When sorry is not an option: CSR reporting and 'face work' in a stigmatised Industry: a case study of Barrick (ACACIA) gold mine in Tanzania

This paper expands the literature on reputation risk management and corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting (Bebbington et al., 2008) by providing evidence from a developing country context, mainlyTanzania. The paper examines how Barrick/Acacia a large transnational company in a mining industry in Tanzania has been using its CSR disclosure to respond to its damaged image, in order to reframe meanings that interested stakeholder groups attached to the stigma, and thus rebuild its image and reputation. Drawing on Benoit’s (1995) image restoration theory and Goffman’s (1959, 1963) writings on stigma and performance, the paper analyses public statements produced by this company, which demonstrates the strategies adopted by the company in the aftermath of the social and environmental crisis. Interestingly, the results of this study show that despite the evidence of social unrest, human rights abuses, environmental degradations and other social ills reported in the media and NGOs reports, Barrick/Acacia has often produced public statements which deny or even defend such allegations.