Cohered emergent theory for designing and implementing multinational mining sustainability practices in Ghana

This chapter applies cohered emergent theory to explain how multinational mining corporations operating in Africa can design and implement their sustainability practices to equalize the economic, environmental and social dimensions of sustainability. We used thematic analysis to analyze the interview data from 16 diverse stakeholders of a multinational mining company case in Ghana. The findings suggest that the company’s economic, environmental and social sustainability practices were designed and implemented as a social inclusivity process that revolved around rational planning and power, critique from ‘less powerful’ stakeholders and emergent events, and regular adjustments to senior managers’ planned actions. These design and implementation processes will help senior managers to manage business activities ethically and mitigate potential sustainability implementation risks that can damage organizational reputation, harm community welfare and destroy the environment. The study also has implications for governments and policy think tanks of developing countries to rectify corporate sustainability policies that can foster fair allocation of royalties and taxes from multinational mining companies to the mining communities and to reduce rural poverty. The outcome of the study manifests the theoretical value of the cohered emergent discipline in practice.