Assessing corporate social responsibility pressures in lithium mining: a topic modeling analysis approach

Abstract Corporate social responsibility (CSR) plays a critical role in mitigating the negative impacts of critical mineral mining. Yet research offers limited insight into how societal pressures shape the responsiveness and effectiveness of CSR in this sector. Empirical study is further constrained by selective corporate disclosure, inconsistent datasets, and unreliable interview evidence. To address these challenges, this study applies topic modeling, a form of natural language processing, to stakeholder communication data. Focusing on the Chilean lithium mining industry from 2010 to 2022, the analysis examines how a leading mining company pursued and operationalized CSR through its annual sustainability reports. The findings show that the company’s CSR efforts appear linked to societal pressures, particularly regulatory fines, activism, environmental scrutiny, and investor demands. Persistent drivers included water conflicts, legal actions, and policy changes. The study also demonstrates that topic modeling offers a useful tool for identifying and tracking CSR priorities over time, yielding insights less accessible through conventional research approaches.