Nowadays many companies are engaged in Corporate Social Responsibility behaviour similar to a part of normal business operations. These activities are aiming to build a positive brand image, increasing media clutter and valuable tangible assets. It tends to create an impactful brand image in the brain of consumers. The majority of the companies that emphasised CSR said it’s the right to act upon the CSR at first to strengthen the brand.
The world has slowly and gradually become a global village. Every global brand has marked its footprints and trying to make its existence through utilizing competitive advantage in terms of CSR application. Companies spend billions in CSR activities that caused related marketing and philanthropic activities aiding the brand value. This is occurring because 60% of the consumer attitudes emerge from the company image and stemmed CSR initiatives. According to Carroll, a company should progress in both social and economic frontiers. He classified the four major aspects of CSR including economic, legal, philanthropic and ethical. A legal aspect of CSR deals with rules and regulations of the land involves consumer protection, safety laws, environmental responsibility demonstrating company image. Ethical actions are permissible or forbidden biding the organization with ethical decision making(Creel,2012). Similarly, economic aspects related to the even distribution of scarce resources in order to produce goods and services. Many researchers have been observed CSR as added strategy enhancing the profitability and development of the business. This article review how companies are using CSR to build a perpetual brand image.
Corporate Social Responsibility- Action Of The Companies Towards Their Social, Causes, Communities And Environment
The need of the CSR has been created to combat the challenges arises due to environmental issues, scare resources and elimination of the waste product. As per Kevin Keller, CSR can help companies to build brand equity in the following ways-
- Creating Brand awareness
- Enhancing brand image
- Evoking brand feeling
- Establishing brand credibility
- Increasing brand engagement
- Creating a sense of brand community
Many reasons figured out reasonably implies why organizations would engage in socially responsible behaviour. The most significant one is identifying what is right for community, environment and social causes. One of the other reasons could be the financial benefits company enjoy after earning a positive reputation. Recent studies conducted by assignment writer reflected companies engage in social responsibility have shown remarkable growth that also indicate their potential financial gain from it. Several environment activities ended up creating cost-saving for instance using solar power to run administrative functions. Many companies also using LEED or leadership in energy and environmental design designation, a US certification is given to the company so to assure infrastructure designed in an energy-efficient manner. According to a recent study, 70% of the company productivity comes from its reputation(Mahmood and Bashir,2020). If the company follows up positive exposure and publicity, it may rise as improving socially responsible behaviour of the company.
Corporate Reputation And Corporate Equity
A company reputation in terms of social responsibility is a favourable component in establishing brand equity. A company’s good image is a valuable strategic asset helping to standout the crowd. Corporate reputation plays a vital in creating an impactful brand image thereby increasing productivity.
Improving the company’s image through participating in social responsibility can also lead to increased brand equity. This can be measured through brand awareness relatable to consumer perspectives in terms of recalling brand. For instance, recently Lowe’s committed to provide $20 million to the habitat humans and promise them to construct the houses for four years. Currently, the company has renovated 1500 homes and supported many poor people with the contribution of $40 million. Assignment help Perth experts assumed this massive act successfully uplifts the brand awareness and it is more likely to assume corporate equity will be influence through this act.
Case Study
Microsoft has recently announced as the most environment friendly highly rated company by non-profit capital in 2019. The company has attained carbon neutrality, reducing the product packing by 20%, and donated billions to various software services and NGOs in 2018. The company also uses Artificial intelligence to address global warming in India- a south Asian country highly affected by changing temperature and rising sea level. Microsoft also provides harvest tools to the agricultural sector, But the question is here, why Microsoft is helping Indian farmers? Does it know who is its stakeholder?
Billionaire investor Paul Toudor jones, who was one of the founders of the non-profit organization- Just capital largely focusing on contributing to a fairer society acknowledge Microsoft action. Just capital published 1000 fair company lists kept Microsoft at the top place in 2019. According to the report, Microsoft has done excellent works for developing communities by donating $14 billion to software and non-profit organization. Besides, that company is taking care of their employee, provided 20 weeks of maternal leaves, 12 paternal leaves it’s also 12 weeks of paid leaves to all the employees. Besides, that company has achieved carbon neutrality successfully and from the last year, it has reduced the packing of products and services by 20%.
About the differentiation of products, some consumers prefer to buy greener options. For instance, a hybrid car more standard model that may be cheaper but could have higher pollutants. The promotion of CSR divided the public attention emphasis on environmental sensitivity and some companies accept it as a part of their business operation. Recently Microsoft took an initiative to support inclusive economic opportunity for every developed and non-developed country, every community, every business and every individual.
Top Multinational Companies Implementing CSR To Build Positive Brand Image
Many assignment makers expressed their view and said, CSR practically has the same effect as advertisement as it expands the positive image of the brand thereby it is considering as marketing expression. Through including the brand name in the social campaigns such that brand recognition and brand awareness could be raised. Therefore it can be concluded, the value of the brand has been increasing significantly in the companies. Nowadays people want to engage with the values of the companies.
CSR has shifted decisively its realm from nice to do to need to do not just because companies are focusing on sustained consumer interest because opinion leaders will recognize the fact accordingly.
Milton Friedman of New York times in 197o wrote the social responsibility of the business is to maximize profits. CSR is the most effective tool in the movement of increasing profit as well as during the time being social. This is the essence of marketing trends also reflects how marketers is involving consumers in the process of expanding business activities. Get to know more about CSR from essay help team of SourceEssay.
CSR is not new in the current globalized world. Companies like Rolex, Netflix, Amazon, Microsoft Sony etc. have been imbibing the social good in the operation a long year ago(Kumar, Vinay, 2013). In many countries CSR is at a nascent stage, however, the situation is changing as the day passes. Similarly with time CSR coming from the purview of doing social goods to becoming the fastest business necessity.
CSR At Rolex
Rolex comes to the top 10 companies list implementing CSR successfully considerable enjoy immense benefits from it. The brand has established the unique abilities to connect its product to the company and triggering emotions in the stakeholder by anchoring high profile personalities(Gonclaves, 2020). Rolex success is attributing authenticity and longevity of the charity work. There are some authenticating program has been established reflecting organization own rules, align with company programs
CSR At Netflix
CSR at Netflix has general codes of conduct to its employee implied companies will make a profit cleanly and transparently. By removing Kevin Spacey from the house of cards one of the top show on Netflix, the company send a clear message to its audience. In any space, the company said no to sexual harassment no matter even if the huge money being spent. With time company is becoming stronger in terms of ethics, discretionary expectation of the society at every point in time
CSR At Forbes Marshall
Presently the CSR initiatives at Forbes Marshall is located in distinct regions of tropical areas including giving education to the Morwadi urban slum area. Most of the initiatives made by the company encompassing ensuring education and health also assuring personality development skill training to the women such that it can introduce the additional income to the family.
CSR At Adidas
As one of the largest sports companies in the world, Adidas business started in 2006 later accelerated when the company introduced CSR to its policies. According to Adidas CSR plan by collaborating with material suppliers, scientific institutions and universities company is maintaining CSR in day to day life. Companies do recycling produce products by recycling its textile, plastics, packaging, metals and rubble. Adidas works with the organic cotton farmers and uses their products to provide better common initiatives two years ago.
2015 Adidas Sustainable Goals
| Energy | Reducing energy consumption by 20% 30% carbon reduction 20% water saving Reduce waste by 25% |
| Social | 80% of the direct supplier belong to 3C meet or better follow our social compliance model Common industry wide platform will be used for monitoring and review process Top 10 independently published suppliers producing sustainability reports |
| Employee | Ensuring succession readiness to all the form of leadership position 80% of the senior management position will be ensured by the internal staff’ Becoming a world class recruiter Becoming top 10 employer in the top market and for the employee |
Here is the following partnership company has made with different NGOs for different CSR categories
| Corporate Responsibility | World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WCSBD) World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry(WFGSI) |
| Environment Responsibility | AFIRM Working Group Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) |
| Supply Responsibility | Fair Factories Clearinghouse (FFC) Fair Lavor Association (FLA) |
Challenges Of Corporative Social Responsibility
Over the years, CSR has garnered significant interest among different companies non-governmental organizations, and scientific authors who are involved in doing promotion. In some stances, the limitation of the CSR curbs the company’s image negatively affects an identifiable stakeholder’s legitimate claims. The agencies are hesitating to introduce the CSR criterion due to negative assessments(Justice, 2002).
The most controversial definition of CSR centres on the idea it is all about voluntary activities of the companies above and beyond the legal requirement. The challenge for the trade unionists is to prevent CSR from becoming a substitute role of governance. CSR in any business prevents the privatization of the proper function government should oppose.
Conclusion
Sustainable business growth is associated with company values its interaction with environments and how it is sourcing the consumer preferences. The need of the CSR has been created to combat the challenges arises due to environmental issues, scare resources and elimination of the waste product. In this article, we have concluded CSR is the most effective tool in the movement of increasing profit as well as enhancing brand image during the time being social. It’s essence of marketing trends also reflects how marketers is involving consumers in the process of expanding business activities. Through improving the company’s image company is participating in social responsibility that also leads to increased brand equity. A CSR positive impact can be measured through brand awareness relatable to consumer perspectives in terms of recalling brand which can be further analyzed by the CSR plan. In the end, we can conclude even though CSR doesn’t provide immediate results, but with careful planning and mechanism will help the company to build sustainable action and brings competitive advantages.
References
Creel, T., 2012. How corporate social responsibility influences brand equity. Management Accounting Quarterly, 13(4).
Mahmood, A. and Bashir, J., 2020. How does corporate social responsibility transform brand reputation into brand equity? Economic and noneconomic perspectives of CSR. International Journal of Engineering Business Management, 12, p.1847979020927547.
IBS. 2020. Corporate Social Responsibility: Microsoft Case Study. Retrieved from- https://ibs-americas.com/en/online-library/article/32/corporate-social-responsibility-microsoft-case-studyData Accessed on 9 July 2021
Gonclaves. A. 2020. The Top 100 Companies With The Best CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) Reputation, Retrieved from- https://youmatter.world/en/top-100-companies-best-csr-reputation2019-28108/ Data Accessed on 9 July 2021
Huang. 2020. Adidas Corporate Social Responsibility. Retrieved from- https://gps.ucsd.edu/_files/faculty/gourevitch/gourevitch_cs_huang-annie.pdf Data Accessed on 9 July 2021
Justice, D.W., 2002. Corporate social responsibility: Challenges and opportunities for trade unionists.
Kumar, Vinay. 2013. To Create a Positive Brand Image Through Corporate Social Responsibility. JOMAt. 1. 63-69. 10.2139/ssrn.2466844.
Microsoft. 2020. Corporate Social Responsibility. Retrieved from- https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/corporate-responsibility Data Accessed on 9 July 2021