Research paper with 2000 words

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1. TITLE

An investigation into the impacts of CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) programs

on client loyalty– A study based on IKEA store, Warrington UK.

2. INTRODUCTION

Investments in corporate social responsibilities and activities by businesses are not

only aimed at improving business reputation, but also to foster customer loyalty

(Coleman, 2019). This report will focus on understanding the business benefits of CSR

programs with a specific emphasis on brand loyalty among the customers. The

following section will provide the context of the proposed research, the rationale

behind this study, aims and key research objectives. It is followed by literature review

section that provides a critique of pertinent literature gathered from secondary

sources. The methodology chapter covers philosophical underpinnings, research

methods, sampling techniques, data, collection tools proposed to conduct the research

along with discussion in limitations and key ethical issues.

3. RESEARCH JUSTIFICATION

a) Background

The expectations among the customers from businesses move beyond economics as

social and environmental issues are also keenly observed by them (Andrews, 2017).

Businesses are striving to create a positive impact among the stakeholders by

establishing CSR programmes and involving various parties to implement them in a

bid to make a difference in the societies they operate in. Although the concept of CSR

is around in the business world for many decades, it is gaining momentum in recent

times as it provides opportunities to improve transparency, reinforce their commitment

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towards the external environment and improve brand perception among the customers

(Daudigeos et al, 2011). CSR is considered by experts as an approach to sustainable

business development that delivers environmental, social and economic benefits.

Apart from being viewed as a moral obligation, (Ellis-Hall, 2019) opines that

businesses must view CSR as a vital opportunity to improve brand reputation, improve

engagement with the customers, enhance employee engagement and a tool to

promote collaboration and innovation.

Research by Reputation Institute, distributed in Forbes Magazine, shown that 42% of

individuals assess an organization dependent on the degree of contribution in CSR

exercises (Ellis-Hall, 2020). Hence it is important to study this area as it will unfold the

emerging CSR trends in the retail industry and the evolving customer perceptions

about the same (Fleischman, 2012). As the perception among the public is critical for

pursuing long-term goals of the business, businesses are increasingly engaging

positively and actively with communities. (Woo, 2014) suggests that CSR programmes

allow employees to establish a direct communication with potential customers thereby

indirectly leaving a positive influence on them about the brand. As customer loyalty is

one of the major goals of businesses in highly competitive business environments, the

effectiveness of CSR programmes in achieving this goal will be investigated

thoroughly in this proposed research (Galan, 2011).

b) Research Aim and Objectives

Investigating the effect of CSR exercises on brand perception and loyalty among the

customers of IKEA Warrington is the aim of this research.

The following are the research objectives:

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1. To critically analyse the role of CSR policies in fostering positive brand

reputation among the customers

2. To investigate the emerging CSR trends in the UK’s retail industry and critical

success factors in implementing them

3. To critically assess the usefulness of CSR programmes used by IKEA

Warrington in fostering loyalty among the customers

4. To make recommendations to the case study organisation IKEA Warrington on

improving CSR programmes based on findings of this research

4. LITERATURE REVIEW

Demonstrating a commitment towards social and environmental responsibilities are

considered as being imperative for businesses in the current environment. According

to (Piga, 2012), employees resonate with the CSR performance of the organisations.

As per study carried out by CONE communications in 2016, 64 percent of the

millennials prefer working for an organisation that indulges in CSR activities compared

to the businesses that won’t (Coleman, 2019). Indulging in philanthropic causes is

recognised by businesses as a means to give back to the communities they operate

in, with an expectation of improving positive social value among the general public. As

per (Galan, 2011), although the essence of CSR activities is to address the social and

natural issues in a selfless manner by investing in CSR programmes, it is now viewed

as a strategic approach to boost brand reputation. (Fleischman, 2012) opines that

incorporating environmental and social concerns into day-to-day operation and the

planning processes is imperative for sustainable development of the business.

(Ellis-Hall, 2020) talks about various benefits of CSR programmes for an organisation

such as organisational growth, better brand recognition, savings on operational costs,

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enhanced customer loyalty, complying with legislation and regulations and fostering

public trust in the company. However, (Daudigeos et al, 2011) argue that customers

are increasingly become aware of corporate greenwashing and are wary of the actual

difference made by the business to the social and environmental causes through their

CSR initiatives. In these cases, CSR programmes, if not implemented in a transparent

manner, could produce counter-productive results in terms of improve public

perception and brand loyalty. On the other hand, (Galan, 2011) argues the principles

of the CSR goes against the financial objectives of a business organisation as it has

a responsibility towards protecting the financial interests of the business stakeholders.

According to (Piga, 2012), misalignment of the social causes that do not properly

reflect the central idea of the business is non-beneficial to the business.

Apart from the time and money spent on various CSR activities by business

organisations, it is also important to assess the actual impact of these initiatives that

have a strong impact. (Coleman, 2019) suggests that companies indulging in CSR

activities often highlight their CSR work in monetary terms in annual reports and other

business communications without providing much information on the impact created

towards the cause. On the other hand, (Andrews, 2017) opines that CSR performance

of businesses can translate into truly financial value by enhancing the social and

environmental awareness among the customers and employees. The emotional link

that can be established with the target customers through specific CSR measures

such as supporting animal rights, protecting the environment and alleviating poverty

as customers feel strongly about these causes and may prefer the brand over its

competitors (Ellis-Hall, 2019).

Attracting and retailing talent is another important benefit that businesses can derive

through the well designed CSR programs. According to (Galan, 2011), the positive

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image achieved by the brand through CSR activities may attract the potential talented

job seekers who take a sense of pride in working for the organisations which in turn

help businesses to improve the quality of service delivered to the customers. As per

(Ellis-Hall, 2019), motivated and engaged employees are likely to deliver better

performance in terms of delivering services to the customers, the satisfaction among

the target customers can be increased significantly. Although research indicates that

CSR programmes by businesses improve positive attitude among the public,

questions remain if that positive attitude influences brand loyalty and consumer buying

behaviour. (Coleman, 2019) opines that regardless of its advantages and pitfalls, the

CSR is evolving to be a strategic approach among the business organisations to

achieve sustainable competitive advantage and to foster loyalty among the customers.

5. METHODOLOGY

a) Philosophical position and approach

The question of perceiving social entities as subjective or objective is the central

question associated with ontology (Thornhill, 2014). Ontology is the belief system in

which the interpretations by individuals about what constitutes a fact are considered.

Epistemology on the other hand refers to the study of knowledge. Positivist research

paradigm is best suited for this research as it will enable the researcher to follow a

well-designed structure to collect and analyse data during the research (Flick, 2011).

The methodology that will be used in this research is quantitative as it makes use of

quantitative tools such as the survey questionnaires to collect data. Deductive

approach will be used to conduct this research.

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b) Research methods

Questionnaires will be used in this research to collect primary data from the chosen

participants to gain insights about the research topic. Questionnaires are not only

practical but are considered to be very effective in collecting data from large number

of people without affecting its reliability and validity (Bowman, 2012). It helps the

researcher to collect data in a short period which plays a key role in completing the

research within the specified timeframe. The estimated number of questions that will

be included in the questionnaire is 15.

c) Research Design, sample and sampling

The research design refers to a succinct plan and an overall strategy to achieve the

objectives of a proposed research. It can be understood as a blueprint that helps the

reader understand how various components of the research are integrated in a logical

manner to address the central research idea (Thornhill, 2014). This research design

that will be followed in this research is ‘Case study’ as it most suited to analyse a

phenomenon and gain a deeper understanding of an issue in real-life context. The

case study organisation in this research is IKEA, Warrington, UK. The sample of this

research constitute the customers of IKEA store based in Warrington. Age groups

between 18 to 65 will be chosen for this research for their inputs on effects of CSR on

their brand loyalty. Convenience sampling technique will be used to select the

participants in this research.

d) Data Analysis

MS excel will be used by the researcher to analyse the questionnaire data with an

emphasis on measuring central tendencies by calculating mean, median, mode and

standard deviation wherever essential. Bar Graphs, table and pie-charts will also be

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used for pictorial representation of data. The analysis of primary data will focus mainly

on establishing linkages with literature review to unfold any connections or emerging

themes pertinent to the research topic.

e) Limitations

The anticipated challenges of this proposed research include obtaining consent of

customers to participate in this research, the completion of research within the

specified timeframe and the maintenance of social distancing norms and other safety

measures while interacting with the participants in the wake of the current ongoing

coronavirus pandemic. Online questionnaires will be used in place of paper-based

questionnaires if the participants are willing to participate in research to minimise the

risk of physical contact of the paper-based questionnaire.

f) Ethical Considerations

Conducting the research in a fair and ethical manner is one of the key responsibilities

of the researcher. The guidelines prescribed by the Faculty of Business and Law at

UCLAN to conduct the research will be strictly followed to ensure the research is

conducted appropriately. Before commencing the research, the ‘Ethical Approval

Form’ will be filled and will be submitted to the tutor to progress with the data collection

and other aspects of the research. The participants of this research, mainly the

customers of IKEA Warrington, will be given consent forms to sign to ensure they

voluntarily take part in this research. The participants of this research will also be

informed that they can withdraw at any time if they wish so. The files that contain the

collected data will be stored securely using password protected files to avoid any

unauthorised access.

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6. Research Timeline

RESEARCH PHASE TIMEFRAME

LITERATURE REVIEW 4 WEEKS

QUESTIONNAIRE PREPARATION 1 WEEK

COLLECTION OF DATA 2 WEEKS

ANALYSIS OF COLLECTED DATA 2 WEEKS

DISCUSSION & FINDINGS 2 WEEKS

CONCLUSION AND

RECOMMENDATIONS

2 WEEKS

PROOF READING 2 DAYS

7. Conclusion

In this report, the aim and objectives of the chosen research topic are outlined with a

clear introduction and justification for the selection of this topic. The review of literature

in this report pointed out to the emerging trends in the CSR including increasing social

awareness among the customers about CSR programmes, prioritisation of job seekers

of companies based on better CSR performance and the strategic importance

attached to CSR to sustain competitive advantage. Questionnaires are selected by the

researcher to collect data from customers of IKEA, Warrington for this proposed

research considering their advantages in enabling the researcher complete the

research in time. The ethical considerations and the key limitations of this research

are included in this report.

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8. REFERENCES

Andrews R. L. (2017), “The impact of corporate social disclosure on investment

behavior: A cross-national study”, Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, 29(2), 177-

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Bowman S (2012), “Research Methodology- Methods and Techniques”, Second

Edition, Oxford University Press

Coleman A (2019), “Should business be paying more attention to CSR”, <

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/ready-and-enabled/why-corporate-social-

responsibility-is-important/> Accessed Date 01 December 2020

Daudigeos, T., & Valiorgue, B. (2011). Conditions for value creation in the marketplace

through the management of CSR issues. Second edition, Routledge

Ellis-Hall W (2020), “The Importance of CSR and Why a Company Should Embrace

it”, https://www.drpgroup.com/en/blog/the-importance-of-csr-and-why-a-company-

should-embrace-it Accessed Date 02 December 2020

Flick U (2011), “Introducing Research Methodology: A Beginner’s Guide to Doing a

Research Project”, First Edition, Sage Publishers

Fleischman G. (2012), “Ethics programs, perceived corporate social responsibility and

job satisfaction”, Journal of Business Ethics, 77(2), 159-172

Galan J I. (2011), “Effects of corporate social responsibility on brand value”, Journal

of Brand Management, 18(6), 423-437

Piga, C. (2012). "Corporate social responsibility: A theory of the firm perspective." A

few comments and some suggestions. Academy of Management Review, 27, 13-15

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Thornhill A. (2014), “Research Methodology: Methods and Techniques”, First edition,

Blackwell Publications

Woo J. (2014), “How CSR leads to corporate brand equity: Mediating mechanisms of

corporate brand credibility and reputation”, Journal of Business Ethics, 125(1), 75-86