School for Organisation and Resource Management

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Browsing School for Organisation and Resource Management by browse.metadata.advisor "Khoza, Lindiwe Mhaka"

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    Perceptions of corporate social responsibility and its influence on customer behaviour in White City, Saldanha
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2020-12) Nkwanyana, Nqobizizwe Agostina; Mkhize, Mbekezeli Comfort; Khoza, Lindiwe Mhaka; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Military Sciences. School for Defence Organisation and Resource Management.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Numerous studies have been conducted on corporate social responsibility (CSR) and customers’ responses to businesses’ CSR activities around the globe. Currently, such studies are increasingly being refined in order to identify customers’ perceptions of CSR activities, and how these perceptions can be influenced. Most of these studies have focused on high-income communities in Western countries. However, the ability to generalise the results and apply the recommendations to low- to medium-income communities within developing countries remains questionable. Theory and empirical research have shown that the most immediate predecessors of CSR engagement are positive media publicity, reputation, and tax savings from businesses’ perspective. Although the literature indicates that there are benefits of engaging in CSR activities, several challenges also exist, namely high costs demands, lack of broad support by society, and lack of social skills. Against this backdrop, this study aimed, as its primary objective, to examine the effects that CSR activities have on customers’ buying behaviour in White City, Saldanha. It is hypothesised in this study that there is a functional dependency between CSR and customer behaviour. To understand and explain the effects of CSR activities on customer behaviour, the study employed four theories, namely the stakeholder theory, legitimacy theory, contractarian theory, and agency theory. The study employed a quantitative research design as its research approach. The sample comprised 311 participants from White City recruited through random sampling. These participants were all employed, receiving income within low- to medium-income brackets, and were all residents of White City. The instrument that was used to collect data was a closed-ended questionnaire developed by the researcher. Reliability and dimensionality analysis were conducted by means of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (version 25). The instrument was found to be reliable based on the acceptable Cronbach’s alpha percentages, as posited by Nunnally (1978) and Pallant (2011). Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted for both the independent variable (CSR activities) and the dependent variable (customer behaviour). The results of the study indicated that White City customers indeed consider a business’ CSR activities when making a buying decision and perceive CSR activities as good practices conducted by businesses. They were, however, neutral about their buying behaviour being dependent on CSR activities. The results of this study provide important insights for managers of businesses that operate in communities with low- to medium-income earners on how to embark on and benefit from CSR activities. The nine-phase CSR model was developed to enable CSR activities’ benefits for both businesses and customers in the future. The study recommends that businesses in low- to medium-income areas should engage in CSR for future sustainable growth and should also consider price fairness. Due to the fact that the study was conducted in a specific setting (White City, Saldanha), the results cannot be generalised to other areas. Future research could include other municipalities in the Western Cape province or other provinces in South Africa.