The Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) on Brand Image: A case study on Globacom Limited

Contents LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ......................................................................................................... 6

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 9

1.1 RESEARCH RATIONALE ........................................................................................... 11

1.2 RESEARCH PROBLEM ............................................................................................... 11

1.3 RESEARCH AIM AND OBJECTIVES ........................................................................ 12

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS ............................................................................................ 13

1.5 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ................................................................................... 13

1.6 SCOPE OF THE RESEARCH ....................................................................................... 14

1.7 DISSERTATION STRUCTURE ................................................................................... 14

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ...................................................................................... 16

2.1 CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY ................................................................ 16

2.2.1 CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY MATRIX........................................ 17

2.2.2 TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE MODEL ........................................................................ 18

2.2.1 MODERN CONCEPT OF CSR ............................................................................. 19

2.2 BRAND IMAGE ............................................................................................................ 21

2.3 CSR AND BRAND IMAGE ......................................................................................... 23

2.4 ADVANTAGES OF CSR .............................................................................................. 24

2.5 CSR AND EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT.................................................................... 26

2.6 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK .................................................................................. 29

2.7 SUMMARY ................................................................................................................... 30

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................ 31

3.1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................... 31

3.2 RESEARCH PHILOSOPHY ......................................................................................... 32

3.3 RESEARCH APPROACHES ........................................................................................ 32

3.4 RESEARCH STRATEGY ............................................................................................. 33

3.5 RESEARCH CHOICE ................................................................................................... 33

3.6 TIME HORIZONS ......................................................................................................... 34

3.7 RESEARCH DATA COLLECTION METHODS ........................................................ 34

3.8 QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN PROCESS ...................................................................... 36

3.8.1 SPECIFY THE INFORMATION NEEDED .......................................................... 37

3.8.2 SPECIFY THE INTERVIEWING METHOD ....................................................... 38

3.8.3 DETERMINE THE CONTENT OF INDIVIDUAL QUESTIONS ....................... 39

3.8.4 RESPONDERS’ UNWILLINGNESS TO ANSWER ............................................ 39

3.8.5 DECIDE ON THE QUESTIONS STRUCTURE ................................................... 39

3.8.6 FINALIZE THE QUESTION WORDING ............................................................ 39

3.8.7 ARRANGE THE QUESTIONS IN PROPER ORDER ......................................... 40

3.8.8 IDENTIFY FORM AND LAYOUT ....................................................................... 40

3.8.9 PILOT TESTING OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE ................................................... 40

3.9 DATA ANALYSIS PLAN............................................................................................. 40

3.10 SAMPLING AND SAMPLE SIZE ............................................................................... 40

3.11 ACCESSIBILITY ISSUES: ........................................................................................... 43

3.12 ETHICAL ISSUES ........................................................................................................ 44

3.13 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY ................................................................................. 44

CHAPTER 4: ANALYSIS ........................................................................................................... 45

4.1. PROFILE OF THE RESPONDENTS ............................................................................... 45

4.2. CONCERN TOWARDS EMPLOYEES ....................................................................... 46

4.2.1 DISCUSSION ON THE RESULTS ....................................................................... 48

4.3. OPERATING ENVIRONMENT CONCERN ............................................................... 49

4.3.1. DISCUSSION ON THE RESULTS ....................................................................... 50

4.4. COMMUNITY WELLBEING ...................................................................................... 51

4.4.1 DISCUSSION ON THE RESULTS ....................................................................... 53

4.5. IMPACT OF CSR ON ACHIEVING COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE ...................... 53

4.5.1 DISCUSSION ABOUT THE RESULT ................................................................. 55

4.6. CHALLENGES OF CSR ............................................................................................... 55

4.6.1 DISCUSSION ON THE RESULTS ....................................................................... 57

4.7. SUMMARY ................................................................................................................... 57

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................... 61

ANNEXURE-1 : QUESTIONNAIRE .......................................................................................... 61

ANNEXURE-2: RESULTS TO THE QUESTIONNAIRE IN TABULAR FORM .................... 63

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

My thanks to my teachers, friends, family , and my guide for their constant support in the process

of the research and writing of this report.

And my biggest thanks to the Lord who gave me everything I have.

Abstract

CSR has become an important part of a company’s plan in the recent time. The CSR helps the

society and also helps the company to boost their brand image. Brand image is mainly known as

the way the customer sees and perceives the brand. Stakeholders are interested in knowing the

extent to which the CSR activities are undertaken and the extent to which the company gives

back to the society. The employees are not only the participants of the CSR activities, but they

are also the first hand viewer to notice the impact and the sincerity of the CSR activities. The

current research tries to understand the relationship between the CSR activities and brand image

of the company with special focus on employees’ perception. The company selected for the

purpose is Globacom Limited.

A questionnaire regarding the company’s CSR activities is distributed among the employees to

understand their response to the CSR activities of the company. It is observed that the company’s

activities are well-known and recognized in terms of the operating environment as well as the

community welfare area. The company’s CSR efforts are not perceived by the employees in

terms of the employee welfare or in terms of the climate issues of the company. The employees

agree that the CSR activities of the company plays an important role in the market as such efforts

provide major competitive boost for the company.

The research recommends the improvement in the employee welfare programs and the

participation of the CSR activities like climate control to promote the brand image of Globacom

further.

List of Abbreviations

CSR: Corporate Social Responsibility

Ltd. : Limited

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

The interest in corporate social responsibility has been growing in recent times. While earlier the

sole focus of the companies used to be on the sales, the focus has moved to profit these days.

Similarly the focus has also shifted towards the impact of the company on the society. The

stakeholders these days believe that the companies should accept the responsibilities for their

actions and should be accountable for the effect the action is causing. The idea that the

organization should work keeping in view the society and the operating environment is termed as

the corporate social responsibility.

European Commission defines the Corporate Social Responsibility or CSR as the responsibility

that the companies and enterprises have for the kind of impact that they have on society. In other

words, the CSR can be defined as the practices the company follows to make the positive impact

on the society. It is the way with which the company pays back to the community in terms of the

infrastructure, employment opportunities, social development etc. Another definition of the CSR

has been given by Mohr, Webb and Harris (2001) who defines CSR as the effort of the company

and the company’s responsibility to control the harmful effects caused by them to the society.

They also work towards improving their positive and useful impact to the society (MOHR, L. A.

et al., 2001).

Brand image is mainly known as the way the customer sees and perceives the brand. The good

brand image is necessary for the company to be favorable among the customers. The brand

image is associated with the brand name, characteristics and the connection between the two

(KELLER, K.L., 2003). Good brand image is necessary for the market position of the company

(AAKER, D. A., 1992)A positive image will increase the retention of customers and their

contentment and loyalty (LAI, F. et al., 2009).

While earlier the CSR used to be followed in the name only, these days the focus has shifted to

real CSR activities as the companies have realized that the right kind of CSR activities can

impact the company’s brand image as well. This change in brand image adds to the

competitiveness of the company as well. Not only for the customers, is the brand image essential

for attracting talent as well. In 2004, a survey was conducted by Deloitte & Touché, USA which

indicated that around 72% of the employees prefer to work in an organization which participate

in the charitable activities (MEISTER, Jeanne, 2012). Because of this, the CSR has also been

included as a part of the financial statements. In many countries like Nigeria, the governments

have their regulations which encourage the CSR activities and even provide some rebates in lieu

of these activities.

The current research is conducted to understand the relationship between the CSR activities of

the company and the brand image developed among the employees and customers with respect to

the CSR activities. For the purpose, Globacom Limited has been selected as the company for the

case study. The company is the prime example of CSR activities and has taken many activities

for the betterment of the immediate community in Africa where it is situated. These CSR

activities have involved the development of the community, sponsorship, social programmes etc

(GLOBACOM LTD. , n.d.). The purpose of the research is to understand the effect these CSR

activities and the reach of these activities with respect to the brand image of the company as

perceived by the employees of the company.

1.1 RESEARCH RATIONALE

As explained above the research will focus on mainly two areas: the corporate social

responsibility and the brand image. The relationship between the two variables will be explored

further with respect to the selected company. The employees are not only the participants of the

CSR activities, but they are also the first hand viewer to notice the impact and the sincerity of the

CSR activities. CSR activities are essential for the success of the company in the current

environment. Stakeholders are interested in knowing the extent to which the CSR activities are

undertaken and the extent to which the company gives back to the society. The brand image of

the company helps in maintaining the good reputation among the community, government and

the employees as well (Ellen, Webb & Mohr, 2006). When the brand image is perceived is good,

the company will gain in terms of the profit as well as the goodwill.

Many studies have been conducted in terms of CSR, but these studies on CSR and brand image have

mostly focused on the product-based industry and less on the service industry ( (B. CASADO-DÍAZ,

A. et al., 2014); (GRÖNROOS, C., 2007). The product industry also is expanding in the venture of

service provision and hence it is necessary to understand the impact the CSR activities have on the

service-cum-product industry like Globacom Limited. The CSR activities have become an

essential part of the business strategies of the company, and this research helps in understanding

how the brand image changes with the CSR activities.

1.2 RESEARCH PROBLEM

Thus problem statement of the research can be stated as to ―understand the relationship between

the CSR activities and brand image of the company with special focus on employees’

perception‖.

1.3 RESEARCH AIM AND OBJECTIVES

The main aim of this research is to determine the relationship between corporate social

responsibility and brand image of Globacom Ltd. and to recommend the further stepps that can

be taken in order to improve the brand image of the company.

The following are the objectives of the study:

To understand the campaign of CSR of Globacom Ltd and its impact.

This objective will aim to understand what CSR activities are being following by the company,

and what kind of known impact it has made. Literature review will be the main source of the

information about this objectives.

To investigate the relationship between brand CSR and employees’ satisfaction.

This objective aims at drawing the relationship between the the CSR of the brand and the

employees’ satisfaction. Primary survey will be mainly used for this purpose.

To determine the impact of brand image in the perception of employees.

This objective focuses on understanding how the employees perceive the brand image of the

company. The primary survey will be used to understand this.

To analyze the relationship between brand image and CSR.

This objective focuses on understanding how the CSR activities changes the brand images in the

view of the employees. This objective is sought to be achieved using the primary data collected

from the survey.

To recommend the steps in terms of CSR for the company to improve the brand image.

The final objective of the research is to recommend the steps that the company can take in terms

of CSR activities to improve its image. The same is achieved using the analysis of both primary

and the secondary data.

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The above objectives are fulfilled by answering the research questions. The researcher intends to

provide research question that provides direction for the research.

i) What are the major CSR activities followed by Globacom Ltd?

ii) What relationship exists between the CSR and the brand image?

iii) How does the employee perceive the CSR activities of the Globacom Ltd?

iv) How is the brand perceived by the employees of Globacom Ltd?

v) Does employee perception changes with the change in the CSR activities of the

company?

1.5 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The current research will be an interpretive and inductive research wherein data will be collected

first and then the research theories will be formed with respect to the CSR activities and the

brand image.

The researcher uses both methods of data collection: primary and the secondary methods. The

primary data is collected by the researcher with the use of questionnaire for such collection from

the participants. The secondary data collection method is used to collect data that are already on

the subject matter and existing sources on the analysis of the impact of CSR on Brand Image of

GLO from journals, Google books, websites etc.

In gaining access to data, the primary data will be collected from the staff of Glo and will be

administered on them during their break time so as not to disturb their work schedule. Interview

will be conducted on senior staff that may not be able to fill the documents. The secondary data

will be sourced from other materials like the Internet and from books at the library. The

researcher will be using the GLOBACOM office in Abuja Nigeria to carry out the research work.

The reason is that of the cost of moving from one branch to the other all over the nation may be

too time-consuming and costly

The research will be carried out using both qualitative and quantitative designs. The qualitative

designs will be used to study the CSR activities followed by the company in the current scenario

and what kind of impact these CSR activities have. The quantitative analysis will be used for the

primary data which will assess the impact of the CSR activities on the brand image of the

company. The quantitative analysis will be conducted to understand how the employees perceive

these CSR activities as and how much of this is essential for the brand image of the company.

1.6 SCOPE OF THE RESEARCH

The research is limited to the study of the relationship between the CSR activities and brand

image for Globacom Ltd. The office focused for the purpose is Abuja Nigeria office of the

company. The relationship between the company’s image and the CSR activities is analyzed with

respect to the employees’ perception only. The customers’ view for the same is beyond the scope

of the research.

1.7 DISSERTATION STRUCTURE

The research report is divided into the following major sections:

Introduction : This chapter introduces the subject of the research and lays down the

research objectives and the research questions. The research methodology is also

explained in brief in the chapter.

Literature Review: The second chapter of the report is the literature review which will

analyze the associated literature of the subject. The literature review is conducted to

understand the literature associated with the brand image and CSR activities and also to

find out the CSR activities already used in the company.

Methodology: The methodology is an essential part of the research as this methodology

itself decides whether the research will be successful or not. This chapter explains the

research methodology along with the rationale for the questions selected for the

questionnaire.

Analysis and Findings: This chapter will focus on interpretation of the data obtained

using the questionnaire method. The data obtained via questionnaire will be analyzed

quantitatively and the discussion is conducted with respect to how the answers shows the

influence of CSR on brand image.

Conclusions and Future Research Scope: This chapter summarizes the results and

presents the recommendations for the company. The research questions are answered in

this chapter and the future scope of further research is also discussed.

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter builds the foundation of the research. It explores the various concepts associated with

the research. The first section focuses on the CSR and its various definitions. The second section of

the literature review focuses on the brand image. Further, the relationship between the two and the

advantages of CSR activities are developed. The next section of the review focuses on the employees

with respect to the impact of CSR activities on the employees.

2.1 CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Many definitions of social responsibility have come up over the period of time by different writers

and scholars, but there is no consensus on the single definition as each of the definition explores the

different concept associated with the CSR.

In 1950s, Bowen explained CSR as the obligation of the businessman to ensure that the decision,

policies, or line of action followed by the company was desirable with respect to the objectives and

the values of the society (KASHYAP, R. et al., 2011). The discussion moved towards the needs of

the society and profit maximization being the CSR in 1960s. The CSR activities finally gained

importance in 1980s when the business started taking it seriously (KASHYAP, R. et al., 2011).

Friedman in 1970 has explained that for the social responsibility, either the customers or the

employees have to pay for it (WINDSOR, D., 2006). The aim of the CSR is to increase the

profit, specifically the shareholders’ value. Uddin, Hassan and Tarique (2008) explains that CSR

should not been as a threat to the profit making of the company, but CSR is more of an

opportunity which shall be seen as the advantage for the company. These sections explain the

major models of CSR proposed by the scholars (UDDIN, M.B. et al., 2008).

2.2.1 CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY MATRIX

A major definition of CSR has been defined by Carroll who organized CSR in the four sections:

economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic (discretionary) activities in the form of a pyramid model.

He defined that the CSR is the sum of the all the four activities together for any business at a given

period of time without any particular preference to the another (CARROLL, A.B., 1991)

(CARROLL, A.B., 1999). Carroll claimed that the first and foremost category was the economic

responsibility of the company which is required by the society. The legal responsibility comes next

and that as well is required by the society. The next two levels of pyramid, i.e. the ethical and

philanthropic levels are not required by the society, but it is still expected by the society. This

pyramid of responsibilities is termed as the Pyramid of Corporate Social Responsibility

(SCHWARTZ, M.S. and Carroll, A.B., 2003). Even today this is a well-accepted model of CSR. The

following figure shows Carroll’s CSR pyramid.

Figure 1: Carroll's Pyramid of Responsibility (SCHWARTZ, M.S. and Carroll, A.B., 2003)

The model explains that the economic responsibility is the fundamental responsibilities of all the

businesses, that is they must be able to produce and sell and fulfill their economic mission in the

society. This fulfillment of mission should be carried out in the legal framework of laws and

regulations. Furthermore, it is desirable that both the economic and fundamental activities follow

the ethical norms of the society. Furthermore, other ethical activities that are beyond the legal

and economic activities are also expected to be followed by the companies. An example of

ethical responsibility will be that the company should be able to produce goods and sell them at a

reasonable price (VELENTZAS and Broni, 2010). The philanthropic responsibility consists of

business discretion as per the expectations of the society for example, avoiding hazardous waste

within the service industry or being involved in community issues. All these four activities form

the pillars of the CSR (IAMANDI, I., 2007). By strategizing and following these four pillars of

the CSR, a company is able to make a brand which is well-known in the world and develop their

own loyalty base (VELENTZAS and Broni, 2010).

This model was further developed by Wartick and Cochran (1985) who made the three legs of

the CSR as economic responsibility, public responsibility, and social responsiveness

(WARTICK, S.L. and Cochran, P.L., 1985).

2.2.2 TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE MODEL

The Triple Bottom line model was developed in 1990s by Elkington. Unlike the above model,

this model takes into account the sustainability issues associated with CSR. Thus along with

profitability, this model also considers the impact of the business on the environment and the

social dimension. As per this model, the performance of the business shall be measured on three

scale: profit, people and planet. These 3Ps are the major tools with which a company can attain

sustainability. Profit is associated with the financial dimension of CSR; people makes the social

dimension of CSR; while the planet marks the environmental dimension of the CSR. The model

believes that making profits is essential but the same shall be done without harming the people or

the planet. The model believes that the company should strive to be cost-effective but at the same

time take into account the employees and the community and consider the planet and pollution

before making the decisions and policies. The measurement of TBL can vary according to the

project and company and the goal it wants to achieve (HALL, T.J., 2011).

2.2.1 MODERN CONCEPT OF CSR

These days, CSR is an important factor in the eyes of employees, consumers and the other

stakeholders. The business makes the profit when the society consumes the products and services

created by them, and hence business shall pay back to the society in some manner in order to

maintain the sustainability of the business (UDDIN, M.B. et al., 2008). It has been well-

established that CSR is not a choice that a company makes or an additional cost to the company

(JHUNJHUNWALA, S., 2014). It is the part and parcel of the definition of the business.

Jhunjhunwala (2014) states that the CSR activities need to be developed and integrated by the

business in order for the businesses to be successful (JHUNJHUNWALA, S., 2014).

Several researches have been carried out to this respect. One of the research was carried by

Mahonet and Thorne in 2005 that focused on examination of how CSR affected the long-term

compensation for 90 publicly traded Canadian firms. The results that firm’s environmental action

and the CSR activities contributed positively to the long term compensation of the executives of

the firm (MAHONEY, L. S. and Thorne, Linda, 2005). Similar research was carried out in

Europe which showed that the consumers not only expect the quality products from the company

but are also concerned about whether companies produce these goods in socially responsible

way. In Europe, not only the large companies , but also the SMEs and primary small companies

work together for incorporation of CSR with the help of tools like mission statement, code of

conduct, core values and stakeholders’ responsibilities (DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR

EMPLOYMENT, 2001). The studies have clearly indicated that the consumers reward the companies

with the proactive CSR. In the world where the products are turning more similar and companies are

competing on such a line, CSR becomes an important concept for the companies to work upon and

elaborate (CALABRESE, A. et al., 2013).

The impact of such CSR is that it has increased the opportunities for the companies with which

they can work towards the intangible aspects of the brand and image. The basic advantage of

CSR is that it achieves awareness and is essential for social and environmental sustainability in

the longer run, but the growing favoritism of the companies with positive CSR image is another

considered advantage. For international companies, this advantage becomes the base line of their

performance measurement (DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR EMPLOYMENT, 2001).

The company selected, Globacom, also seems to have understood the importance of CSR as the

company is participating in a lot many activities and sponsorships for the CSR activities. The

company has established its CSR mission to make the difference in the social areas, sports, and

job improvement condition in Africa. The websites list the major CSR activities as following:

i) Signing up of Manchester United Sponsorship: The company’s idea is to establish the

African Football and increase its level. This factor include providing necessary funds

to the African youths for growth in Football sports along with the sponsorship of the

Manchester United.

ii) CNN African Voices: The company has joined hands with CNN African voices to

provide the platform for the African great people before Europe, US, and rest of the

world.

iii) Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature: The Company provides the cash award for the

literature to encourage the African literature.

iv) Sponsorship for other national football teams: The Company also sponsors the

national team throughout the Africa promoting football.

v) Sponsorship for Half Marathon: The Company has also sponsored the half marathon

in African area for past few years (GLOBACOM LTD. , n.d.).

2.2 BRAND IMAGE

The research delves into how CSR affects the brand image, but what exactly is the brand image

is the first question we need to understand. The concept of the brand can be seen in early 20th

century as well, but the brand, as we know today, was developed in 1950s. A strong brand is

considered as an important part of the firm (GRÖNROOS, C., 2007). A brand is the name, term,

sign, symbol or any other feature that the people associated with the company. The brand and its

concept is easier to define in terms of the products, but in case of service company, the service

process becomes the major brand characteristics.

Having a strong brand gives a company many advantages. The biggest advantage is that the

company earns the customers’ loyalty, and hence becomes less vulnerable to market’s

competitive strategies. If the CSR of the company is effective, then the company can charge even

the higher price for the same work (APÉRIA, T. et al., 2004). The success of the brand leads to

increase in the intangible asset of the company termed as brand equity (GRÖNROOS, C., 2007).

Brand equity can be defined as the set of intangible assets associated with the brand that adds or

subtracts value to the company and its’ customers (AAKER, D. A., 1992).There are four major

components of brand equity: brand loyalty, brand awareness, perceived quality and brand

associations (AAKER, D. A., 1992). Brand equity helps the company by retaining and attaining

the customers and maintaining a competitive position in the market (APÉRIA, T. et al., 2004).

Another definition of brand equity is given by Keller (2003).

The differential effect that brand knowledge has on the customer response to the marketing of that

brand. Equity occurs when the customer is familiar with the brand and holds some favorable, strong

and unique brand associations in memory (KELLER, K.L., 2003).

Thus the brand image is defined by mainly three kinds of association as per Keller: attributes,

benefits and attitudes. Attributes are the characteristics that can describe the service. The product

related attributes are that the product behaves as per the expectations of the customers. Non-

product related attribute includes the information about the price, the impression of the product

in the customers’ mind etc (KELLER, K.L., 2003).

The benefits are the values that the customer links with the product. These benefits can be

functional, symbolic or experiential. Functional benefits solve the basic needs of the customers

for which the product has been purchased like product attributes. The experiential benefits are

the benefits which satisfies the needs of the customers with respect to the pleasure, well-being,

stimulation etc. The symbolic benefits are the non-product related attributes and satisfies the

customers’ need for social approval or personal expression. The attitude is how customer sees

the brand overall (APÉRIA, T. et al., 2004).

As mentioned earlier, a strong brand image adds to the equity of the brand perceived by the

customers (APÉRIA, T. et al., 2004). A strong brand image improves the experience of the

customers and is an essential intangible asset for the company. A company works towards the

management of positive communication with the customers in order to improve its brand image. The

marketing sectors work independently to promote the ―brand identity‖ of the company in the eyes of

the customers (GRÖNROOS, C., 2007). The companies need to work to keep the brand identity as

desired by the marketer and the brand image in the mind of the customers the same. For the service

industry, brand image becomes more important because a brand has to work on the emotional level

with the consumers as well. As the consumers are aware about the brand in emotional level too in

case of service, the brand has to develop an image that resonates with the emotional perception of the

brand as well.

2.3 CSR AND BRAND IMAGE

Nowadays, customers have high expectations from the CSR of the company, and with the increased

focus on the CSR, these expectations are growing stronger. Customers expect the companies to work

in line with social and emotional values (POPOLI, P., 2011). It has been seen that the brands that are

based on the emotional values are less likely to face the threat of strong competition (MARTÍNEZ, P.

et al., 2014). Thus CSR can be associated with the emotional aspect of the brand image which adds to

the competitiveness of a company (MARTÍNEZ, P. et al., 2014). The company is likely to have a

strong hold in the market it its positioning in terms of CSR permeates the core values of the company

(DU, S. et al., 2010). The companies use CSR as a marketing strategy to gain protection from the

brand attacks (MARTÍNEZ, P. et al., 2014).

It has already been explained above that a company with a strong brand is less likely to have

problems with reputation, and this is where CSR helps the company . CSR is used as the

strategic branding tool by the management to communicate with the customers. Du,

Bhattacharya &Sen (2007) states that CSR initiatives help in developing the customers’ behavior

and attitude in such a way that it is in favor of the company. This strengthens the brand image of

the company and that is the reason many of the companies participate in CSR activities (DU, S.

et al., 2010).

CSR and brand image are strongly linked to each other. CSR has now become a core ingredient

of the brand image and has turned into a strategic necessity for the company, unlike the past

where it was a choice for the companies (MARTÍNEZ, P. et al., 2014)

Casado Diaz et. al. (2014) states that customers are more favorable towards the companies that are

involved in CSR.The service quality of a company and how it is evaluated and perceived by the

company can change as per the CSR activities of the company. The uncertainty of the service in such

cases thereby decreases (B. CASADO-DÍAZ, A. et al., 2014). Martínez, Perez and Rodriguez del

Bosque (2014) also statedthe similar thing in writing that CSR positively impacts the brand image

and earns the customers’ loyalty. They also stated that CSR activities ensures positive word-of-

mouth publicity and increased purchase intentions of the customers (MARTÍNEZ, P. et al., 2014).

2.4 ADVANTAGES OF CSR

The major advantages of CSR can be divided into five main sections:

1. Positive effects on company image and reputation: As explained above, the brand image

of the company can be deeply affected by the CSR activities. The CSR activities ensure

that the customers have positive impression of the company and hence add to the

reputation of the company. This in turn improves the customer loyalty and gives some

protection to the companies from the brand attacks ( (MARTÍNEZ, P. et al., 2014)).

2. Positive effects on employee motivation, retention, and recruitment: Apart from affecting

the customers’ perception of the company, CSR can also affect the employees’ outlook

towards the company. CSR can motivate the employees commitment by giving them the

sense that they are working in a better environment and adding their bit to the society.

Participation in the voluntary activities also help in building the team and giving the

sense of achievement to the employees. CSR is known to be an important deciding factor

for the potential employees of the compaies as well.

3. Cost savings: Scholars have discussed the cost saving in the employment of sustainable

practices. They argue that companies can gain financially as well through CSR activities

by implementing the sustainability strategy and meeting the stakeholders’ expectations.

4. Revenue increases from higher sales and market share: CSR has been known to improve

the companies’ sales and revenue by either improving the brand image or by the sales

through the CSR-based products and services.

5. CSR-related risk reduction or management: CSR can be a big help in reduction of the risk

associated with the negative publicity and negative press. It also provides a strong barrier

in terms of the brand attacks or the competition in the market (WERTHER, W.B. and

Chandler, D., 2004).

Figure 2: Advantages of CSR activities

A look at the company Globacom showed similar results. In one of articles, the company,

Gloworld, has been acknowledged as socially conscientious with its CSR activities in the field of

entertainment and sports (BILLBOARD, 2016). In another of the news report, the Governor

Akwa Ibom State appreciated the company’s act of social responsibility (DAILY TRUST, 2015).

2.5 CSR AND EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

As explained above the CSR activities also work in favor of the employees in different manners.

Since the current research focuses on understanding the CSR activities from the employees’

perception, this section is mainly focused on understanding how CSR is essential for the

employees. The section also brings out the past researches that have been conducted with the

employees’ perception of the CSR activities.

The impact of CSR for the employees can be described for three different reasons.

1. People want to do meaningful work: Human nature is such that they like to do something

positive and feel that they have done something special for the society. In the researches,

it has been seen that the employees are dissatisfied because they feel that the job lacks

purpose or they are just disengaged with the job. Only 14% of the employees of Western

Europe felt that they felt engaged in the organization in 2012. The CSR activities can

help in improving the sense of purpose of the employees and reduce the turnover rate

(STAWISKI, Sarah, 2010).

2. CSR increases engagement: If employees are made the part of the CSR activities, their

engagement in the company increases. The research has shown that when the employees

are involved in the CSR activities, almost 86% of these employees feel that they are

engaged with the company . In such cases, the employees feel more proud of the

company and they are more likely to recommend the company to their friends as well

(STAWISKI, Sarah, 2010).

3. Millennials are coming: Deloitte’s 2015 surve3y indicated that the 90% of the millennial

indicated that they want to do something positive for the society. 50% of the employees

were even ready for the pay cut if that meant that they will be able to give back to the

society. This makes CSR an important deciding factor for the employees regarding where

they want to work. This graphic clearly indicate the preference of the employees

regarding their working preference:

Figure 3: Employees and CSR preference Statistics

Different scholars have listed out the advantages of CSR and linked them with employees:

i) Fombrun & Shanley (1990) stated that the CSR canbig tool of advertisement for

hiring the capable and skilled employees. Since CSR adds to the corporate figure and

reputation, it is a perfect marketing tool not only for the customers but also for the

employers. The employees perception towards CSR activities is highly positive to do

their work every effectively and efficiently (C, Fombrun and M., Shanley, 1990).

ii) Wood & Jones (1995) although investigation has not been carried out to the effect, it

is estimated that the CSR activities can positively impact the employees’ performance

and in turn can give a boost to organizations’ financial performance (WOOD, D.J.

and Jones, R.E, 1995).

iii) Riordan stated a similar fact wherein he indicated that the CSR activities can result in

employee satisfaction and hence reduce the turnover rate of the company

(O’RIORDAN, L. and Fairbrass, J., 2008).

iv) Balmer and Greyser (2002) did a research with an effect and deduced that the

employees behavior with the company is strongly influenced by their stand in terms

of social responsibility (BALMER, J.M. and Greyser, S.A., 2002).

The above lists clearly indicate that CSR is an important part of the company’s employee

engagement and retention program and can make a huge difference in the brand image the

employees have of the company with themselves. Furthermore, since employees act as the brand

ambassador to the company, having the employees engaged in CSR means a better brand image

for the company as well.

The literature or the news anywhere does not mention anything related to the employee’s

contribution in CSR for GLO. The company’s efforts have been lauded at different places as

explained above. But the company has not emerged as the leader in terms of the CSR activities in

other areas of the CSR. Although it has been hinted at, there have not been reports of the

participation in the field of education or health. Literature does not indicate any of the CSR

activities geared towards the employee benefits. This is the biggest limitation of the available

research and literature (GLOBACOM LTD. , n.d.).

2.6 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Based on the above discussion the conceptual framework is developed which talks about the

relation between the CSR activities and how the employees’ perception of it represents the

customers’ perception as well. In the end the same is directly proportional to the brand image of

the company.

2.7 SUMMARY

The above literature review indicated that employees’ perception of CSR is an important

deciding factor for the CSR activities. The CSR and brand image are correlated and thus CSR

can deeply impact the brand image of the company.

Brand Image

-Brand Equity

- Brand Identity

- Increase Opportunity

- Loyalty Base

- Profit Maximization

- Competitive Advantage

Corporate Social

Responsibility (CSR)

i) Societal Values

ii) Operating

Environment

iii) Community

Participation

iv) Employee

Participation

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY

A research can be carried in many ways. Selecting the right way to carry the research is

essential for the success of the research. The chapter of research methodologies explains the

different ways available to the researcher for research and selects the best way for the research.

An attempt is also made to explain the process of developing the questionnaire followed by

explanation for each of the question. The chapter begins with different research option the

researcher can select and throws light on its advantages and disadvantages. Final solution is

selected based on these pros and cons of the methods. The next section explains the steps to

questionnaire followed by the reason behind each of the question.

3.1 INTRODUCTION

Saunders Invalid source specified.has stressed the importance of knowledge about what

is to be researched and how the research is carried out. He has explained that the quality of the

research is directly proportional to the planning as well as the understanding of the research

process researcher plans to follow. Similar explanation is given by Fisher as well who explains

that the research involves collection of data to answer the question, and the same can be done

rightly only if the researcher is aware of the different research options he or she hasInvalid

source specified.. Research methodology can be defined as the process as per which the research

is conducted Invalid source specified.. Research can be carried out in multiple forms and

methods and research methodologies studies these methods to select the best method. The result

of the research is very much dependent upon what method the researcher has used for the

research and hence needs to be selected quite carefully. Research methodologies eases the

process of that method selection. Invalid source specified..

3.2 RESEARCH PHILOSOPHY

Research philosophy provides the way the research deduces the research results, and

hence it is necessary to select the right research philosophyInvalid source specified.. There are

around 10 different kinds of research philosophies which the researcher can select from. These

philosophies include realism, positivism, subjectivism, objectivism , ontology, and axiology etc.

The research philosophy adopted for the current research is epistemology. The research

will be done with a philosophy that mixes the positivism and interpretivism. Since the research

involves interpretation of the data to analyze the data obtained and literature as well. Positivist

theory ensures that the research data obtained is interpreted objectively. The positivist theory

believes that the knowledge obtained through the research is trustworthy and can be interpreted.

Together positivism and the interpretivism forms the epistemology.

The secondary data obtained from the research will be interpreted using interpretivism to

analyze the kind of CSR policies followed by the company and to understand the subject. The

secondary data will then be utilized to develop the right questionnaire. The knowledge of the

theories and models is quite essential as this will lay the foundation of the questionnaire that will

be developed. Interpretivism will also be utilized while analyzing the results obtained from the

questionnaires. The positivist attitude adopted in the research will provide the much needed

objectivity in the research and will help in the conducting of the research without any kind of

biases. Saunders in one of his books indicated that such a mix is highly desirable in a research as

it mixes objectivity with the power of interpretationInvalid source specified..

3.3 RESEARCH APPROACHES

The research literature mentions two major approaches to any kind of research. These

two approaches are: inductive and deductive approach to the research. Both of these approaches

can be utilized depending upon the research question and the research philosophy. The

deductive research is more focused towards the verification of an existing theory or hypothesis.

On the other hand, inductive approach is conducted with the aim of development of the

hypothesis.

This research is an inductive research as the main purpose is to understand how the

employee perception of CSR can affect the company’s performance. In the inductive approach

method, the research is conducted first and then the theories are formed as per the results and

analyses done in the due course of the research.Invalid source specified.. Research questions

developed in Chapter 1 will be answered first and based on these answers the final hypothesis

will be developed.

3.4 RESEARCH STRATEGY

The right kind of research strategy ensures that the questions and objectives of the

research are answered within the available time and the resourcesInvalid source specified.. Thus

it is highly important to use the right research strategy. The research can be an experiment, a case

study, a survey, grounded theory research, archival research or an ethnographic research.

Keeping all the strategies in mind, this research can be called the mix of the survey and the case

study. The answers to the questions and the response of the participants is collected based on the

research questionnaire/survey. However, the research is limited only to one company. The results

of that one company are extrapolated to form the general theory. Therefore the research can be

rightly called the mix of the case study and survey.

3.5 RESEARCH CHOICE

The research and its analysis can be conducted in mainly three different manners:

Qualitative

Quantitative

Mixed

Quantitative analysis uses the mathematical operations to develop the information from

the data obtained during the research whereas the qualitative analysis is more focused on what,

how and why of the research. Mixed methods use both the qualitative and quantitative

techniques to carry forward the research.

The current research will use the mixed methods to analyze the research data obtained.

Qualitative analysis is necessary to understand the kind of CSR activities followed by the

company, while the quantitative analysis will focus on the analysis of the results obtained

through the questionnaire. Invalid source specified..

3.6 TIME HORIZONS

There are mainly two kinds of researches with respect to the time horizon: the

longitudinal research and the cross-sectional research. The longitudinal research is carried over a

period of time and involves collection of the data many times with at least twice being the

necessityInvalid source specified.. That was neither required nor possible in case of the current

research because of the subject and the time/resources available for the research. Thus the

research can be called cross-sectional in nature where the participants are asked to fill the survey

only once, and the process is not expected to be repeated to get the results of the research.

3.7 RESEARCH DATA COLLECTION METHODS

The next step in the research is to decide how the data is collected for the research so as

to allow the right method to collect the data. There are mainly two ways to collect the data.

Secondary data is the data that is not same as the data collected for the objective of the research,

but has been collected for some other purpose or researchInvalid source specified.. On the other

hand, primary data is the original data that is collected for the sole purpose of the research. The

collection of primary data takes a lot of time and commitment on the part of the researcher.

There are many ways to collect the primary data:

Interview: In interview method, each of the respondent is individually asked

questions loosely based on the questionnaire. The best part about the interview is

that it allows the interviewer to observe the physical response of the respondents

as well. Further follow-up questions can be asked in case of the interview to know

about any particular topic. But the biggest concern with this method is that it is

time-consuming in nature. Interviewing each respondents can take a lot of time.

Also many of the respondents are not comfortable talking directly about their

views. That’s why the interview method is not selected.

Focus group: Focus group involves bringing together the group of respondents

and letting them discuss about the topic among themselves. The researcher or the

facilitator draws a list of the key issues that needs to be discussed, and the

respondents discuss these issues among themselves. This helps in bringing out the

new and different views associated with the research. However, this research is

based in an office environment. It would not have been possible to bring all the

employees at a single platform at the same time. Also, bringing together the

senior management and junior management for knowing their issues might not

have provided an independent platform to them. That’s the reason this method has

not been selected.

Observation: This method observing the response of the respondents by observing

their physical and emotional behavior and interaction with each other. This

method is not suitable for the current research and hence is not selected.

Survey: The survey involves distribution of a questionnaire among the

respondents through different means. The questionnaire includes the questions

associated with the research topic, structured in such a way to answer the research

questions. The questionnaire method has an advantage that the respondents need

not directly interact with the researcher, and hence their answers are likely to be

unbiased. Also, the questionnaire can be administered to a large group without

any issues of time constraints for the respondents as well as the researchers.

Keeping in mind all the advantages of the survey method, the same is selected for

the current research.

For this research, the researcher used both methods of data collection: primary and the secondary

methods. The primary data was collected by the researcher with the use of questionnaire for such

collection from the participants. The secondary data collection method was used to collect data

that are already on the subject matter and existing sources on the analysis of the impact of CSR

on Brand Image of GLO from journals, Google books, websites etc. In gaining access to data, the

primary data will be collected from the staff of Glo and will be administered on them during

their break time so as not to disturb their work schedule.

3.8 QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN PROCESS

For the current research, the questionnaire is the most important part. The same is the

basis on which the research questions are answered. Brace has specified that the questionnaire

should be without any doubts: clear and understandable (BRACE, I., 2008).The researcher has

used Brace’s questionnaire design process for the development of the questionnaire in the right

way. Following section explains the steps followed in the development of the questionnaire in

the structured manner (BRACE, I., 2008).

3.8.1 SPECIFY THE INFORMATION NEEDED

The first step of the research questionnaire development is to specify the broad

information categories for which the data is to be collected. The questions will then be developed

based on these categories. The questionnaire was designed to collect information about the five

different sections:

a) Demographic Profile: This demographic profile takes the note about the

basic factors like age, gender, role in the company etc. so as to get the basic idea

about the respondents.

b) Concern towards employee: Employee CSR is an equally important CSR

as seen in the literature review above. These sets of questions work on the analysis of

how much of employee CSR is followed by the company.

c) Operating Environment: The third set of question focuses the operative

environment of the company. Since environmental CSR is one of the most important

and upcoming CSR, the questions in this section focuses on the operating

environment of the company and how it attributes to the environment further.

d) Community wellbeing: It was seen in literature review that the companies

work for the social well being of the community as well. This section analysis the

social CSR of the company by asking the questions about the steps taken by the

company for the welfare of the community.

e) Impact of taking CSR in competitive advantage : The literature review

clearly established that the CSR can help in giving the competitive edge to the

company. This section tests that theory of the literature review by gauging the

employees perception about the impact of the CSR on the competitive advantage to

the company.

f) Challenges for the CSR: This section focuses on what kind of challenges

are restricting the company’s CSR activities. CSR activities calls for commitment

from management and employees along with the set of the resources as well. This

section tries to understand what challenges are faced in providing CSR (KOTHARI,

C.R., 2004).

3.8.2 SPECIFY THE INTERVIEWING METHOD

The second step involves specifying how the questionnaire will be administered to the

resependdents. For the purpose, the questionnaire will be administered to the respondents

individually. The questionnaire has to be administered to the employees of the company, and

their break time will be utilized to get the answers for the questionnaire. The researcher spent

the time in the office and handed over the research questionnaire personally to most of the

employees so that the questionnaire can be filled during break time. For the senior

management, an appointment was taken either on phone or in person with a convenient time

slot to administer the questionnaire.

3.8.3 DETERMINE THE CONTENT OF INDIVIDUAL QUESTIONS

The next step was to develop the questions for each of the sections selected. These

questions were selected based on the past researches. The close-ended questions were selected

for the research.

3.8.4 RESPONDERS’ UNWILLINGNESS TO ANSWER

There are times when the respondents are unwilling to answer the questions for one or the

other reason. For the purpose of the current research, the employees were assured about the

confidentiality of the information. The major rejection found in the course of research came

mostly from the top management who were either too busy or sometimes, reluctant to answer

any questions.

3.8.5 DECIDE ON THE QUESTIONS STRUCTURE

As important as selecting the question is the process of selecting the right structure for

the questions. The questions can be close-ended type, that is they allow the researcher to answer

the question in only the mentioned manner; or they can be open-ended allowing the respondents

to expand on their answers. For this purpose the questionnaire selected were close ended. Likert

Scale was selected as the answer with the choice being given from ―strongly agree‖ to ―strongly

disagree‖ on five different scales.

3.8.6 FINALIZE THE QUESTION WORDING

The next step of the research is to finalize the wordings of the questions. The wording

shall be selected in such a way that the question is clear to the respondents and there is no

ambiguity. The care is taken to select clear and simple language for the questions so as to cause

no confusion while answering.

3.8.7 ARRANGE THE QUESTIONS IN PROPER ORDER

The right arrangement of the questions helps in maintaining the interest of the

respondents and makes the questions more understandable. The research questions are arranged

in the logical manner in order to not surprise the respondents with their abruptness.

3.8.8 IDENTIFY FORM AND LAYOUT

The presentation of questionnaire is important as it is essential the questionnaire not look

too lengthy or too crammed up. The layout was selected in such a manner that the questionnaire

developed was pleasing to the eye and non-threatening in nature.

3.8.9 PILOT TESTING OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE

The questionnaire was selected from the past researches and thesis and was more or less

pre-tested to the same effect. However, care was taken to ensure that the questions were not

ambiguous by getting the opinions from the friends and the family.

3.9 DATA ANALYSIS PLAN

Data analysis for the current research is carried mainly using the MS-office software. The

MS-word software is utilized to present the data with the help of the graphs and pictures. The

MS-excel is used to analyze the data with its formula of averages and percentages. The data

analysis is carried out in the 2-D environment for the current project.

3.10 SAMPLING AND SAMPLE SIZE

Sampling is the process through which the definite number of population is collected in a

way that the same can represent the whole population for the research. There are mainly two

kind of sampling techniques: probability based and non-probability based.

Probability based sampling is such that each of the member of the population has

an equal chance of selection. The probability based sampling can be further

divided into following sections:

o Simple Random Sampling: This method involves numbering the whole

population and selecting random names or numbers from the population as

the sample. This method is equivalent to the selection of the chits in the

bag method where each and every person has the equal chance of

selection.

o Stratified Sampling: The stratified sampling involves distribution of the

whole population in subgroups and then selecting simple random samples

from those subgroups. This methodology is better than the simple random

sampling as it allows each of the member of the subgroup to be selected

and represented in the population.

o Systematic Random Sampling: In this method, a random starting point is

considered in the whole population. The sample population is selected in

such a case after fixed interval, that is the researcher selects every nth

subject for the sample population. This kind of method is suitable for the

homogenous population. But since the current research does not involve

homogenous population, the method is not considered.

o Cluster Random Sampling: This kind of sampling is mainly used when the

sample is distributed across the wide geographical area. The sampling is

done area wise in this case to ensure equal participation of the population

from each of the area.

Non-Probability Based Sampling Method: In this sampling method, the subjects

of the population do not have equal chance of selection. Instead they are selected

based on the different reasons like accessibility, availability, or personal judgment

of the researcher. Following are the major methods of the sampling used in terms

of non-probability sampling:

o Convenience Sampling: This involves the selection of the subject that are

most easily available and accessible. The subjects are solely selected on

the basis of their availability.

o Quota Sampling: This sampling technique tries to include the members

from all different quotas. Like stratified sampling above, the intent is to

include the samples from all the walks of the research. However, the

selection is still based in terms of the judgment of the researcher or

availability.

o Snowball Sampling: This technique is used when the sample size is

smaller. The initial samples are considered and then they are asked to

suggest further samples in the process (KOTHARI, C.R., 2004).

For the purpose of the current research, the researcher will be using ―quota sampling

method‖. Since the research is about the perception of the employees, researcher believe that it is

possible for some level of employees or some groups of the company to be more aware about the

CSR activities and its impact. Keeping this in mind, the researcher will select the sample from

different levels (junior management, middle management, senior management, top management

etc.) and will also select the samples from different departments (HR, Engg, Accounts,

Administration etc.). The non-probability based sampling will be used to ensure the sampling

based on the availability of the employees.

The researcher will be using the GLOBACOM office in Abuja Nigeria to carry out the research

work. The reason is that of the cost of moving from one branch to the other all over the nation

may be too time-consuming and costly.

Around 10% of the people from the total group strengths will be selected. This brings the

numbers to:

Junior Management: 10 numbers.

Middle Management: 7 numbers

Senior management: 3 numbers

Top Management: 2 number.

Group wise distribution will involve selection of 2-3 people from each of the group. There are in

total 6 groups in the company: Engg, Customer handling, marketing, HR, administrative

department and accounts.

Thus total number of respondents selected for the current case are: 10+7+3+2+(3x6)= 40

number.

3.11 ACCESSIBILITY ISSUES:

The biggest problem in getting the questionnaire filled is that the sample population

might be busy. In order to ease the accessibility issue, the researcher had taken official

permission for carrying out the research in the company premises. Also, sufficient time was

allocated for the research so as to allow the employees to finish their work first. Most of the

questionnaires were filled up in the break time. In case of the employees and senior people who

were too busy, prior appointments in phone and person were taken.

3.12 ETHICAL ISSUES

A research does not only have to be strong in terms of methodology but it also has to be

morally rightInvalid source specified.. To ensure the moral soundness of the research,

confidentiality was promised to the participants. The reasons for the research were clearly

communicated to the participants along with the assurance that the research will not be disclosed.

No monetary or non-monetary incentive was offered in exchange of the research.

3.13 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

The biggest limitation of the study is that it is limited to one particular branch only. There

is no qualitative analysis involved in the research, and hence, the researcher feels that this might

not be the viewpoint with regards to the whole company, but might be a cluster viewpoint. Apart

from this, researcher did not find any major limitation associated with the study.

CHAPTER 4: ANALYSIS

This chapter analyzes the information obtained during the course of the research and presents the

summary of the result by correlating them with the research objectives and the literature review

conducted above. The idea behind the chapter is to present the raw data obtained in the readable

form and analyze the same with respect to the objectives. For the purpose, each section of the

questionnaire is considered here for analysis. Each section is analyzed individually as per the

division in the questionnaire.

4.1. PROFILE OF THE RESPONDENTS

Attempt were made during the sampling itself to ensure that all the levels of management can

participate in the survey. The results indicate a healthy balance of the proper mix of the different

level of management employees selected for the research purpose.

Figure 4: Graph indicating the management mix used as respondents

Junior Management

Middle management

Senior Management

Top Management

4.2. CONCERN TOWARDS EMPLOYEES

The results presented a dismal picture about the concern towards employees. Most of the

employees showed the negative response to the company’s reaction towards the concern of the

employees. The following graph indicates the response of the employees towards the five of the

questions.

Figure 5: Graph showing employees' response towards the company's concern towards them

It can be clearly seen from the graph that most of the results lie towards the disagree quadrant.

The only thing the employees seem to agree on mostly is that the compensations and benefits are

paid to the employees promptly. The following is further observed from the results:

i) Around 57.5% of the employees disagree with the statement that the company is

working towards their employee motivation and job commitment. While 12.5% of

the responses were in neutral. Only 27.5% agreed towards the statement. Further on

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

StronglyAgree

Agree Neutral Disagree StronglyDisagree

Motivates the employees andpromote the commitmenttowards the job

Provides Flexible Working hours

Compensations and benefits arepromptly paid to the employees

Supports High quality work/lifebalance

Good promotion and internaladvancement policies.

analyzing the response with respect to the level in the company, following graph was

observed. It can be clearly seen from the graph that the most of the disagreement

comes from the junior and middle management. That clearly indicates that the top

management believes that they are working towards the employee motivation, but the

same is not being translated to the employee satisfaction.

Figure 6: Employees' response to company's efforts towards employee motivation and commitment

ii) In terms of provision of flexible working hours as well, a graph similar to above

emerges. Following is the graph of response if the responses are segregated in terms

of the level of management. It can be clearly seen that the lower level and middle

level employees does not consider the hours as flexible, while the top management

employees consider that the company is doing the best.

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

StronglyAgree

Agree Neutral Disagree StronglyDisagree

Junior management

Middle management

Senior management

Top management

Figure 7: Employees' response to the flexible working hour

iii) The company showed favorable results in terms of the prompt payment of

compensation as around 80% of the employees agreed that the company paid prompt

payment for the benefits.

iv) The work life balance showed a dismal result. 82.5 % of the responded against the

work/life balance maintenance in the company, and these include the mix of all level

of employees.

v) The worst of the response regarding the promotion came from middle management

where 100% of the population of middle managers disagreed regarding the promotion

options in the company. Again while the top management believed in the fairness of

promotion, the lower and middle management seemed to disagree with the statement.

4.2.1 DISCUSSION ON THE RESULTS

The above results clearly indicate that there is a mismatch between the efforts of the

management and the expectations of the employees. Although the top management is of the

outlook that they are trying to provide the best for their employees, their efforts are not

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

StronglyAgree

Agree Neutral Disagree StronglyDisagree

Junior management

Middle management

Senior management

Top management

resonating with the junior and middle management employees. A strong discontent can be seen

in the employees of the company. Even the literature review conducted with respect to CSR of

the company did not bring up any kinds of efforts introduced by the company in terms of the

employee CSR.

With this study, it looks highly important that the company’s efforts need to match the

expectations of the employees for the better performance and lower turnover of employees in the

company.

As seen in the conceptual diagram, the employees’ perception play an important role in the

brand image of the company. It increases the loyalty base and adds the competitive advantage to

the company.

4.3. OPERATING ENVIRONMENT CONCERN

Operating environment provided a positive outlook in terms of the company CSR activities. The

result proved to be in favor of the company in terms of the operating environment practiced by

the company. Following figure mainly shows the response of the employees regarding different

statements in the easily readable form.

Figure 8: Employees' perception about the operating environment safety

The above graph clearly shows that the employees believe that the safety is promoted in the

workplace. The above graph also indicates a favorable perception about the community and

youth development programs. However, the maximum response towards the climate control

activities is silent or neutral in the current case. 67.5% of the employees presented the neutral as

an answer in that case. Apart form this, the response of the employees is mostly on the positive

scale in terms of the operating environment.

4.3.1. DISCUSSION ON THE RESULTS

This result works in the favor of the company as it clearly indicates that the employees find the

company a safe to work in. Also, the employees believe that the company is contributing towards

the development of the youth in the country. This is exactly what the CSR studies also showed

us. The company has shown a strong interest in terms of the scholarship and grants for the young

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

1 2 3 4 5

Safety is promoted inworkplace

Steps taken to reduce theimpact on the climate

Steps taken to preventworkplace hazards

Programs organized forcommunity involvement andyouth development

and promising people across the nation. However, climate remains a murky point with respect to

the employees’ perception. Although the employees did not disagree with the company’s

perceptiveness towards the climate, they did mark neutral as the answer, which shows that they

are not sure about what company is doing towards the climate. This is reflected in the literature

review conducted above as well. No points about climate emerged there, and there were even no

complaints regarding the climate for the company. This showed that the company has mainly

ignored the marketing of sustainable development among the employees as well as its customers.

The company’s operating environment is important for the improvement in its brand equity and

increasing the loyalty base of the customers. Thus the company’s operating environment adds to

the brand image of the company.

4.4. COMMUNITY WELLBEING

The community wellbeing also showed positive perception of the employees. The response

indicated that the employees are aware that the company has taken various steps for the

advancement of the communities. The only CSR activity that got mixed response from the

employees included the community policing and peace activities. Following graph clearly

indicates the perception of the employees regarding the community wellbeing based CSR

activities of the company.

Figure 9: Employees' perception towards community based CSR activities by the company

The graph clearly indicates that the response of the employees lie towards agreement. Only

disagreement lies in the case of community policing and peace building statement. Also, there is

quite a big number of neutral answers with regards to the scholarship for the needy people. The

results of these two statements were further analyzed to understand the response of different

sections of the management:

i) The agreement about scholarship for the needy student statement provided a mixed

result. While 19 of the respondents out of 40, agreed to it (i.e. 47.5%), the 50% of the

respondents expressed their neutrality. Further interesting thing to note was that this

50% wholly lied in lower management level. That is all 20 responses of neutrality

came from the lower management level. Either the lower management is unsure of

the programs for scholarship run by the company, or if they are sure, they find it too

inaccessible.

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

1 2 3 4 5

Scholarship for needy butgenius students.

Recreation facility for thecommunity

Steps to improve socio-economic welfare for thesocietySupports communitypolicing and peace building

Supports developmentinitiatives of the community

ii) In response to the statement of company’s involvement in community policing and

peace, 62.5% of the respondents presented their answer as agreed or strongly agreed.

25% of the respondents disagreed with the statement.

4.4.1 DISCUSSION ON THE RESULTS

In the current system, he only CSR activity the company does not seem involved is

community policing and peace to a small extent. Even the scholarships for needy students did

not get a negative response. This clearly indicates that the employees are mostly aware about

the kind of CSR activities happening in the company—whether through the news outside the

company or through their participation inside the company. Since there are answers in terms

of neutrality as well, it can be safely assumed that most of the information is from outside

news. Also, this information coincides with the literature review which highlighted the

similar CSR activities of the company.

Community well-being is highly important for a company. As seen in the conceptual

diagram, community participation plays an important role in the improvement of the brand

image of the company. It increases the brand equity, creates more opportunity, increases the

loyalty base, and in the end adds to the competitive advantage of the company.

4.5. IMPACT OF CSR ON ACHIEVING COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

Employees’ perception towards the impact of CSR in terms of the competitive advantage was

found to be quite favorable. Following is the line chart prepared for the same.

Figure 10: Line chart showing employees' reaction towards the impact of CSR activities on the competitiveness

As can be seen above for most of the statements, the answer lies in the strongly agree range

from the participants. This indicates that the employees believe that the CSR activities can

influence the overall competitiveness of the company. Further look shows that the only

disagreement found is in the overall performance of the company where around 10 numbers

of the employees expressed their disagreement about the CSR activities affecting the overall

performance of the company. The most interesting disagreement occurs in terms of the

response to the statement of ―ability to retain employees‖. While 65% of the employees

agreed that CSR activities improve the ability of the company to retain employee, around

22.5% of them expressed their disagreement to the statement. Apart from this the small

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

StronglyAgree

Agree Neutral Disagree StronglyDisagree

Branding positioning

The public goodwill towardsthe company

Overall performance of thecompany

Corporate reputation

Public interest in the activitiesof the company

Profit maximization

Ability to retain employees

disagreement was also seen in terms of the public interest in the company activities and

corporate reputation.

4.5.1 DISCUSSION ABOUT THE RESULT

The above results indicate that the employees too believe that CSR can affect the

competitiveness of the company in different ways. As our literature review suggested, many of

the employees believe that employee retaining is easier for the company with the CSR activities.

This means that the company will be able to retain employees if they employ CSR activities. The

interesting thing to note here is the contrast between the negative response to the employee

welfare and almost positive response on the retention of employees because of CSR. This

contrast suggests that even though the employees do not feel that the company is working

towards the employee welfare, they are ready to give company a chance because of the CSR

activities performed by them. They do believe retention is possible because of CSR activities.

This is an interesting finding as the same did not emerge in the literature review presented above.

The conceptual diagram shows that the brand image comprises of a lot of factors, and the results

indicate that these factors are indeed affected by the company’s CSR activities.

4.6. CHALLENGES OF CSR

The questions in this section asked the employees to explain what the challenges for the CSR

activities are and an interesting pattern of results can be seen here. Following graph indicates the

employees’ response to the five questions asked in the questionnaire. The graph clearly shows

the mixed response of the employees regarding different questions.

i) Around 47.5% of the people agreed that the lack of shareholder commitment is a

challenge to the CSR activities of the company, while 37% of the respondents

expressed their neutrality to the statement. Thus it can be deduced that the

shareholders’ commitment can be one challenge for the CSR activities of the

company.

ii) Almost everybody disagreed that the society does not recognize the company’s CSR

activities, showing that the company does have the support of the community

regarding the CSR activities.

iii) Whopping 97.5% of the employees accepted that the lack of organizational

commitment is the biggest challenge for company CSR. The interesting thing to note

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Lack of shareholders’ commitment

The company’s CSR is not

recognized by society

Lack oforganizationalcommitment

CSR has nopositive effect

on theperformance of

the company

Lack of CSRstrategy

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

that is that there is no disagreement to this statement. Only one neutral is found and

that is in terms of the lower management. Even the top management and senior

management expressed their opinion that the organization commitment is the

challenge for CSR activities of the company.

iv) CSR indeed has a positive response to the performance of the company, and that is

what was observed in earlier section of the questionnaire as well. The answer to this

statement is the echo of what we earlier noticed. Employees do believe that the CSR

activities affect the performance of the company.

v) Question about lack of CSR strategy gave the mixed results. While 47.5% of the

employees believed that lack of CSR strategy is the challenge for the company’s CSR

activities, 45% of the employees disagreed with the statement.

4.6.1 DISCUSSION ON THE RESULTS

It is clearly evident that the results coincide with the earlier sections. The result indicates that the

employees believe the biggest challenge for the CSR activities is the lack of the organizational

commitment. The commitment is lacking not only in organization but the stakeholders as well.

Together these two parts hamper the CSR activities of the company.

4.7. SUMMARY

The above section discussed the results obtained from the answers. It is generally observed that

the results of the questionnaire are in line with the literature review. This further suggests that the

company’s CSR activities can indeed positively affect the brand image. The employee

participation in the CSR activities seem to be on a lower level as many a times employees have

marked neutral as the response. Similarly, the CSR activities of the company brought out in the

literature review are well-identified with the employees as well.

Chapter 5: Conclusion

The above research along with the literature review conducted clearly indicates that the company

Globacom Limited is an active participant in the CSR activities especially in association with the

community involvement activities. The company maintains the safe workplace environment and

promotes all kinds of sports and the activities in the community. The CSR activities that the

company seems to be lacking in are the following:

Climate Issues: The active participation of the company is

not seen either in the employees’ perception or in the

literature review.

Moral and cultural community policing: The company’s

participation in scholarships and sports is noted. However,

the employee response was a bit cooler towards the

question regarding the company’s participation in moral

and cultural community policing activities.

Employee Welfare: This is the biggest issue that can be

seen in the results. Employee welfare is an important part

of the company’s CSR activities, but the same is not seen in

the results or in the publicizing reports seen during the

literature review.

The literature review and the research results both indicate that the employee CSR has a strong

impact on the brand image of the company. Thus the company needs to work harder to maintain

a strong brand image in terms of all areas indicated in the conceptual diagram. Thus the same

needs to be taken into account.

5.1.Answers to Research Questions

Following are the answers to the research questions developed in the beginning of the research.

i) What are the major CSR activities followed by Globacom Ltd?

The company follows wide and varied CSR activities. Globacom Ltd. has taken the sports as the

major objective and is promoting sports through various sponsorships and partnerships. The

company also provides the scholarship to the needy yet deserving candidates. However, the

reach of this scholarship program seems to be limited as per the results of the research.

ii) What relationship exists between the CSR and the brand image?

The research as well as the literature review indicates that there is a strong relationship between

the CSR and the brand image of the company. Even employees perceive that the CSR activities

have strong impact on the brand in terms of the profit, loyalty of the customers and overall

performance of the company.

iii) How does the employee perceive the CSR activities of the Globacom Ltd?

The employees generally have favorable perception towards the CSR activities of the company.

They acknowledge the company’s participation in community participation as well as the

operating environment. However, the employees do not perceive the company’s efforts in terms

of the employee welfare. The research indicated that while the senior management does think

that employee welfare is taken into account, the junior and middle management do not see any

benefits.

iv) How is the brand perceived by the employees of Globacom Ltd?

The employees perceive the brand as the CSR and public friendly brand. There is not indication

of employee-friendliness observed in the results.

v) Does employee perception changes with the change in the CSR activities of the

company?

Yes, the literature review as well as the research indicates that the CSR activities can increase the

loyalty and employee retention and can be a major factor in terms of controlling the turnover rate

of employees of the company.

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION

Annexure-1 : Questionnaire

Attached is the questionnaire associated with CSR activities of the company. Please select the

best suitable answer from the list.

Concern Towards Employees

Strongly

Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree

Motivates the employees and promote the commitment towards the job

Provides Flexible Working hours

Compensations and benefits are promptly paid to the employees

Supports High quality work/life balance Good promotion and internal advancement policies.

Operating Environment Concerns

Safety is promoted in workplace

Steps taken to reduce the impact on the climate

Steps taken to prevent workplace hazards

Programs organized for community involvement and youth development

Community Wellbeing

Scholarship for needy buut genius students.

Recreation facility for the community

Steps to improve socio-economic welfare for the society

Supports community policing and peace building

Supports development initiatives of the community

Impact of CSR on achieving competitive advantage

Branding positioning

The public goodwill towards the company

Overall performance of the company

Corporate reputation

Public interest in the activities of the company

Profit maximization

Ability to retain employees

Challenges in undertaking CSR

Low profitability of the company

Lack of shareholders’ commitment

The company’s CSR is not recognized by society

Lack of organizational commitment CSR has no positive effect on the performance of the company

Lack of CSR strategy

Annexure-2: Results to the questionnaire in tabular form

Concern Towards Employees

Strongly

Agree Agre

e Neutr

al Disagre

e

Strongly

Disagree

Motivates the employees and promote the commitment towards the job 2 10 5 23

Provides Flexible Working hours 2 8 27 3

Compensations and benefits are promptly paid to the employees 13 19 1 6 1

Supports High quality work/life balance 6 1 23 10

Good promotion and internal advancement policies. 3 8 4 21 4

Operating Environment Concerns

Safety is promoted in workplace 17 13 7 3

Steps taken to reduce the impact on the climate 11 27 2

Steps taken to prevent workplace hazards 5 19 14 2

Programs organized for community involvement and youth development 9 14 10 7

Community Wellbeing

Scholarship for needy but genius students. 19 20 1

Recreation facility for the community 10 28 2

Steps to improve socio-economic welfare for the society 29 10 1

Supports community policing and peace building 10 15 4 10

Supports development initiatives of the community 6 28 4 2

Impact of CSR on achieving competitive advantage

Branding positioning 32 7 1

The public goodwill towards the company 28 6 6

Overall performance of the company 10 19 1 10

Corporate reputation 31 7 2

Public interest in the activities of the company 27 7 3 3

Profit maximization 33 4 3

Ability to retain employees 17 9 5 9

Challenges in undertaking CSR

Low profitability of the company 1 4 1 20 14

Lack of shareholders’ commitment 13 6 15 6

The company’s CSR is not recognized by society 6 1 33

Lack of organizational commitment 14 25 1 CSR has no positive effect on the performance of the company 1 10 1 28

Lack of CSR strategy 19 3 17 1

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