UNIVERSITY OF ZIMBABWE

TITLE:

Leveraging technology framework to enhance the financial performance of public entities

PROGRAMME:

A Dissertation Proposal Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Master’s

Degree in Business Administration (MBA)

By

CHIKOPISI SHINGIRAI

REG. NUMBER

R069727H

SUPERVISOR

Prof G KABANDA

SUBMISSION DATE:

21 August 2023
1.1. Introduction

The

1.2. Study Background

The concept

d that enterprises who engaged in voluntary disclosures of their corporate social

responsibility expenditures had superior earning management.

Extant research has shown that due the high potential to cause environmental degradation, the
beverages industry has embraced the notion of reverse logistics to show its commitment
towards corporate social responsibility. In Zimbabwe, the beverage sector is dominated by a
few major and numerous small businesses that compete for market share. Delta drinks,
ProBrands, Schweppes, and Dairiboard are all market leaders in the beverage business. Beer,
carbonated drinks, fruit drinks, milk products, and maheu are among the packaged beverages
produced by the beverages sector. The majority of these beverages are sold in single-use
plastic containers that cannot be recycled or reused. The packaging employed by the beverage
sector also has a high potential for polluting landfills.

Zimbabwe’s beverage sector has created a strong reverse logistics system to lessen the
environmental impact of their end-of-life products. Delta Beverages attempts to promote the
reuse and recycling of its packaging by ensuring that they employ retainable bottles. From
Delta Corporation’s standpoint, the usage of glass bottles is a strategic method to boosting
reverse logistics and decreasing pollution.

Despite these efforts by the beverage industry to engage in reverse logistics with the view to
perpetuate the sustainability of their operations. The problem of waste management remains
topical and threatens to derail the corporate social responsibility efforts of the beverages
industry. The dictates of corporate social responsibility emphasize that an organization has a
duty to produce its products in a sustainable manner that does not affect the natural balance of
the ecological environment (Kotler and Keller, 2012). The end products in the beverage
industry supply chain are the ones that contribute to environmental wastes which forms the
basis of reverse logistics (Muhammad et al., 2020).

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The toxicity associated with the consumption of alcoholic beverages have also raised
concerns with respect to responsible marketing and advertising of alcoholic beverages as it
puts the health and safety of the public at stake. At the behest of the measures to contain the
spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, the alcoholic beverages sector was hardly hit by the forced
closure of bottle stores and other upstream supply chain partners. Concerns have also been
raised with respect to the road safety issues associated with the consumption of alcoholic
beverages. The beverages industry has a duty of care to sensitise the community on the
consumption of habit forming goods that negatively affects social welfare and impairs
decision making.

1.3. Problem Statement

Given that the beverages industry is involved in the production of both alcoholic and non-
alcoholic beverages that have a significant appeal to larger cross segment of the market.
Concerns have been raised on the contributing of the beverages industry towards an increase
in lifestyle diseases such as high blood pressure, some cancers, depression and diabetes
mellitus have ignited debate promoting health and wellness of the community at large (Al-
saidi and Hussein, 2021). Community health threats brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic
have heightened calls for the beverages industry to make a significant contribution towards
corporate social responsibility initiatives since they are grounded in the community (Fukuda
and Ouchida, 2020).

1.4. Research Aim

The research is aimed at developing a corporate social responsibility framework to enhance

the brand dominance in the beverages industry

1.5. Research Objectives

The research is aimed at realising the following objectives:

i. To determine the effectiveness of environmental responsibility on brand dominance.
ii. To determine the influence of ethical responsibility on a brand dominance
iii. To evaluate the effect of philanthropic responsibility on brand dominance
iv. To determine the effect of economic responsibility on brand dominance.

1.6. Research Hypothesis

The study will be premised on the following hypothesis:

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H1: Environmental responsibility has a statistically significant effect on brand dominance.
H2: Ethical responsibility has a statistically significant effect on brand dominance.
H3: Philanthropic responsibility has a statistically significant effect on brand dominance
H4: Economic responsibility has a statistically significant effect on brand dominance.

1.7. Main Research Question

What role does the development of a corporate social responsibility model have on brand
dominance in the beverages industry?

1.7.1. Research Questions

The research will be premised on the following research questions:

 What is the effectiveness of environmental responsibility on brand dominance?
 What is the influence of ethical responsibility on a brand dominance?
 How does philanthropic responsibility influence brand dominance?
 What effect does economic responsibility have on brand dominance?

1.8. Delimitations of the study

The scope of the study will be premised on aspects that include geography, research
participants, data and time delimitations.

1.8.1. Geographical Delimitations

With respect to geography, the current research is concentrated on the companies operating
within the beverage manufacturing industry that are located in Harare. The justification being
that Harare is the capital city of Zimbabwe which is the highest concentration of companies
and also forms the central nodes for distribution of finished products down the supply chain.

1.8.2. Research Participants Scope

There are many companies that participate in the beverage sector that include Delta
beverages, Varun beverages, Dairiboard Holdings, ProBrands, Tanganda Tea and many other
companies that are actively into the beverages sector. Noting the diverse nature of the
companies that ought to be included in the sampling frame, the research will be focused on

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those companies that have a national appeal and are listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange
and are also into beverages manufacturing.

Using this criterion, this research will select Delta beverages to represent the entire beverages
industry in Zimbabwe based on their listing on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange. This selection
criterion will be based on the nationwide appeal of the distribution function of these two
companies that have distribution depots across all the 10 provinces in the country. Delta
beverages has a well coordinated distribution function hence it is imperative to focus on the
corporate social responsibility impact that the company has on brand dominance

1.9. Significance of the study

The significance of conducting the current study will premised on the contributions that the
current status to make to the body of knowledge from the perspective of theory, practice and
methodology.

1.9.1. Research Contributions to Theory

This research is premised on a single institution with an integrated value chain model that
gives a greater scope for the assessment of corporate social responsibility activities. The
research is premised on the corporate social responsibility model that incorporate four
constructs that include environmental responsibility, philanthropic responsibility, ethical
responsibility and economic responsibility, the study will focus on how these four constructs
can be incorporated in developing an integrated corporate social responsibility framework
that can be applied to enhance brand dominance in the beverages industry. The research will
make contributions to the body of knowledge with respect to the concept of brand dominance
by making reference constructs of the Keller (2003) brand equity model that include brand
loyalty, brand associations, brand awareness and perceived quality.

1.9.2. Methodological Contributions

This research looks forward to apply a quantitative approach in quantifying in measuring the
influence of the corporate social responsibility activities on the enhancement of brand
dominance in the beverages industry. A quantitative research approach will enable the study
to generate verifiable and generalizable findings that can be related to other environmental
contexts. The quantitative research approach will culminate in the application of a multiple
regression analysis which enables the determination of the cause of relationship that exists
between predictor and dependent variables.

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1.9.3. Practical Contributions

This research will result in the development of an integrated corporate social responsibility
framework that is capable of absorbing the demand shocks and supply chain constraints that
were caused by the Covid-19 pandemic Results from this study will add to the existing body
of knowledge on the role of environmental, philanthropic, ethical and economic
responsibility on the brand dominance in the beverages industry.

1.10. Brief Literature Review

The review of literature will be defined from the perspective of the theoretical framework, the
conceptual framework as well as the empirical framework. The beverages industry is
vertically and horizontally integrated. The research objectives provides a foundation upon
which literature will be reviewed with respect to the dissected elements of both the corporate
social responsibility and brand dominance. To this end, the research for critically review
extant literature that converge and diverge with respect to the relationships that are shown
from the conceptual framework of the study. An empirical framework will provide an outline
of practical studies that have been done focusing on the relationship between corporate social
responsibility and brand dominance under different research contexts with the view to
identify research gaps between the current study and empirical research.

1.10.1. Theoretical Framework

The concept of corporate social responsibility will be reviewed within the context of the
brand dominance concept as interpreted from the works of Keller (2003) on brand dominance
and brand equity as depicted in Figure 1.1.

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 Figure 1.1: The Brand Dominance Theoretical framework
Source: Adapted from the works of Keller (2003)
1.10.2. Conceptual Framework

A conceptual framework depicts a working research model designed in line with the dictates
of the research topic and its objectives. The corporate social responsibility and brand
dominance conceptual framework is illustrated below

Figure 1.2: The CSR and Brand Dominance Conceptual framework

Source: Adapted from the works of Keller (2003)

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The conceptual framework demonstrates the relationship between the predictor variables
(environmental responsibility, philanthropic responsibility, ethical responsibility and
economic responsibility) of corporate social responsibility and the dependent variable (brand
dominance) that is measured through brand equity elements of brand awareness, brand
association, brand engagement and perceived quality. The hypothesised relationship between
predictor and dependent research variables is represented by H1 to H4.

1.11. Research Methodology

This section provides an orientation into the way in which data will be collected, measured
and analysed to come up with convincing answers that can be relied upon to resolve the
objectives of the study. Research methodology is a systematic way of gathering data to solve
the objectives of the study. This section will primarily focus on the research philosophy, the
research strategy and approach, research population in sampling strategy, research
instruments, data collection and analysis procedures as well as reliability, validity and ethical
considerations that are necessary in setting up a platform upon which the process of data
collection and analysis is conducted.

1.11.1. Research Philosophy

A research philosophy is a way of thinking that shapes the way in which data is collected and
analysed. This research will subscribe to a positivist research philosophy that is premised on
objective verification of facts. A positivist research philosophy looks at applying quantitative
research techniques to gather data that can be verified and generalized to a larger population.
In line with the details of a positivist research philosophy, this study will subscribe to a
deductive research approach that entails the application of quantitative techniques in the
development of a theory that can be relied upon for the purposes of testing the hypothesis
between the CSR an brand dominance in Beverages industry in Zimbabwe.

Moreover, a survey research strategy will be applied to select a representative sample from
companies that are engaged in the beverages industry to represent the entire industry. The use
of a survey strategy is associated with the application of quantitative techniques in the data
collection process that does not directly involve the researcher through the dissemination of
electronic questionnaires.

1.11.2. Research Design

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A research design outline the procedures that are followed in the process of gathering data
that can be dependent upon to resolve objectives of a study. There are several research
designs that can be applied in academic research that includes descriptive research design,
explanatory research design, exploratory research design and hypothesis testing research
design (Sekaran and Bougie, 2013). This research will be based on a causal or hypothesis
testing research design given its quantitative nature, the research intends to test the magnitude
of statistical significance between corporate social responsibility and brand dominance within
the beverages industry in Zimbabwe. A causal research design will result in the collection of
quantifiable data that will make it possible to execute statistical analysis and statistical
inference using a sample of respondents.

1.11.3. Unit of Analysis

A research population is the totality of all elements that make up the universe upon which
research findings of this study will be generalized (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, 2015)+ It
is a set of objects that the researcher wants to study. For the purpose of this study
commentary research population is made up of all companies in the beverages industry in
Zimbabwe.

1.12. Research Method.

The research seeks to apply a quantitative research methods based on the advantages it brings
about with respect to objectivity, generalizability, reliability and the ability to generate valid
research findings from a sample of respondents. The use of a quantitative research design will
leverage the use of empirical research approach that to assist in the collection, measurement
and analysis of data through the application of statistical methods that can be verified by
independent researchers. The study will make use of a causal research design that will enable
the application of statistical techniques in data analysis through the use of descriptive and
inferential statistics.

Sampling is a logical process of selecting representative elements from the population that
have similar characteristics is there are represented in the population. There are two main
approaches to sampling that includes probability sampling and non probability sampling
methods. The current study will adopt a probability sampling approach which will give an
equal opportunity for all companies in the beverages industry in Zimbabwe to participate in
the study.

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The research will use quantitative techniques to determine an ideal sample size based on the
confidence interval, confidence level, the sampling proportion and the level+/ of accuracy of
the results. Respondents to the study will be comprised of depot and distribution managers
from Delta Beverages. A structured questionnaire will be used as a sole instrument for
gathering data from research participants. The questionnaire will be designed such that it
contains closed-ended questions for ease of data analysis. The design of the questionnaire
will incorporate a 5 point Likert scale of measurement which gives options for the search
participants to answer questions. Questions contained on the questionnaire will be guided by
the research objectives. A key distinguishing factor of the questionnaire is that it will be
designed through the Google forms platform hence it will be distributed electronically.

1.12.1. Data Analysis Strategies

The research will use a combination of descriptive and inferential statistics to analyse
quantitative data collected through a structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics will
comprise measures of central tendency, measures of dispersion and ratios. Inferential
statistics will be operationalized through the use of a multiple regression analysis model that
will capture all the elements of the predictor and independent search variables is depicted in
the conceptual framework of the study.

1.13. Research Outcomes

The study is outcome based and it falls in line with the dictates of Education 5.0 which
proposes the development of innovative ideas through research and industrialization. The
ultimate result of undertaking the study is the development of a regression research model
that can be used as a template by firms in the beverages sector in Zimbabwe that are
interested in capturing brand value through the application of corporate social responsibility.

1.14. Research Ethics

Research ethics explains what is beneficial for people and society which governs thinking,
decision-making and actions. Ethics is a system of moral principles. Silverman (2010) states
that ethics is how we should spend our lives and comport with others. The researcher shall
ensure that subjects have informed permission. Flick (2014), speaks about informed consent
to engage in a research study after being informed honestly of its methods, risk and
advantages. In order to ensure that the researchers are informed of the goal of the study and
the dangers facing them in participation.

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 Participants also have the right to decide whether or not they choose to participate in the
study at any moment. Non-maleficence is the principle that actions or practices are right
insofar as they avoid producing bad consequences (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, 2015). In
any research participants shall be protected from physical, social, emotional and spiritual
harm or from potential harm of any nature”. The research shall avoid at all cost to ask private
and sensitive questions to participants. In this study, all participants' confidentiality is taken
into account by ensuring that they stay anonymous. In order to protect their information.

According to Sekaran and Bougie (2013) ann activity of permitting a particular act, consent
or authorisation of a person formally." The researcher will seek permission to collect data by
the targeted firms in possession of a letters of consent for the gathering of field data certifying
that the student is studying at the University of Zimbabwe. Truthfulness is the extent to which
the data, the interpretation and the procedures employed to ensure the quality of the study are
confident. For studying to be deemed worthy of attention by readers, the researchers need to
identify a number of methods. Creditability, transferability, conformity and reliability are
fundamental characteristics of truthfulness.

1.15. Action plan

The study will be undertaken in line with the following action plan:

Activity April May June July Aug Sept

Research Proposal Approved
Research proposal
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5

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Research proposal

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