Importance of Corporate Social Responsibility
Corporate social responsibility is a common practice in the corporate world through which corporations give back to the society. This indicates that a corporation is not only keen on profit maximization courses but also the societal benefits towards the surrounding community. Corporate social responsibility has created a paradigm shift in the traditional belief in which a corporation’s core objectives were only anchored on maximizing profits(Harrison et al., 2019). This has necessitated many businesses to incorporate dedicated organization units in the business structures to ensure smooth management and dispensation of the corporate social responsibility obligations. It is worthwhile noting that businesses have several obligations that govern and dictate their operations. The most common societal obligations include the economic responsibility that is majorly owed to the shareholders and customers of the company, the legal responsibility that requires the corporations to abide by the rules of the government in whose jurisdiction it operates, the ethical responsibility that dictates that businesses have to operate within stipulated morals and ethics and lastly the corporate social responsibility(Lins et al., 2017). Corporate social responsibility has been voted as one of the most important determinants in influencing the trust and loyalty exhibited by buyers towards a given corporation. Up to 91% of the global consumers positively noted that they expect businesses to address social and environmental issues with the same zeal that they pursue profits. Another 84% positively stated that the corporate social responsibility largely influences their affiliations, loyalty and trust towards a company(Öberseder et al., 2013). While remaining cognizant of these recent developments in the corporate industry, this study seeks to explore the importance of corporate social responsibility towards survival in the business environment and how it influences the buying behaviour of various customers with consideration of some examples.
The first notable benefit to corporations that engage in corporate responsibility is enjoying the improved public image. The public image displayed by a company dictates the perception of the buyers towards the business(Ajina et al., 2019). It has been proved beyond any reasonable doubt by various studies that buyers will associate themselves with a corporation that they feel has the interest of the people at heart rather than a company that is objected to profit realization. How a company treats its employees, suppliers, the surrounding community and customers constitute its image. When a company is geared towards improving the status of the employees and the society through various initiatives, it is easy to attract a wider clientele base(Ajina et al., 2019).
Many corporations have active social media presence through which they engage their customers. Corporations use social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube to disseminate information concerning their next corporate social responsibility events. The events may include occasional cleaning of the environment, planting trees to combat global climate change and a visit to a charity organization. With the current trend of a large percentage of the population having a heavy presence on social media, the buyers are quick to note the events that are being undertaken by their favourite corporations. This creates the urge for these buyers to develop loyalty. This benefit that is as a result of the broadcast of the corporate social responsibility is exemplified in the many football clubs in England. Taking a specific example of the Manchester United Foundation, many people have inclined towards supporting this noble cause which takes care of the less fortunate in the community through their donations. This noble act has increased the following of the club, as many people want to be identified with the humanitarian acts. This is demonstrated by their proactive reactions towards the suggestion of the next event that they wish executed and recommendations on where they feel there is room for improvement in the subsequent acts of corporate social responsibility.
Through corporate social responsibility, most brands have had the opportunity to enjoy increased brand awareness and recognition. Corporate social responsibility includes one to one interaction with the community in which the event is undertaken(Lins et al., 2017). Through these physical interactions, the target community gets to learn about one or two products that are being offered by the corporation. Extensive learning and promotion of the products of the company can be done through slotting a session of creating awareness of the product in the schedule of the day. This can be a session of approximately 30 minutes to one hour. Through this initiative, those who didn’t know about the company and turned up for the corporate social responsibility event organized by the company get to learn. Further, buyers have proved to be more educated than before. This is exemplified by the fact that through technological advancement, many buyers access internet services at the comfort of their homes(Lins et al., 2017). This allows them to research on company products and seek clarification during the product promotion session during the corporate social responsibility event organized by the company. The basic example of how effective this importance of corporate social responsibility can be capitalized on is the case of BMW events which prides itself of aiming to help up to One million people in 2020. This is expected to be achieved through the program duped ‘The Schools Environmental Education Development Project, ‘ which is used to raise awareness in the community about social and environmental issues. When these events are being conducted, buyer sensitization can be done as an opportunistic activity hence increasing customer loyalty and consequently immunity to survive tough business environments.
Corporate social responsibility helps a company is outperforming its competitors. Every corporation operates in a business environment in which there are several business competitors. For a corporation to navigate through the competition storm smoothly and survive this turbulence, the corporation must develop unique means of winning the hearts of the target customers in the niche in which it plies its trade(Wang et al., 2016). Therefore, competition survival calls for the business to devise unique business strategies that will be the game-changer. Some of the recommended strategies include active participation in corporate social responsibility activities. When a corporation engages actively, rigorously and frequently in various social responsibility activities, it is easier for the buyers to identify themselves with it as compared to that corporation whose only focus is profit maximization(Öberseder et al., 2013). With an increased call to make education a basic requirement of a social being, many buyers can easily read about a company the saw in the neighbourhood carrying out corporate social responsibility activities such as cleaning the environment. Through this is the customer is inclined towards environmental conservation, it is easy for him or her to settle on using the products of this company to that he has not seen engage in social responsibility. This can be the case for those who engage in humanitarian activities, conservation, and other noble tasks. A case example of such is that of Starbucks Coffee in conjunction with Ethos water. These two giant corporations engage in frequent purification of water that is supplied to over a billion individuals who have no access to this essential commodity. Through this noble activity, Starbucks Coffee has received a worldwide commendation from its customers who are infrequent learning of its activities through there basic education. This corporate social responsibility helps Starbucks Coffee outsmart its major business rivals an exemplification of the role corporate social responsibility plays in industrial competition.
Feedback from the buyers of a corporation product is critical in the innovation and development of subsequent products. The feedback received from the buyers forms an important base to develop more consumer-specific products that meet the specifications of the clients(Safi, 2013). One of the channels that the company can obtain genuine feedback is through engaging the buyers during an opened day organized to meet the corporate social responsibility obligations. Towards the end, the quality assurance department may take an opportunity to get reviews of the company products and services from the participating buyers. This is one of the most authentic ways of getting feedback, unlike when somebody comments an online post which may be motivated by efforts to tarnish the image of the company, the physical feedback has proved to be up to 95% genuine (Safi, 2013). Through customer engagement, more developments can be implemented to take care of the desires of the buyers. Many buyers will always do either online research or physical research in the urge to compare different brands. Once he settles on this specific company, he may recommend a feature noted on the product of a competitor. Further, through the posts done on social media concerning the various corporate social responsibility events, a buyer gets the opportunity to engage the administrators on various matters. This is all facilitated by the fact that current buyers are more educated as compared to two or three decades ago. A common example of this is that of a collaborative effort between Microsoft and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation corporate social responsibility activities. The two engage in philanthropic effort social responsibility. This is achieved by engaging and educating the community in technology throughout the world. This non-profit activity creates an avenue for Microsoft to assess the as-is situation on the ground through physical presence. This feedback helps this giant technology company in its efforts to reach new markets and improve service delivery. This is one way of increasing customer feedback through corporate social responsibility.
Corporate social responsibility is consequential in the expansion and maintenance of a stable customer base. From the basic definition of corporate social responsibility, it is evident that its main objective is to ensure that the living standards of the community are raised through the proceeds that a company that operates in that neighbourhood realizes(Schmeltz, 2012). Corporate social responsibility can be viewed as an incentive by the corporations to ensure that they give back to the community in kind. Thus, a corporate social responsibility organized by the dedicated organization unit is essential in ensuring that the living standards of the community are raised by ensuring a safe and secure environment, conservation of the available natural resources and provision of other social amenities such as schools, hospitals and religion facilities the corporation bearing the full cost. By improving the living standards of the society, the corporation involved wins the hearts of the residents(Harrison et al., 2019). This act of kindness makes the community develop attachments and affiliations towards such companies as a means of say, thank you. The locals will go further and share their experiences with other customers, who will also increase the customer base. Additionally, through giving back to the society through various actions such as environmental conservation, supporting social facilities and provision of essential commodities such as water most people enjoy long healthy lives hence continued support for the company by buying the products(Öberseder et al., 2013). The most recent and evident demonstration of a corporation of an institution trying to promote health for its client base is that done by the Jack Ma Foundation owned by billionaire Jack Ma one of the richest persons in the world. He has been able to give donations worth several billion to help combat the current global pandemic, COVID-19. Bearing in mind that COVID – 19 is a respiratory contagion that is transmitted through having contact with a positive case, the contagion has been a real scare in this decade. This act of corporate social responsibility is aimed at keeping the customers of Jack Ma business empire to ensure smooth business in the post-COVID-19 economy. This is a demonstration that corporate social responsibility ensures the continuity and sustainability of business during and after tough business environments.
That businesses owe the society corporate social responsibility is a fact that cannot be disputed. The interaction between businesses and buyers is a mutual relationship and not one-way traffic, as expressed in the activities of businesses operating with the profit maximization ideology. This is exemplified by the specific examples of the captains of various have embraced the duty of corporate social responsibility. This is a lesson to other businesses from the industry captains. Corporate responsibility obligation is important in helping businesses survive the unpredictable and dynamic business environment.
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