This kind of competition can prove to be more effective than governmental regulations since firms are reluctant to follow government mandates.
Methodology:
Secondary research has been used as the main tool. Important journal articles, case studies and analyses have been included to understand the concept of CSR and its use in gain competitive advantage.
ANALYSIS and DISCUSSION
Social responsibility is closely connected with concern for financial growth. According to this belief, firms seek to maximize their profits by investing in a healthy environment and other public good projects. The firms that have successfully attained the prestigious image of being socially responsible follow this ideology. These firms choose to be more socially conscious not because of any real intention of creating a healthier society but because their actions seem to influence buyer behavior in a positive manner. Companies are thus rapidly developing serious CSR policies with exclusive departments dealing with this. New and better corporate mission statements have emerged that incorporate ethical code of conduct. By the end of 2003, more than 2000 firms had presented their CSR reports.
These firms have successfully found a way to turn social responsibility into financial boom. CSR is now seen as the main strategy to attract customers since it seems to have a positive impact on customers' buying preferences. Companies are vying for increased customer attention by developing a reputation for good corporate citizenship. Microsoft similarly believes in CSR that is "all about the bottom line" and tries to connect it with economic success. It seeks to maximize its market share by investing in public projects. CSR is thus all about developing connections and sustaining the same. When a company makes a conscious effort to listen to their customers and their concerns, it helps them build a deeper connection with them and that results in increased profitability. For example when Microsoft realized that most of its Xbox customers were concerned about labor and environmental problems, it started paying greater attention to environmental issues of areas where their production houses were located. CSR doesn't only help attract more customers- it also increases business-to-business relations. Levi's developed a code of conduct for vendors, which has earned the status of certification among purchasers all over the world. If the firm doesn't follow a proper ethical code, the community would certainly come to know about it as Wiley (1995, p. 25) puts it:
When unethical actions are not dealt with, word spreads that the organization is not really interested in ethics. In some cases, a demotion, rather than firing, may be sufficient to make this point."
Apart from that CSR strategy also brings a company closer to its community as Duncan
Arthur D. Little further adds in "The Business Case for Corporate Citizenship,": "The perceptions that stakeholders have of a company's corporate citizenship performance can significantly affect the business's license to operate. Companies with a poor reputation in this area can find themselves continually responding to criticism of their approach to a whole range of environmental and social issues." (Little, 2002)
CSR is also seen as an important strategy for attracting and retaining quality employees. In other words, employee turn over rate decreases significantly when a firm is actively involved with community. In a 2004 survey, it was found that more than three fourth of MBA graduates would prefer working for an organization that is considered socially responsibly even if it means lesser pay. (Roner, 2004) it has also been noticed that employee do not only view active involvement in community projects as CSR but excellent treatment of employees is another slid indicator of a firm with ethics. When the subject was discussed with Human Resources Director of fast-food chain, in-N-Out, he remarked: "Efficiency wages are self-serving. Our store managers may make 100 to 120% over industry norms, but the money spent on salaries is seen as an investment. Our wages not only broaden the applicant pool from which we can choose employees, but increase performance levels and retention rates.... Although you can never know for sure why people stay with a company, I certainly believe it may influence why people like their job here." (Iriart, 2003) a firm needs to reserve some compensation resources in case of emergencies. When a firm ensures that its employees are treated well and their medical and contingency expenses are adequately covered, it automatically increases productivity and efficiency of its employees. According to International Labor Organization (ILO): "on the job accidents and illnesses annually take some two million lives and cost the global economy an estimated 1.25 trillion, or four percent of annual global GDP." (ILO, 2003)...
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