However, the remaining demands from the communities of Patos-Marinza endangered this all-encompas- sing vision; the constant appearance of grievances interrupted the corporate nar- rative, threatening to create an antagonistic frontier between the company and local residents. During this period, a counter-hegemonic discourse describing com- pany activities as an ‘invasion’ began to emerge: grievances were filed, protest groups formed, oil deposits vandalised, and roads blocked. To deepen my analysis of this antagonistic dynamic I study three specific grievances raised by the communities of Patos-Marinza and Bankers’ response to these complaints. These three grievance areas highlight how Bankers’ implemen- tation of international sustainability standards supported the extension of a cor- porate alliance, breaking potential chains of equivalence between various com- munity demands and controlling truth claims through dialogues, technology and experts. My conclusion is that rather than disregarding compliance to sustainability standards and CSR activities as window dressing, it is important to examine what these do in specific empirical contexts and how grievances, which could otherwise be mobilised to demand improved corporate practices, are isolated and silenced in the name of sustainability and corporate responsibility. Keywords: hegemony, Gramsci, Political Discourse Theory, autoethnography, community grievances, sustainability standards, CSR, Albania, Patos-Marinza, oil industry. Përmbledhje (Summary/abstract in Albanian) Disa studiues të biznesit i kanë shpërfillur standardet e qëndrueshmërisë dhe aktivitetet e përgjegjësisë shoqërore të korporatave (PSHK), duke i konsideruar ato thjesht si dekorues vitrinash, që shërbejnë si një perde tymi, për të fshehur prak- tikat e paligjshme të korporatave. Të tjerë i kanë parë këto aktivitete si artikulime dominuese, si një mënyrë për të forcuar aleancat e korporatave me aktorë të tjerë në shoqëri dhe dominimin ndaj tyre. Në këtë punim doktorature unë kam trajtuar lidhjen midis fuqisë së korporatave me zbatimin e standardeve të qëndrueshmërisë dhe me praktikat e PSHK-së në nivel vendor, duke u përqendruar në kompaninë kanadeze të naftës “Bankers Petroleum Ltd.” (Bankers) dhe operacionet e tyre në Patos-Marinëz, një zonë në Shqipërinë Jugqendrore, ku zona naftënxjerrëse është shumë pranë asaj të banuar. Gjatë viteve 2010-2015, kam qenë e përfshirë si konsulente dhe pjesë e stafit të Departamentit të Marrëdhënieve me Komunitetin në kompaninë Bankers në Patos-Marinëz. Në këtë disertacion unë kam përdorur një qasje autoetnografike, që do të thotë se unë shkruaj rreth rolit tim dhe e analizoj atë në çështjen që po studioj. Përmes lenteve të teorisë së Antonio Gramsci-it dhe të ligjërimit politik, unë shqyrtoj dy qasje konkurruese në Patos-Marinëz. Qasja që i përshkruante operacionet e kompanisë si një “investim” ishte rrëfimi dominues i Bankers-it. “Investimi” ishte një rrëfim që synonte mbylljen, që i përfshinte “të gjithë” si për- fitues nga industria e naftës dhe duke u përpjekur në këtë mënyrë të pakësonte ankesat dhe kërkesat nga shoqëria duke i plotësuar ato. Sidoqoftë, kërkesat e tjera nga komunitetet e Patos-Marinzës përbënin një rrezik për këtë vizion gjithëpërfshirës. Filloi të artikulohej një qasje tjetër kundërdominuese, që e shikonte aktivitetin e kompanisë si një “pushtim”. U bënë ankesa, u formuan grupe pro- testuesish, u dëmtuan depozita nafte dhe u bllokuan rrugë. Për ta thelluar analizën time të kësaj dinamike konfliktuale, unë jam ndalur në tri ankesa specifike të ngritura nga komuniteti i Patos-Marinzës dhe në përgjigjen e Bankers-it ndaj këtyre ankesave. Këto tri fusha të ankesave nxjerrin në pah se si zbatimi i standardeve ndërkombëtare të qëndrueshmërisë nga Bankers-i ishte faktor mbështetës për zgjerimin e aleancave të korporatës. Përfundimi im është që, në vend që të shpërfillet pajtueshmëria me standardet e qëndrueshmërisë dhe aktivitetet e PSHK-së e të konsiderohen si dekorues vitrinash, e rëndësishme është të shqyrtohet se çfarë bëjnë këto në kontekste specifike empirike dhe se si, në emër të qëndrueshmërisë dhe përgjegjësisë së korporatës, izolohen dhe “u mbyllet goja” kërkesave, që në të kundërt, mund të përdoren për të ushtruar presion për për- mirësimin e praktikave të korporatave. Fjalë kyçe: Gramsci, teori e ligjërimit politik, autoetnografi, ankesa të komunitetit, standarde të qëndrueshmërisë, PSHK, Shqipëri, Patos-Marinëz, industria e naftës. Sammanfattning (Summary/abstract in Swedish) När företags hållbarhetsarbete diskuteras inom den företagsekonomiska forsk- ningen så har vissa forskare påpekat att det ofta inte är mer än vackra ord, medan illegitima och skadliga företagsverksamheter tillåts fortsätta. Andra forskare har be- skrivit företags hållbarhetsarbete
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