The Role of SDG-Oriented CSR in Strengthening Community Welfare in Bengkalis Regency

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Bengkalis— PHR CSR Programs in Bengkalis Shaped by Stakeholder Power, Not by Funding Size. The research conducted by Rinto and Emerita Siti Naaishah Hambali from the International Islamic University Malaysia, as well as Dr. Hainnur Aqma Rahim from Universiti Teknologi Mara. This article was published in the International Journal of Management Analytics (IJMA), Vol. 4 No. 1, January 2026.

The research conducted by Rinto, Emerita, and Dr. Hainur Aqma Rahim reveals that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs in the oil and gas region often look grand on paper. However, their impact on community welfare is not always proportional to the number of activities or the amount of funds spent. In Bengkalis, Riau, the effectiveness of CSR is actually more determined by one thing that is often overlooked in discussion: who is the most influential in the CSR system.

Bengkalis: A Resource-Rich Region Still Facing Poverty and Environmental Risks

Bengkalis Regency is known as a key upstream oil and gas area. Yet the region continues to face long-term socio-economic challenges.

The study highlights official 2023 statistics showing:

Poverty rate: 6.31%
Unemployment rate: 7.09%
Persistent inequality
Environmental threats including forest fires, flooding, and coastal abrasion

These numbers raise a critical policy question: if major extractive operations are present, why do welfare indicators remain fragile?

One major actor in Bengkalis is Pertamina Hulu Rokan (PHR), the principal operator managing oil fields in the region. PHR has implemented CSR programs across education, health, economic empowerment, and environmental sectors, and formally aligns them with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

However, previous observations cited in the journal suggest CSR outcomes have been uneven, often focusing on selected areas, lacking continuity, and not fully engaging key local stakeholders.

Why CSR Often Misses Its Target in Extractive Regions

The authors frame CSR not as charity, but as a governance instrument—especially in industries with large environmental and social footprints.

In Indonesia, CSR is not merely voluntary. It is supported by legal obligations such as:

Law No. 40/2007 on Limited Liability Companies
Law No. 19/2003 on State-Owned Enterprises

Yet, the study notes common weaknesses in CSR implementation across Indonesia, including limited transparency, weak policy coherence, mismatch between corporate priorities and community needs, poor coordination between companies and local governments

This pattern is not unique to Indonesia. The authors connect Bengkalis to global experiences in oil-producing regions such as Nigeria’s Niger Delta, Russia’s Irkutsk region, and Uganda’s emerging oil zones, where weak governance and limited community participation have undermined CSR’s development potential.

Main Findings: CSR Outcomes Depend on the Stakeholder Structure

The study’s MICMAC mapping produced one major insight:

CSR outcomes are relational and system-dependent, not simply programmatic.

Meaning: CSR is not effective just because a company launches many programs. It becomes effective only when the right stakeholders are engaged in the right way.

1) The main drivers: PHR and strategic NGOs

In the MICMAC influence map, Pertamina Hulu Rokan (PHR) and strategic NGOs were positioned in the quadrant of high influence and low dependence.

This makes them “driver stakeholders,” meaning they largely determine program priorities, allocation of CSR resources, implementation direction and overall effectivenessIn other words, these actors are the strongest entry points for shaping CSR.

2) The connectors: local government institutions

Local government actors were categorized as linkage stakeholders, meaning they have both high influence and high dependence. This position is critical because linkage stakeholders act as system stabilizers—or system disruptors. If coordination fails in this group, CSR becomes fragmented. But if alignment works, CSR can connect corporate priorities with local development plans.

3) The “quiet contributors”: academics and supporting NGOs

Academics were positioned as output or autonomous stakeholders, meaning they have relatively low direct influence but remain important through indirect roles such as independent evaluation, legitimacy building, scientific validation and policy recommendations. The study emphasizes that academics are often treated as secondary actors, even though their involvement can strengthen transparency and long-term sustainability.

4) Some “popular” CSR themes may not matter structurally

One striking finding was the placement of organic agriculture certification near the center but classified as an excluded/autonomous variable—meaning it has limited structural influence on CSR governance in Bengkalis. This does not mean it is useless, but it suggests the CSR system does not treat it as a central driver.

What This Means: CSR Works When Stakeholders Move Together

The authors propose a conceptual model showing that community welfare improvements do not emerge from isolated CSR activities. Instead, welfare is produced by long-term stakeholder synergy, especially among corporations, local government, communities, NGOs, academic institutions

The study aligns with stakeholder governance literature that views CSR as an ecosystem: if the relationships are weak, CSR becomes symbolic. If relationships are structured, CSR can become a genuine development tool.

Practical Impact: How CSR Can Actually Improve Welfare in Bengkalis

The study provides policy-relevant implications that can be applied not only in Bengkalis, but also in other resource-rich regions.

Key recommendations implied by the findings include:

1) Prioritize driver stakeholders, but don’t let them work alone

Since PHR and strategic NGOs dominate influence, they must lead, but leadership should not mean unilateral decisions.

2) Strengthen coordination with linkage stakeholders

Local government institutions must be empowered to align CSR with regional development priorities.

3) Institutionalize academics and civil society

Academics and supporting NGOs should not be occasional evaluators. The study argues their involvement should be embedded to support transparency, adaptive learning and sustainability.

A Key Quote in Plain Meaning

While the journal is written academically, its core message is direct.The authors show that CSR success is shaped less by program quantity and more by the structural dynamics of influence and dependence among stakeholders. In practical terms:
CSR fails when coordination fails—even if budgets are large.

Why This Study Matters Beyond Bengkalis

This research contributes to CSR studies in Indonesia by addressing a common gap: most CSR research is descriptive, while this study applies a systemic analytical method.

The authors argue that MICMAC offers a replicable framework for evaluating CSR governance in coastal regions, post-extractive contexts, resource-dependent areas

They also note limitations the study focuses on a single case (Bengkalis) and MICMAC captures structural relationships but not changes over time

Future research could add:

longitudinal designs
social network analysis
quantitative impact evaluation

Author Profile

Rinto_Universitas Islam Malaysia
Emerita Siti Naaishah Hambali_Universitas Islam Malaysia
DR Hainnur Aqma Rahim_Universitas Teknologi Mara

Research Source

Rinto, Hambali, E. S. N., & Rahim, H. A. (2026). The Role of SDG-Oriented CSR in Strengthening Community Welfare in Bengkalis Regency. International Journal of Management Analytics (IJMA), Vol. 4 No. 1, 195–212.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.59890/ijma.v4i1.302

URL: https://dmimultitechpublisher.my.id/index.php/ijma