DOES CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR)

TRNSLATES INTO SALES: PERSPECTIVE OF

JALANDHAR DISTRICT BASED CUSTOMER
CAPSTONE PROJECT
Submitted in the partial fulfillment of the
requirement for the award of the degree of

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (MBA)

By

TARANDEEP KAUR 11606188

JAGDISH RAGHUVANSHI 11609958
BIKASH PANDA 11609508

Under the Guidance of

Dr. Rajinder Minhas

LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY

PUNJAB
INDIA- 144 411

2019
 CERTIFICATION
Ihereby declare that the project entitled “Does Corporate Social Responsibility(CSR) translate
into Sales: perspective of Jalandhar District based Customers” is an authentic work carried
out by Ms.Tarandeep Kaur( Reg. No.: 11606188), Mr.Jagdish Raghuvanshi (Reg No. 11609958
and Mr.Bikash Ranjan Panda(Reg No.11609508) students of Masters of Business
Administration(MBA) of Mittal School of Business(MSOB), Lovely Professional University,
Punjab; under my direct supervision and guidance from August 2019 to November 2019 and this
report has not been submitted to any other universities for award of any degree, whatsoever.

Dr. Rajinder Minhas

(Assistant Professor)

School of Computer Engineering (SCE),

Lovely Professional University, Punjab, INDIA-14 4411

 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The project opportunity of “Does Corporate Social Responsibility(CSR) translate into Sales:
perspective of Jalandhar District based Customers” is a great chance for learning and
building some professional developments within us! Therefore, we consider our self very lucky
individuals being part of it. We are grateful for having a chance to meet & greet to many higher
level professionals; who led us through this project throughout.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the people who have helped us in completing
this project. We are grateful to our academic mentor Dr. Rajinder Minhas (Assistant Professor)
who guided us throughout our project with his valuable inputs & suggestions, whatsoever.
Nevertheless, we would like to express our gratitude towards him for helping us in understanding
scope and present scenario of Corporate Social Responsibility; especially in India through
perspective of diversified customers.

Last, but not the least; sincere gratitude is also due to all of our friends and family members; who
helped us to understand this approach on daily basis & motivated, inspired and supported us
whenever we felt in dilemma and troubled.

Lastly, We would like to thank LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY, PUNJAB for giving
us this opportunity to widen our mental horizons!

With kind regards,

Tarandeep kaur,

Jagdish Raghuvanshi &

Bikash Ranjan Panda.

 Declaration
We [Ms. Tarandeep Kaur, Mr.Jagdish Raghuvanshi and Mr.Bikash Ranjan Panda],
bonafide students of Master of Business Administration(MBA) of Mittal School of
Business(MSOB), Lovely Professional University, would like to declare that this Capstone
project report entitled “Does Corporate Social Responsibility(CSR) translate into Sales:
perspective of Jalandhar District based Customers” is prepared and submitted by us in partial
fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Master of Business
Administration(MBA) is our original work.

The project report is conducted by us under the supervision and guidance of our academic
mentor Dr. Rajinder Minhas and it is also declared that this report earlier has not been
submitted to any other University for the award of any degree.

Tarandeep Kaur Jagdish Raghuvanshi Bikash Ranjan Panda

CONTENTS PAGE NO.
Certification

Acknowledgement

Declaration

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Introduction
1.2 Importance of Corporate Social Responsibility(CSR)
1.3 Corporate Social Responsibility and Sales
1.4 Positive aspects of Corporate Social Responsibility
1.5 Negative aspects of Corporate Social Responsibility

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Objectives of Study

3.2 Hypotheses
3.3 Research method
3.4 Data collection
3.5 Methods of data analysis
3.6 Limitations of study

CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

4.1 Data Analysis Concept

4.2 Tools for Analysis
4.3 Technological Tools
4.4 Detailed analysis and Interpretation
4.5 Direct responses

CHAPTER 5: FINDINGS, CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 Major Findings

5.2 Recommendation
5.3 Conclusion

CHAPTER 6: SCOPE FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

QUESTIONAIRE

REFERENCES
 INTRODUCTION
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is often referred to as business responsibility and an
organisation's action on environmental, ethical, social and economic issues. The terms in the area
can seem confusing if you don't know the jargon - but don't be put off by this. We need to think
of CSR simply as ensuring that our business is aware of its impacts, is accountable for its
actions, and that it undertakes these actions in a responsible manner. Furthermore, a well-run
business is transparent in its decision-making and processes and this makes for good governance.

CSR can be described as an approach in which a company does the following: Recognizes that
their activities have a wider impact towards the society in which it operates, and developments
in society in turn impact on its ability to pursue business sustainably, actively manages the
economic, social, environmental and human rights impact of its activities both locally as well as
across the world, basing these on principles which reflect both international values and
organizations own values (ethics), reaping benefits for both its own operations and reputation as
well as the communities in which it operates, seeks to achieve these benefits by working closely
with groups and organizations – local communities, civil society groups, and other business.
In the 1970s and 80s environmental concerns such as loss of the rainforest and the effects of
pollution led to a recognition that something had to be done urgently to change the way we were
using the planet resources. As a result, heads of state came together at Rio, Brazil in 1992 for
what was called the Earth Summit. Governments pledged action to stop the unsustainable use of
resources and to promote sustainable development. Put simply, sustainable development is about
society growing in such a way that future generations will not be compromised and have access
to the same resources that we have. For this to happen social, environmental and economic
considerations should be assessed together and not in isolation. CSR is now sometimes
considered as the business response to the challenge of sustainable development.

IMPORTANCE OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become one of the standard business practices of our
time. For companies committed to CSR it means kudos and an enhanced overall reputation – a
powerful statement of what they stand for in an often cynical business world. The establishment
of a CSR strategy (sometimes referred to as a sustainability strategy) is a crucial component of a
company’s competiveness and something that should be led by the firm itself. This means having
policies and procedures in place which integrate social, environmental, ethical, human rights or
consumer concerns into business operations and core strategy – all in close collaboration with
stakeholders.

For companies, the overall aim is to achieve a positive impact on society as a whole while
maximizing the creation of shared value for the owners of the business, its employees,
shareholders and stakeholders. Not so long ago, the European Commission defined CSR as “the
responsibility of enterprises for their impacts on society”, a succinct and distinct summation for
sure.

A 2015 study by the Kenexa High Performance Institute in London (a division of Kenexa, a
global provider of business solutions for human resources) found that organisations that had a
genuine commitment to CSR substantially outperformed those that did not, with an average
return on assets 19 times higher. Additionally, the study showed that CSR-orientated companies
had a higher level of employee engagement and provided a markedly better standard of customer
service.The factors driving companies to pursue a CSR agenda are fairly consistent across the
corporate world; however, once a company makes the decision to adopt CSR orientated
activities, a plan (involving a lot of engagement with employees, managers, suppliers, NGOs and
others) must be implemented to carry out the agreed CSR programme.

Within the pages of its CSR Implementation Guide the International Institute for Sustainable
Development (IISD) outlines what it considers to be the six key components which go towards a
coherent CSR plan: (i) CSR Assessment; (ii) CSR Strategy; (iii) CSR Commitments; (iv)
Implementation Plan and Actions; (v) Verification and Evaluation of Results, and (vi)
Refinement. “Perhaps most important, however, is an underlying commitment to multi-
stakeholder engagement as a foundational pillar to any credible CSR program,” says Jason Potts,
a senior associate with IISD’s sustainable markets and responsible trade initiative. “CSR is
fundamentally about ensuring that companies forward broader public objectives as an integral
part of their daily activities and this can only be ensured with the appropriate communication
channels with stakeholders.”

At present, the incorporation of CSR programmes by businesses on a fundamental level appears

as prevalent as ever. However, the jury is still very much out as to whether companies have it
within them to embrace a broad or multifaceted vision of CSR. “It would be utopic to expect a
sea change among industries,” says Mr Potts. “While there are plenty of examples of companies
using strong CSR performance as a brand-building and product marketing strategy, far too many
corporate executives still rely on the old financial and hierarchical models of yesteryear as the
basis of their own planning. The biggest and most influential companies also tend to be the most
reliant on the ‘conventional way’ of doing business. What is happening, however, is a broad
transition to the adoption of external multi-stakeholder processes – in the form of multi-
stakeholder sustainability standards and labels – as a way of outsourcing the stakeholder
engagement process.”

Ultimately, there are no hard and fast rules governing CSR. The more companies understand the
growing resilience, reputation and legal risk they face, the more opportunities our globalised and
connected world has to offer them. “This often depends on the sector,” points out Mr Webb. “If
you make mining equipment, your focus will be energy efficiency and perhaps new technology
that is safer. If you sell chocolate, your concerns are around the economic viability of your
supply chain.”
With a number of recent legislative and behavioural developments, such as the transparency of
supply chains, sustainable development goals, the ramifications of the Modern Slavery Act 2015
and the zero landfill initiative, all contributing to the CSR melting pot, Ms Kozlov is in no doubt
that companies are unifying their CSR activities under an overarching, business-aligned strategy,
and using them as a tool to drive innovation, tackle material issues, strengthen community
engagement and mitigate risks.Whether a force for good or an exercise in brand enhancement,
what cannot be denied is that CSR is very much an integral part of the global business landscape.

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR) AND SALES

The customers buying process has changed over the past twenty years. Considerations such as
price, quality, level of service, packaging and branding all still apply, but the ethical and
altruistic nature of a business is now more important than ever to secure sales.In the past
influencing factors such as corporate hospitality (alcohol fuelled long lunches and trips to the
races or golf days) and branded gifts were handed out by the truckload in a bid to sway business
decisions and keep customers onside. But times have changed.The ethical expectations on
companies from its various stakeholders have become more complex and demanding.

Critically, millennium consumers, both in the general public and in business, have become more
altruistic. Now customers demand that a business delivers exceptional products and services, but
also that it contributes to the community, is seen as transparent, takes care of their workforce and
illustrates an active role in addressing universal issues. Businesses have to show how responsible
they are and how much of a positive impact they have on the environment and the planet if they
want to even be in the race.

Companies are therefore engaging in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in response to the
way in which customers make purchasing decisions and not just as a strategic nod to the
corporate conscience. The modern businessrecognises that CSR helps them to identify their
brand purpose and create a personality that their customers can connect with on a deeper level.
But their CSR strategy must be authentic, aligned with their company values or purpose and
integrated into their business model.

According to one study by the “Reputation Institute”, 42% of how a person feels about a
company is based on their knowledge of that firm’s CSR definition. Research shows that more
customers base their decisions on corporate social responsibility than ever before. Customers
will switch to buying from a brand that supports a good cause and on the flip side; will boycott a
brand that displays irresponsible or unethical practices.

Developments in information technology and communication and platforms such as those on

social media has made information globally accessible and publicly displayed which emphasises
transparency in all business operations. If two brands are offering similar products and qualities,
it then becomes a question of how one differentiates from the other and how one is perceived as
better than the other. Aligning your brand to sustainability, community support, environmental
awareness and other positive messages will result in greater loyalty amongst your potential and
existing customers. Shouting about your CSR activity will give you the edge when pitched
against competitors who are not seen to have a corporate conscience.

CSR initiatives may include;

Environmental campaigns: These are the policies and processes that you take as a business to
reduce your carbon footprint, limiting your negative impact on the world.

Employee welfare: All businesses are expected to treat their employees ethically and fairly. The
more you show you care about your workers, the more your community and potential customers
will respect you.

Philanthropic activity: Donating to local charities and supporting local community initiatives is a
way to show your customers that you care about what matters to them

POSITIVE ASPECTS

It makes the corporations involve other stakeholders in the decision making process of the
organization. The development of corporate social responsibility has motivated the corporations
to involve and encourage other stakeholders to assist the corporation in making decisions,
especially those that affect the social well being of the society at large. The corporations are
making an effort to make the stakeholders aware of their decisions and how they might affect the
society as well as the environment.There are several advantages that businesses have
experienced by choosing the CSR approach. Some of these are:Reduction of costs- Corporate
social responsibility is known to reduce the gap between the corporations and its stakeholders.
This is because a form of trust is created between the organization and all those that are affected
by it. This happens because communication is improved and it improves the flow of information
leading to greater efficiency at the work place, leading to reduction in costly conflicts and
improved decision making. Because CSR policies involve other stakeholders in the decision
making and not the shareholders alone, it can thus help avoid costly delays that affect the
company by reducing the decision making time.Improvement in the financial performance-
Though it has never been proved if there is a correlation between the two, many corporations as
well as a number of studies over the years have reported and suggested that they have greatly
experienced a rise in financial performance by using the CSR approach, and they believe that a
link does exist.

Improved credibility of the public- The introduction of CSR policies means that companies have
increased their effort to provide credible, verifiable and easily accessed information to the public
and this vastly improves the credibility of the company as it creates a trust between the
stakeholders and the organization. At the same time, the public reporting of achievements as well
as failures means companies gain a reputation of honesty within the stakeholders, as they feel
they have been involved. It ensures the stakeholders that there are enough measures taken by the
corporation to ensure accountability and transparency. Identifies liabilities earlier-The free flow
of information that is associated with the corporate social responsibility, helps identify liabilities
early as there is a free flow of strategic information between the management and the
stakeholders, meaning important information is not with held, as there is a level of trust that has
been built by the management with the employees as well as other stakeholders. This ensures
that the corporation has an opportunity to resolve the problem at an earlier stage, which would
vastly help reducing public humiliation of the company. some of these issues are like: hazards
the company might be causing to the environment; discrimination of women at work; sexual
harassment; unethical recruitment procedures, and so on. This helps companies avoid
unnecessary law suits that could be costly to the company.

An improvement in the relationship with the stakeholders- There is a general sense of improved
confidence and trust among stakeholders when companies start being accountable and they
public disclose their decisions, successes as well as losses that they face. The act of including
and considering stakeholders in the decision making process generally improves the confidence
of the stakeholders on the corporations decisions. This engagement helps companies understand
how community groups and other stakeholders perceive them, and educate them about further
issues and concerns that may affect their operations.

Increases the attractiveness to investors- Some investors not only look at the profit making
capability of the corporation. They look at what the company brings to their portfolio; something
which they already don’t have. The inclusion of a socially responsible company in the portfolio
of an investor would greatly improve the public credibility of all the other companies that are
owned by the investor. This would mean that the public credibility would improve for the
investor as well as all his other investments. Decreased risk of negative publicity-Companies that
have already set themselves as responsible citizens have a lower risk to negative publicity as they
have already established themselves as organizations that believe in accountability and
transparency, and have created a name for them as being responsible for their actions in the
society. Because of the free flow of information, decisions made will be communicated well
throughout the organization, and stakeholders will also have a hand in making some decisions
and because of this reason the corporation avoids unnecessary boycotts organized by special
stakeholder groups. Advantages in the market-Because corporations are determined to be
accountable, this can make entry into markets fairly easy and corporations can easily establish
themselves in the market by having direct relationships with the key stakeholders of the company
that is the consumers. This can help companies to easily establish themselves in the market due
to the relationships established with the various stakeholders.

The stakeholder concept-Stakeholders are all groups of people who have an interest in the
company. Some stakeholders may have legal rights and expectations in regard to the operations.
Examples of these are employees and owners. Others have moral rights as to how the company
operates. Examples are like environmental groups who may check how the organization uses
natural resources. Their interest is if the company is utilizing the resources well and doesn’t
waste them, or how the company disposes its waste. All these are groups who have different
interests from the company. Corporations have multiple stakeholders. They are classified into
primary and secondary stakeholders. Primary stakeholders are the ones that have a direct interest
in the company. These are the shareholders, employees, business partners, customers,
communities and so on.Secondary stakeholders are public or special interest groups that do not
have a direct interest in the organization but are still affected by the operations of the company.
These are the regulatory bodies, special interest groups, civic institutions and groups, and the
local, state and the federal governments.The owners are the primary stakeholders. The
organization has legal and moral obligations to the shareholders, of which is to ensure adequate
return on investment among many other things.

NEGATIVE ASPECT

The basic reason why a business is formulated is to make a profit. Corporate social responsibility
insists on a corporation to make an effort to look out for stakeholders who are not shareholders
only, but who have an interest on what an organization does and the outcomes of what it does.
Despite of that, its not totally the duty of the corporation to look out for the many people who
hold an interest in the companys activities. If the operations of the free market don’t solve the
social problem, it is the duty of the government and not the businesses, to address the many
issues faced by the society.

Some businesses are just not prepared to deal with social issues. The lack of preparations of a
particular business to deal with societal issues needs the managers to be trained and well versed
in dealing with the complex issues that many societies face, as this will give them the skills and
the knowledge to be prepared to do so. It is a cost to the business to handle social issues in the
society. In order to bear with the cost of handling the business, the business will lose its
competitive position that it holds in the market as it will have to absorb the added cost. It is
important in a global competitive market because if corporations in a particular country use their
assets and resources to address social issues in a particular country alone, then the businesses that
do not do so, gain a slight competitive advantage over their international rivals in other countries.
The general view of this argument suggests that corporations are not meant to take care of the
problems that are being faced by the society. It suggests that it isn’t their duty and its also
because most organizations around the world are ill equipped to deal with such situations. It
suggests that businesses should stick to their core duty of making goods and providing services
that are of the good quality and that are affordable to the people who consume them.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is an approach where businesses are suppose to think
beyond its primary objectives that are mainly related to operational activities. Previous
researches on the Corporate social responsibility(CSR) and finance does not properly guide us
whether Corporate social responsibility(CSR) results positively or negatively for an firm
(Mcwilliams & Siegel,2001).There is no clear direction regarding the desirability of
investment in the Corporate social responsibility(CSR). It can depend on firms size, level of
diversification, research & development, advertising, government sales, consumer income and
labor market conditions. (Windsor,2001), examined the scope of Corporate Social Responsibility
and try to find out the relationship between business and society in long run. The researcher tried
to find whether the organization and society will come closer to each other in future or their will
be gap and what will be the change in CSR. With the help of past trend of Corporate social
responsibility (CSR), Caroll’s model analysis and in global context, the researcher found three
emerging alternatives of Corporate social responsibility (CSR) i.e. conception of responsibility,
global corporate citizenship, stakeholder management practices.

In fact, Lantos (2001) built on from Smith’s definition of CSR and included strategic
considerations to his own understanding of the concept concluding that: “CSR entails the
obligation stemming from the implicit ‘social contract’ between business and society for firms to
be responsive to society’s long-run needs and wants, optimizing the positive effects and
minimizing the negative effects of its actions on society” (Lantos 2001, p. 9). Accordingly,
Lantos (2001) explained that CSR can become strategic when it is part of the company’s
management plans for generating profits, which means that the company would take part in
activities that can be understood as socially responsible only if they result in financial returns for
the firm and not necessarily fulfilling a holistic approach such as the triple bottom line.

The way Lantos (2001) explained the boundaries of CSR was arguably the first time the term
strategic was inherently linked to CSR. Since then, the literature on CSR begun including
strategic traits to the concept and some academics (see: Husted and Allen 2007; Porter and
Kramer 2006; Werther and Chandler 2005) begun using the term Strategic Corporate Social
Responsibility (SCSR). During the early 2000’s, Freeman (2001) and A. L. Friedman and Miles
(2002) provided a new perspective to stakeholder theory which reinforced the belief that
corporations should be managed in the benefit of a broader set of stakeholders. Freeman (2001)
argued that corporations have a responsibility towards suppliers, consumers, employees,
stockholders and the local community and as a result should be managed accordingly while A. L.
Friedman and Miles (2002) defined that the relation between corporations and their stakeholders
is dynamic and has different levels of influence on the firm. With this new perspective, Freeman
(2001) and A. L. Friedman and Miles (2002) contributed to the CSR evolution by reinforcing the
belief that corporations are responsible to a broader set of stakeholder than before.

Bendell (2005) argues that, there is no single definite definition of what CSR is, as various
organizations define this concept in different ways. However, most of these definitions are
closely related in the sense that they relate CSR with how organizations manage their business
process to create a general positive impact on the society. Thus, CSR is universally defined as
the ongoing dedication by organizations to act in an ethical manner as well as to contribute to
economic development, at the same time enhancing the quality of life of their employees, their
families, and the local community and society entirely. From this definition, it is evident that
CSR is all about how organizations relate to the external and internal environment, in the course
of pursuing its business motives.

Corporate responsibility depends on the individuals working in the particular companies

perceiving and functioning towards the “business case”. For certain behaviors to pursue social
change in the various directions that are demanded by the particular communities where they
reside, this case depend on the communities being vigilant and sustaining a major context that
propels companies to answer to the community demands. The various implications for social
responsibility that may arise in the process may be set in the conclusion. It is important to take
note of how the companies are demanded to the local communities and particularly in what
circumstances (Blowfield 2005). What is to be considered in responding to the demand of
communities to expound; where and when communities considering all the complexities can put
leverage on companies so that the corporate respond more to the desires of the people who are
directly affected by the actions of those very corporate (Berenbeim 2006).

Social responsibility and business ethics are concepts that go hand in hand for all companies that
transact business. Business ethics are those moral standards a company applies to make sure that
the employees act within the rules and principles of the company while doing the business
functions. The marriage of the two are used by large organizations and companies to promote
corporate governance, this in turn creates the framework of procedures, policies and the
guidelines for the individual stakeholders, that is, those who are employed and even those who
have invested in the company (Bendixen & Abratt, 2007). Outside stakeholders can also benefit
from this governance. Due to the fact that most companies that command huge portions of the
economic resources receive scrutiny pertaining to the business ethics, it is important for them to
provide some benefit to the locals, and try to win their hearts, and consequently improve the
living standards of the people, making sure that they do no pollute or introduce any pollutant into
the environment. However, at times, governments and individuals demand too much from the
companies (Berenbeim 2006). It is imperative to think that as much as the companies should not
misuse the natural resources, they cannot pay for every single need and wants of the
communities, this goes contrary to the ethics and may even result to the companies not producing
as much as they are needed to produce.
 Business ethics is an enabler of social responsibility. Through it, the society or governments are
able to decide whether the companies will be able to give back to the communities that they are
exploiting. Given the ability to utilize these ethics, it is possible to create a social responsibility,
which can transform the leadership, culture and the business ventures so that there are goods for
the society (Bendixen & Abratt, 2007).

Campbell (2007) asserts that, through embracing the spirit of CSR, consumers tends to believe
that a company has is concerned with their needs, and is ready to modify its business motives to
cater for these needs. Consequently, consumers will always identify with the company,
consuming their products and services from time to time; hence contributing to the company’s
profitability. In yet another study, Blowfield (2005) observed that in consumer industries, CSR is
linked with better corporate financial performance; however, this is not the case when it comes to
industrial industries. In addition to enhancing profitability through improving the image or brand
of a company, profits are also enhanced to an organization’s ability to attract qualified personnel
through its CSR activities. It has been observed that firms that engage in CSR activities,
especially on issues affecting their workforce, have a better chance of attracting more qualified
personnel. As Robbins (2011) argued, qualified personnel increase the overall effectiveness and
efficiency in a firm’s performance entirely, and this translates to high profitability.

Robbins (2011) argues that, CSR also promotes profitability, through its linkage with
sustainability. For instance, through focusing on CSR, especially those that are intended to
promote sustainability objectives, a firm is likely to reduce costs in addition to enhancing
efficiencies. For public companies, CSR creates an opportunity of these companies being
included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes, or FTSE4Good list. In turn, this is likely to
promote the stock price of the companies, making the stock options more profitable for the
shareholders. The effects of consumer perceptions of four types of Corporate social
responsibility (CSR) activities on their behavioral loyalty toward retailers. The four activities are
environmental friendliness, community support, selling locally produced products, and treating
employees fairly. Behavioral loyalty is measured by share-of-wallet (SOW).“Corporate Social
Performance influence consumer trust and that trust in turn influences consumers’ subsequent
actions” (Pivato,S. ,Misani,N. and Tencati,A.,2007) .Trust is a central variable in many
relationships between a company and its stakeholders, and socially oriented companies can use
trust to improve their competitive performance.

According to Friedman, the major social responsibility of business is profit maximization, which
is achieved through undertaking business in an open and free competition without deception or
fraud. He further argued that, the executive of the corporate are act as the agents of the owners,
and spending resources of firms on CSR activities amounts to spending other people’s resources.
Nevertheless, Friedman asserted that firms can be engage in CSR at the same time fulfilling its
profit maximization function in different ways. For instance, a firm can either undertake
investment projects in the community that are likely to better the quality of potential employees,
or contributing to altruistic organizations to benefit from reduction of tax (Hernandez-Murillo
and Martinek, 2009). According to Friedman, such actions, in addition to serving the self-interest
of the firms, also play a vital role in generating corporate goodwill, which gives a company a
competitive advantage over its competitors, in turn presenting an opportunity for the company to
further generate economic profits. Various other economists, such as Jose de Jesus Salazar, and
Bryan Husted, have given a similar opinion, arguing that there are higher potential benefits to
both the society and the firm, if CSR is undertaken strategically; specifically, when the CSR
activities of a firm are aligned with the interests of the firm (Hernandez-Murillo and Martinek,
2009).

According to Douglas and Emily (2011), business environment has changed significantly
recently. To survive in this dynamic business environment, businesses have been forced to adapt
various strategies, among them being the integration of corporate social responsibility (CSR) into
their business models. (Hartman ,2011), “Corporate social Responsibility in the food sector”
analyzed the importance of CSR in food sector, particularly the companies which have high
brand. CSR plays important role for these companies. But SME’s are less capable than large
companies in discharging their obligation towards society. Further, the research found that food
sector always tries to improve the controlling and discharging its services towards consumers.
Consumers also prefer those brands which give more preference to Corporate social
responsibility (CSR) activities and try to provide good products as well as services. (Borogonovi,
Veronica, 2011), CSR has different meaning for different companies. Some companies termed
CSR in the sense of social issues while other for environmental issues. But there are no such
guidelines for CSR so that the problem of areas of Corporate social responsibility(CSR) can be
sort out. In addition to this, the researcher discussed about various views and plans of
government and other authorized institution like union corporate minister like Mr. Murli Deora,
Companies act 1956, Companies bill 2008 and 2009, Dhaval Udani (CEO of non-governmental
organization), FICCI etc. All these institution and persons presented their ideas and bills about
CSR requirement. The paper also differentiates the term CSR from other one like Corporate
Philanthropy, CSV (creating Share Value) etc. CSR has defined in such a way that how the
businesses are conducting their activities in society marked at the place.

The concept of creating shared value was further developed by Porter and Kramer (2011) who
explained it as a necessary step in the evolution of business and defined it as: “policies and
operating practices that enhance the competitiveness of a company while simultaneously
advancing the economic and social conditions in the communities in which it operates. Shared
value creation focuses on identifying and expanding the connections between societal and
economic progress”

For Porter and Kramer (2011), the need for Creating Shared Value (CSV) is in part the result of
the conventional narrow-viewed business strategies which usually don’t take into account the
broad factors that influence their long term success. Notably, Porter and Kramer (2011) place
CSR into this category seeing it as an outdated and limited concept that has emerged as a way for
improving company’s reputation, and as a consequence, they claim that CSV should replace
CSR. Perhaps Porter and Kramer’s (2011) most relevant contribution comes from the claim that
“the purpose of the corporation must be redefined as creating shared value” (p. 2) and by
pointing out that the first step to do so is the identification of the societal needs as well as the
benefits or harms that the business embodies through its products. Accordingly, Porter and
Kramer (2011) established three ways for creating shared value: by preconceiving products and
markets, by redefining productivity in the value chain, and by creating supportive industry
clusters where the company operates.

Corporate Social Responsibility(CSR) target customers and try to attract customers and influence
their buying behavior by giving emotional content. The primary purpose is to assess how
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) contributes to customer value co-creation(LUU, T.)
Organizations have been facing stronger and stronger forces from the market, especially
customer forces such as the increasing fragmentation of consumer markets; rapidly changing
customer buying patterns and life styles; more sophisticated and demanding customers; and their
higher expectations in terms of customization, newness, quality, and price.So, organisations are
working on increasing customer’s trust through CSR which indirectly is affecting their sales.
Prior CSR research reported the bridge between CSR and customer outcomes such as customer
satisfaction, trust, identification, and loyalty (Martínez and del Bosque, 2013), but has not paid
adequate academic attention to the role of Corporate social responsibility(CSR) in activating
customer value co-creation.

Chandler (2016) presents a slightly modified definition which reflects his new perspective on the
generation of value: “The incorporation of a holistic CSR perspective within a firm’s strategic
planning and core operations so that the firm is managed in the interests of a broad set of
stakeholders to optimize value [emphasis added] over the medium to long term” (Chandler 2016,
p. 248).Perhaps Chandler and Werther’s (2006; 2010; 2013) most valuable contribution comes
from their particular perspective on the implementation of Strategic CSR, which in the fourth
edition of the book written by Chandler (2016) builds from the previous publications to
encompass five major components instead of the four proposed in previous editions: first, the
complete incorporation of the CSR perspective into the company’s strategic planning process
and their corporate culture; second, the understanding that all the company’s actions are directly
related to the core operations; third, the belief that companies seek to understand and be
responsive to their stakeholders’ needs, which means that the incorporation of a stakeholder
perspective is a strategic necessity; fourth, the company passes from a short term perspective to a
mid and long term planning and management process of the firm’s resources which is inclusive
of its key stakeholders, and; fifth (the new component), firms aim to optimize the value created
(Chandler 2016; Chandler and Werther 2013).

The new component of SCSR, the optimization of value, reinforces Chandler’s (2016) updated
perspective in which the maximization of profit, or tradeoffs, is no longer an acceptable
objective. Instead, companies should aim at optimizing value over the long term by focusing on
their areas of expertise and by doing so there would be a reorientation of efforts towards the
creation of shared value instead of profit maximization (Chandler 2016). To do so, an essential
aspect of SCSR is the integration of the five components into a corporate framework that sets the
parameters for the decision making process as well as their integration into the corporate culture
with clear guiding values (Chandler 2016). This reflects Chandler’s (2016) belief that SCSR
should be part of the day-to-day operations in order for it to be successful, a notion constantly
highlighted by him through his articles and books. Then, the explicit call for the full immersion
of SCSR into a company’s corporate culture, decision making process, and day-to-day operations
is yet another relevant contribution from Chandler and Werther’s work (Chandler 2016;
Chandler and Werther 2013).

For Chaffee (2017), the origins of the social component in corporate behavior can be traced back
to the ancient Roman Laws and can be seen in entities such as asylums, homes for the poor and
old, hospitals and orphanages. This notion of corporations as social enterprises was carried on
with the English Law during the Middle Ages in academic, municipal and religious institutions.
Later, it expanded into the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries with the influence of the English
Crown, which saw corporations as an instrument for social development (Chaffee 2017).

The outcome of CSR activities results beyond financial aspects. Corporate social responsibility
(CSR) expands the notion of work to go beyond a task, job, intraindividual, intraorganizational,
and profit perspective and provides an ideal conduit for individuals to seek and find
meaningfulness through work(AGUINIS & GLAVAS,2017). It depends upon particular
individual how they contribute towards goal. CSR wants an individual should think to go
outside of one’s particular job and organization, and beyond an exclusive profit-focused
perspective, it is an ideal conduit for individuals to make sense of and find meaningfulness
through work.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research is creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge, which
includes knowledge of humans, culture and society, and the use of this stock of knowledge to
devise new applications. It is used to confirm facts, reaffirm the results of previous work and
solve new or existing problems.

Research design: The purpose of this study is to gain an insight about whether Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) activities translates into sales: perspective of Jalandhar based customers
using questionnaire on sample size equal to 105 customers based in the District of
Jalandhar,Punjab,India.

Objectives of the study:

 To understand the meaning of Corporate Social Responsibility(CSR),

 To understand how Social Responsibility initiatives can be related to Industrial practices
and
 To understand that Corporate Social Responsibility(CSR) initiatives affect businesses

Hypotheses- It is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon. For a hypothesis to be a scientific

hypothesis, the scientific method requires that one can test it. Scientists generally base scientific
hypotheses on previous observations that cannot satisfactorily be explained with the available
scientific theories. Even though the words "hypothesis" and "theory" are often used
synonymously, a scientific hypothesis is not the same as a scientific theory. A working
hypothesis is a provisionally accepted hypothesis proposed for further research, in a process
beginning with an educated guess or thought.

Null hypothesis is taken as H0 and Alternate Hypothesis is taken as H1

H0: Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities does not translates into sales

H1: Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities translates into sales

Research method: For the purpose of this research, we decided to used questionnaire as tool of
research. The questionnaires will be distributed among local citizens of Jalandhar district in form
of goggle forms related to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) .The sample size is 105 for this
study. This sample represents the whole population.

 Tool of Research: Questionnairee- Questionnaire is chosen for this research because

they are a reliable and quick method to collect information from multiple respondents in
an efficient and timely manner.

Data Collection: The data is both primary data as well as secondary data. Primary data –that has
been collected from first-hand-experience and has not been published yet and is more reliable,
authentic and objective. The primary data method of my research is questionnaire. Secondary
data- is collected from books, journals, research papers, internet, web-logs and general websites.

Methods of Data Analysis:

The analysis of the questionnaire results were presented in the format of tables and charts using
Excel and Likert scale. The results of the interviews were also analyzed manually, where we
aimed to detect common words, phrases, and group or “cloud” them together, in order to be able
to determine trends and tendencies in the answers of the respondents.

A Likert scale is a psychometric scale commonly involved in research that employs

questionnaires. It is the most widely used approach to scaling responses in survey research, such
that the term (or more accurately the Likert-type scale) is often used interchangeably with rating
scale, although there are other types of rating scales.

Limitations of the Study:

1. There was restriction by time and cost, which determined the choice of more efficient method,
such as the questionnaire, instead of the more time consuming focus groups or participant
observation.

2. May be, because of the small sample, the data collected and the findings made cannot be
extrapolated on a broader scale. So, in other words, the generalization of the results may have
some questionable concerns.

3. Due to limited knowledge and lack of previous experience in research field, some of the
obstacles faced may reflect its repercussions on inferences.

4. Different variables have been determined not on the basis of empirical evidence, but on the
basis of the analytical and judgmental skills of the researcher may also effect inferences.

Scope for future research

As this study is constrained due to facts stated above, henceforth, there is wider scope left for
future research and more studies can be done to have holistic and more advanced views of
corporate social responsibility initiatives resorted to by the corporate for various reasons,
whatsoever.

4.1 METHODS & TECHNIQUE OF DATA ANALYSIS

Data Analysis Concept

It is a practice in which raw data is ordered and organized so that useful information can be
extracted from it. The process of organizing and thinking about data is key to understanding what
the data does contain. There are varieties of ways in which people can approach data analysis
and it is notoriously easy to manipulate data during the analysis phase to push certain
conclusions or agenda. For this reason, it is important to pay attention when data analysis is
presented and to think critically about the data and the conclusion which were drawn.

Raw data can be taken a variety of forms including measurement, survey responses &
observation. In its raw form, this information can be incredibly useful but overwhelming. Over
the course of the data analysis process, the raw data is ordered in a way which is useful. For
example, survey results can be tailed, so that people can see at a glance how many people
answered the survey and how people responded to specific questions.

In this course of organizing the data, trends often emerge, modeling the data with the use of the
mathematics and others tools can sometimes exaggerate such points of interest in the data which
is making them easier for the researcher to see. The charts, graphs and textual write-ups of the
data are all forms of data analysis. These methods are designed to refine and distill the data so
that reader can glean interesting information without needing to sort through all of the data on
their own.

4.2 Tools for Analysis

As no study could be successfully completed without proper tools and techniques, same with my
project. For the better presentation and right explanation, I used tools of statistics and computer
very frequently. And I am very thankful to all those tools for helping me a lot. Basic tools which
I used for project from statistics are as below:

 Bar Charts
 Pie Charts
 Tables

Bar charts are really useful tools for every research to show the result in a well, clear, ease &
simple way because I used bar charts in project for showing data in a systematic way, so it need
not necessary for any observer to read all the theoretical detail, simple on seeing the charts
anybody could know that what is being said.

4.3 Technological Tools

 Microsoft Excel
 Microsoft Word

Above application software of Microsoft helped me a lot in making project more interactive and
productive and hope for same for reader as well.

4.4 Detailed Analysis and Interpretation

The online survey was conducted using google docs. On the basis of the survey the various data
is obtained regarding Corporate Social Responsibility which is detailed described below.

4.5 Direct Responses

This graph shows that age group that have responded to our project. Mostly 20-24 is the group that have
shown interest towards Corporate Social Responsibilty (CSR)

The graph shows that 81.9% people are somewhat aware about Corporate social responsibility(CSR)
compared to 14.3% who are not while remaining 3.8% are still confused which is somehow a good sign
that people know the current happenings of the industry.
How clear to you is the true meaning of CSR?

Very clear 32

Somewhat clear 50

Not clear 23

total 105

The graph shows that only 28.6% of people knows about what actually CSR is all about while 22.9%
people are not clear about CSR .Maximum people in the sample are somewhat clear about the true
meaning of CSR. So, however there is a need of making people clear the meaning of social responsibility.

Do you think there is a relationship between profitability and CSR?

Yes 12

No 6
Can’t say 8

Total 3

This graph shows that 50% of people believe that somewhere Profitability or sales depends on CSR
activities that are done by industry or businesses while 50% doesn’t agree that there is a relationship and
how it helps in business to earn more profit. So, may be they think both are two independent factors and
does not dependent on each other.

This question actually examines that the individuals will buy the product seeing the price or the socially
responsible reputation. 55% of the population agree that they will prefer to buy products from the
company who do CSR activities or have a reputation in the market while 14% of population will not
prefer to buy and the rest 30% are not clear whether to buy or not i.e. they are confused.

This graph
shows that almost 70% of population are concerned about environment protection which means they care
actually about their surroundings. While 30% don’t even bother about their environment protection.
The graph shows that 43.8% of population sample thinks that CSR incentives impact in evaluation of
corporation or business while the rest doesn’t agree or gives no credit to CSR incentive. 36.2% can’t say
about the factors impacting evaluation of corporation.

CSR activity is a good way to increase the popularity, so as to attract new customers and increase
the sales of company

Strongly agree 19

agree 62

disagree 20
Strongly disagree 3

total 0

This shows that more than 73% of population are agrees that CSR is a good way to increase the
popularity of the product and so to attract customers while the rest 27% of people thinks that it not helpful
for the business to attract customers.

Look back to your shopping experience what are the factors that you will take into consideration in
order to judge

price 19

Brand image 62

advertisement 20

Product experience 3

total 0

The chart shows that more than 35% of population buy products by seeing the image of the brand while
24% of population sees the product experience they use it and then decides weather it is good or not and
the rest sees advertisements and price while buying an product.
 1 2 3 5 6 7 Total

Com Mostl Some 4 Somewh Mostl Compl

pletel y what at y etely
y Satisf Satisfi Undecide Dissatisfi Dissat Dissati
Satisf ied ed d ed isfied sfied
ied

Increase in profit 12 35 32 8 5 7 6 105;

75%:17%

Image building 12 15 39 25 7 6 1 105;62%;1

3%

Vision and 8 20 30 24 13 8 2 105:55%:2

philosophy of 1%
company

Rising international 13 22 26 27 10 5 2 105:58%:2

standards 3%

Increasing 12 23 24 20 14 7 4 105:56%:2
awarness 3%

Community 8 24 34 18 10 4 7 105:62%:2
pressure 3%

Legal compliances 8 21 32 21 8 8 7 105:58%:2

1%
FINDINGS:

SEEING THE LEANING OF DATA IN CAMPARION : WHEN LIKERT SCALE IS DIVIDED INTO TWO ZONES I.E ABOVE
AVERAGE CALLED SATISFACTION ZONE AND BELOW AVERAGE CALLED DISSATISFCATION ZONE,

IT IS FOUND THAT THE TENDENCY OF THE DATA IS TOWARDS CORPORATE SOCIAL INITATIVES ARE DEFINITELY
FAVOURED FOR THE OUTCOMES LIKE PROFITABILITY, MANDATORY LEGAL COMPLIANCES RESORTING TO SELF
CONSCIENTIOUS ETHCS ETC.

Finally the hypothesis H1 is satisfied and HO NULL HYPOTHESIS IS REJECTED.

The graph shows that most of the population is thinks that thinks that CSR do helps in increasing profits,
image building, vision and philosophy of company, leagal compliances because mor70 people rated them
on 2nd and 3rd rating out of 7the rest which are remained on that people are neutral but over 2nd 3rd rating
came to those also.

FINDINGS
CONSLUSION
Corporate is made on the corpus of many and the broader contemplations and cherishments are
to get voluminous funds for large scale economies and other objectives in mind like risk
diversification due to the concept of separate legal entity with limited liability. It is important for
a company to satisfy all stakeholders, whosoever and whatsoever. The varied stakeholders has
got in it the important stake of corporate being responsible to society and environment.

Corporate live on natural resources and it would be a great injustice if it is ignored by the
concerned(corporate).The businesses has reached a stage where the role of ethics and being
ethical is more important than ever before. Profit maximisation should not be the sole criteria and
it should extend to a level where wealth maximisation with holistic care of all stakeholders
should be mantra for every business. Similarly ethics pursued by a company in term of
shouldering social responsibility definitely helps business in long race runs.

Therefore, the voluntary acceptance to Corporate Social Responsibility initatives are appreciable
and this study has proved that the society is enlightened to regard self conscientious initatives of
ethical corporations!
RECOMMENDATIONS
This study indicates CSR is now considered as an investment not as expenditure therefore
companies should invest in performing CSR because if firms do so they will get more financial
benefits than what invested in CSR

In addition, companies should not only invest on CSR but also disclose its spending on CSR to
all stakeholders that how, where and what amount they have invested in CSR. Companies invest
a lot of money on advertisement to create a good image in the mind of customers but if they also
invest a little portion of this amount on CSR can also build good image.

Companies who are not doing CSR also need to start CSR as it is affecting people behavior and
they give them higher priority. A regular monitoring of a company CSR activities and the
impact on its sales should be seen .It cannot be measured in quantitative terms but can be
executed in qualitative terms.

Every company (especially MNCs) needs to emphasize on CSR activities to strengthen their
market position, improve goodwill and thereby profitability and last but not the least to give back
something positive to the society.

Corporate social responsibility manages reputation by creating good image in the mind of
customers, suppliers etc. Stakeholders like customers will think that when a company is fulfilling
its social responsibility then how it is possible that it will do anything bad for them, so their trust
QUESTIONNAIRE
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Charts