ABSTRACT
Companies invest in community projects. They build schools, clinics, and roads; they provide loans, training, and equipment. Managers are surprised to find that the schools they built sit empty or that the loans they provided were spent rather than invested. When companies use community projects as a risk mitigation tool, they tend to focus on communities that pose a threat. Companies then establish community projects in the areas that they judge to be most negatively impacted by corporate operations or in communities that are strategically positioned to block access roads or sabotage company assets. Communities are often in close touch with each other and watch each other intently. When people see that different communities are treated differently by a company, this can evoke accusations of unfairness. When companies award projects as a form of compensation for noise, dust, environmental damage, or another project consequence, they may be addressing symptoms of community dissatisfaction rather than underlying issues.
