Business-Community Relationships for Extractive Industries: A Case Study in Peru

Abstract Natural resource-based economies have long relied on foreign demand to fuel their growth. For instance, the extractive sectors in Peru have experienced a rapid expansion, driven by a rising demand for commodities. Alongside economic growth, extractive operations have triggered social and environmental concerns among the various stakeholders, thus resulting in either social conflict or a deterioration of the relationship between companies in the extractive industries and local communities. In this context, the purpose of this paper is to understand the relationships between companies in the extractive industries and rural families. This research uses the case-study method. The findings show that a trustful relationship is supported by a beneficiary-society approach that builds upon philanthropic and ethical types of relationships. Unlike the type of relationship based on economic or legal interests, a trust-based relationship offers avenues for managing social conflict that have yet to be explored.

摘要 长期以来，资源依赖型经济体一直依靠外需拉动自身增长。例如，受大宗商品需求持续攀升的推动，秘鲁的采掘行业实现了快速扩张。伴随经济增长而来的是，采掘作业引发了各类利益相关方对社会与环境问题的担忧，进而要么引发社会冲突，要么导致采掘行业企业与当地社区之间的关系恶化。在此背景下，本研究旨在厘清采掘行业企业与农村家庭之间的关系。本研究采用案例研究法。研究结果表明，依托慈善与伦理型关系构建的受益方导向型合作模式，可支撑起互信的合作关系。与基于经济或法律利益的关系模式不同，基于互信的关系为管理尚未得到充分探索的社会冲突提供了可行途径。