The Impact of CSR on Marketing for Profitability and Financial Sustainability: A Case Study on Sainsbury

This study examines the impact of CSR activities on marketing within Sainsbury to promote profitability and financial sustainability. It includes a case study on Sainsbury's CSR activities and their impact on functional areas. The study aims to explore various CSR activities adopted by Sainsbury, discuss their impact on marketing, determine factors driving profitability and financial sustainability, and recommend CSR activities to enhance profitability and financial sustainability.

THE IMPACT OF CSR ON MARKETING WITHIN AN
ORGANISATION TO PROMOTE PROFITABILITY AND
FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY: A CASE STUDY BASED ON
SAINSBURY
Student’s Name:
Student’s ID:
Professor’s Name:
1

Abstract
The researcher has tried to explore the impact of CSR activities on the functional areas of an
organisation for promoting profitability as well as financial sustainability within the organisation.
In order to conduct the study, the researcher has developed several objectives of the research,
which are to be achieved by conducting this research. In this study, the researcher has established
a management plan along with a timeframe. The researcher has described the various methods
used for collecting the primary as well as secondary data. In order to conduct the research in an
effective manner, the researcher has developed an open-ended as well as a close-ended
questionnaire for conducting survey and interview respectively. At the end of the research, the
researcher has provided with various recommendations for improving the CSR activities and
provided with an evaluation of the project.
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Table of Content
Introduction......................................................................................................................................4
Company overview..........................................................................................................................4
Task 1: Research aim as well as objectives.....................................................................................5
Task 2: Establishing management plan...........................................................................................5
Task 3: Establishing timeframes......................................................................................................5
Task 4: Implementation of the research project..............................................................................6
Data source and collection methods................................................................................................6
Data analysis methods.....................................................................................................................7
Data collection tools........................................................................................................................7
Task 5: Presenting and analysis of the data.....................................................................................7
Task 6: Presenting and evaluating outcomes of the project..........................................................19
Task 7: Evaluation and reflection on research process..................................................................19
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................20
Bibliography..................................................................................................................................21
Appendices....................................................................................................................................23
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Introduction
CSR refers to corporate self-regulation that has been regulated within a business model. The
CSR policies as self-regulatory mechanisms and the organisation monitor as well as ensure that
the organisational activities comply with the law and ethical standards. CSR plays a great role in
bringing profit to the organisational activities. Thus, nowadays, most organisations choose CSR
for gaining more profit. It is believed by the managers of the organisations CSR policies has the
ability to promote respect for the organisation within the workplace, resulting in higher sales,
enhancement of the employee loyalty as well as attract better employees to the organisations.
The CSR activities that focus on sustainability issues have the capability to lower the cost of
production as well improve efficiency. Aggressive CSR activities might lead to the listing of the
company in FTSE4Good, which would further enhance the stock price and market share of the
organisation. Adopting CSR activities within the functional area of the organisation helps in
promoting the profitability of the organisation.
In this study, the researcher would try to explore the impact of CSR activities on various
functional areas of an organisation for promoting profitability as well as financial sustainability.
In order to conduct the study in a better manner, the researcher would choose Sainsbury as the
organisation. The researcher would develop a management plan along with a timeframe for
completing the research. Moreover, the type of data and the method of collecting the data would
be described in this study. An analysis of the data collected would be provided in the study along
with relevant recommendations that would help in improving CSR activities that would promote
profitability as well as financial profitability.
Company overview
Sainsbury's is considered as the second largest chain of supermarkets in the UK, which has been
found in 1869. The organisation has been headquartered in London, UK and possesses a market
share of 16.9% within the supermarket share. The organisation is a public retail organisation that
deals with grocery items. Tesco is the top position in this industry and Asda at the third position
with a total revenue income of approximately £23.775 billion and has 161,100 employees in the
stores worldwide (Sainsburys.co.uk, 2017). The Sainsbury plc has further been divided into three
parts, Sainsbury's Supermarket chain, Sainsbury's Argos and Sainsbury's Argos.
4

Task 1: Research aim as well as objectives
Aim:
The main aim of the research is to explore the impact of various CSR activities on functional
areas such as marketing or sales within the organisation for promoting profitability as well as
financial sustainability.
Objectives:
 To explore various CSR activities adopted by Sainsbury
 To discuss the impact of CSR activities on functional areas of Sainsbury to promote
financial sustainability and profitability
 To determine the factors that drive profitability as well as financial sustainability
 To recommend various CSR activities that would enhance profitability as well as
financial sustainability
Task 2: Establishing management plan
Activities Effectiveness
Scope of the
project
Scope of the project is to determine the impact of CSR activities on the
functional areas to promote profitability as well as financial sustainability
Risk
management
Risk management helps in determining the effectiveness of the approach of
organisation
Cost control Cost control helps in reducing the expenses for achieving increased profit
Quality control Quality control helps in determining the quality of the products and improve
the areas that need improvement
Task 3: Establishing timeframes
Major Activities 1st
week
3rd
week
6th
week
7th
week
8th
week
10th
week
Topic Selection
5

Literature Review
Developing Methodology of the
research
Collection of primary data (Survey)
Analysis of data
Findings
Conclusion and Recommendation
Final submission
Figure: Gantt chart
Task 4: Implementation of the research project
Data source and collection methods
Data are of two categories, primary and secondary data. Primary data could be gathered by
conducting surveys and interviews. Survey questionnaires have been developed for the
customers that would contain close-ended multiple-choice questions (Wright et al. 2016,
p.2232). The open-ended questionnaire has been developed for conducting the interview with the
managers of Sainsbury. Secondary data could be gathered from various books, journals, articles,
online sites, etc.
In this study, the researcher has collected both secondary data as well as primary data.
6

Data analysis methods
Data analysis methods are of two types, quantitative and qualitative data analysis methods. In
this study, the researcher has chosen both qualitative as well as quantitative data analysis
methods. Quantitative data analysis methods deal with numerical data that could be gathered
through conducting surveys (Palinkas et al. 2015, p.540). Surveys have been conducted on 50
customers of Sainsbury's, which provides numerical data that would be analysed with the help of
tables and graphs. On the other hand, qualitative data collection method deals with descriptive
data. Interviews have been conducted on 2 managers of Sainsbury, which provides descriptive
data. This information is known as qualitative data as the opinions of the managers could not be
measured or analysed.
Data collection tools
In order to conduct this research, the researcher has created a survey and interview questionnaire
for collecting the primary data with the help of Survey monkey, Google forms, and some of his
own knowledge. In order to collect secondary data, the researcher has evaluated 2 to 3 case
studies critically that are related to the specified questions mentioned in this research. The
researcher has collected data from previous journals, books, articles, etc.
Task 5: Presenting and analysis of the data
Quantitative analysis
Survey Questionnaire:
1. How often do you visit Sainsbury?
Options Number of responses Total number of responses Response %
Very rarely 4 50 8%
Rarely 3 50 6%
Occasionally 8 50 16%
Frequently 20 50 40%
Very frequently 15 50 30%
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Figure 1: Graph representing the number of visits
Analysis:
From the graph, it could be concluded that most customers visit the stores of Sainsbury
frequently, which means the products and services provided by the organisation are good. Thus
most of the customers are attracted to its products and as a result customer loyalty increases.
Only a very few customers visit the store rarely and do not like the products much. Therefore, it
could be said that the organisation needs to develop strategies to attract more and customers to
the stores.
2. Does Sainsbury follow ethical behaviour?
Options Number of responses Total number of responses Response %
Yes 35 50 70%
No 15 50 30%
8

Figure 2: Graph representing the following of ethical behaviour
Analysis:
From the above graph, it has been observed that according to most of the customers, Sainsbury
follows ethical behaviour in their organisational activities. On the other hand, few of the
customers believe that Sainsbury has not been following the ethical behaviour in its
organisational activities. Therefore, it could be said that the organisation needs to develop
possible strategies that would ensure that the organisation has been following ethical behaviour.
3. What are the CSR activities adopted by Sainsbury?
Options Number of
responses
Total number of
responses
Response
%
Maintains emission of harmful
gases
15 50 30%
Recruits employees from
backwards community
25 50 50%
Uses optimal amount of resources 10 50 20%
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Figure 3: Present CSR activities adopted by Sainsbury
Analysis:
From the above graph, it has been observed that according to most customers Sainsbury has
adopted the recruitment of employees belonging to the backward community as their CSR
activities. Another group of people shared their view that the organisation has been maintaining
and trying to reduce the emission of harmful gases during the production activities. This is
another CSR activity adopted by Sainsbury. Moreover, another range of customers has
considered as the optimal use of resources within the organisation in their production activities as
another effective CSR activity.
4. Have you been satisfied with the services provided by Sainsbury?
Options Number of responses Total number of responses Response %
Yes 40 50 80%
No 10 50 20%
10

Figure 4: Graph representing satisfaction rate of customers
Analysis:
From the graph, it could be observed that the satisfaction rate of customers regarding the quality
of products and services provided by Sainsbury is very high. Most customers are satisfied with
the products as well as services offered by Sainsbury. Only a few of the customer are not
satisfied with the services and products of the organisation. Therefore, it could be said that the
organisation needs to improve their product quality and develop other strategies to increase the
customer satisfaction rate.
5. Do you agree that Sainsbury should adopt globalising as its CSR activity?
Options Number of responses Total number of responses Response %
Strongly Agree 20 50 40%
Agree 15 50 30%
Neutral 9 50 18%
Disagree 4 50 8%
Strongly Disagree 2 50 4%
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Figure 5: Graph representing the opinion of customers on adopting globalisation
Analysis:
From the graph, it could be observed that most customers of Sainsbury's agree that the
organisation should adopt globalisation as one of its CSR activities. Some customers do not
agree with the fact that globalisation should be adopted by the organisation. Adopting
globalisation would help the organisation to increase its profitability as well as financial
sustainability. Through these activities, the organisation would be able to expand its business
worldwide and hence increase profitability.
6. Do you agree that CSR activities of Sainsbury have been promoting profitability as well
as financial sustainability?
Options Number of responses Total number of responses Response %
Strongly Agree 15 50 30%
Agree 25 50 50%
Neutral 10 50 20%
Disagree 6 50 12%
Strongly Disagree 4 50 8%
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Figure 6: Graph representing opinion of customers on CSR promoting profitability
Analysis:
From the graph, it could be observed that most customers agree that with the help of various
CSR activities, Sainsbury has been able to increase its profitability along with financial
sustainability. Only a few customers think that CSR activities have not been helping the
organisation to increase its profitability as well as financial sustainability. Therefore, the
organisation should develop and implement effective CST activities within the organisational
activities for increasing the profitability and financial sustainability.
7. Do agree that CSR activities are important for the organisation to promote profitability
and financial sustainability?
Options Number of responses Total number of responses Response %
Strongly Agree 15 50 30%
Agree 10 50 20%
Neutral 13 50 26%
Disagree 8 50 16%
Strongly Disagree 4 50 8%
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Figure 7: Graph showing the importance of CSR activities
Analysis:
From the graph, it could be observed that according to most customers there is a great
importance of the CSR activities in increasing profitability as well as financial sustainability.
Sainsbury should develop and implement effective CSR activities that would help the
organisation to increase their financial sustainability and profitability.
8. Do you think that Sainsbury is an eco-friendly organisation?
Options Number of responses Total number of responses Response %
Strongly Agree 14 50 28%
Agree 20 50 40%
Neutral 10 50 20%
Disagree 4 50 8%
Strongly Disagree 2 50 4%
14

Figure 8: Graph representing if Sainsbury is an eco-friendly organisation
Analysis:
From the graph, it could be observed that most customers believe that Sainsbury is an eco-
friendly organisation that carries out its functional activities keeping in mind the betterment of
the society. On the other hand, some of the customers think that the organisation is not an eco-
friendly organisation and has not been carrying out the organisational activities that would be for
the betterment of the community. Therefore, the organisation should develop their organisational
activities that could be carried out without affecting or harming the environment and community.
9. How is the brand image of Sainsbury?
Options Number of responses Total number of responses Response %
Poor 4 50 8%
Fair 9 50 18%
Satisfactory 10 50 20%
Good 15 50 30%
Excellent 12 50 24%
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Figure 9: Graph representing Brand image of Sainsbury
Analysis:
From the graph, it could be observed that most customers believe that Sainsbury has a very good
brand image in the market among the customers. Only a few of the customers said that the
organisation does not have a good brand image. Therefore, the organisation should develop
various strategies to enhance their brand image in the market, which would help the organisation
to deal with the competitive environment.
10. What CSR activities would you recommend that would improve the profitability and
effectiveness of Sainsbury?
Options Number of
responses
Total number of
responses
Response %
Globalisation 14 50 28%
Waste management 26 50 52%
Clear tax
complications
10 50 20%
16

Figure 10: Graph representing recommendations on CSR activities
Analysis:
From the above graph, it has been observed that the most of the recommended waste
management as a CSR activity that Sainsbury should implement in their organisational activities
that would reduce the pollution rate in the environment and help in recycling the wastes and
dump them in a proper place. According to another group of people, globalisation would be the
best CSR activity, which would help the organisation to increase their profitability. Some other
groups of people believe that clearing all the tax complications would be another CSR activity,
which would build trust among the customers and attract them towards the organisation.
Qualitative analysis
Interview questions:
1. What are the CSR activities carried out by your organisation?
Manager 1:
According to the manager 1, Sainsbury has been trying to reduce the emission of harmful gases
during its organisational activities. This CSR activity has helped the organisation to build trust
among the employees as they think that this strategy has been developed by the organisation for
the betterment of the society and community.
Manager 2:
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According to manager 2, the organisation has started recruiting employees belonging to the
backwards community. This CSR strategy has been implemented by the organisation to develop
and improve the financial condition of the backwards people.
Analysis:
From the above answers of the managers, it has been observed that Sainsbury has been currently
following two CSR activities. The organisation has been trying to reduce the emission of harmful
gases from the production activities and has been recruiting more and more employees belonging
to a backward community for developing their status.
2. Do you think CSR activities are important for increasing profitability and financial
sustainability?
Manager 1:
According to manager 1, CSR activities are very important for the organisation in its
organisational activities, as through this activities trust is being developed by the customers and
as a result, they get attracted towards the products of the organisation.
Manager 2:
According to manager 2, there is a great importance of the CSR activities within the
organisation, as through these activities the employees are able to contribute towards the
community and society. This creates happiness among the employees and they tend to work
better with more efficiency.
Analysis:
From the above responses of the managers, it has been observed that CSR activities have a great
importance within the functionality of an organisation. With the help of these activities, the
organisation is able to attract more and more customers towards the brand and provide
employees with happiness and motivation to work efficiently.
3. What are the future CSR strategies that you would take for promoting profitability and
financial sustainability?
Manager 1:
According to manager 1, they have been planning to implement globalisation as its CSR activity
for increasing the number of stores across the world and hence increase the profitability of the
organisation.
Manager 2:
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According to the manager 2, they would try to implement waste management as their CSR
activity. Through this activity, the organisation would be able to manage the wastes properly and
reduce the pollution due to non-disposal of wastes.
Analysis:
From the responses of two managers, it has been observed that Sainsbury would implement
globalisation and waste management strategy as their CSR activities. Through globalisation, the
organisation would be able to increase the number of stores and thus increase its profitability.
With the help of waste management, the organisation would be able to reduce the pollution.
Task 6: Presenting and evaluating outcomes of the project
Recommendations:
Engage in fair-trade: Active engagement within fair trade could be considered as an effective
way of being engaged within CSR. Fair-trade has been appreciated that would help producers to
expand the market and gain more benefits.
Achieving engagement of employees within CSR activities: The organisation should engage
the employees in decision-making processes as well as implementation processes related to the
CSR activities. Informing the employees about their CSR activities help in increasing the
satisfaction among the employees.
Rewarding and promoting voluntary CSR activities among employees: The organisation
should focus on rewarding and promoting voluntary CSR activities among the employees. This
would increase the effectiveness of the performance of the CSR activities within the
organisation.
Involve marketing department within CSR activities: The organisation should involve the
marketing team within the CSR activities as they are directly related to communicating and
satisfying the customers and would be able to increase the competency level.
Task 7: Evaluation and reflection on research process
I have carried out the project by first determining the objectives of the research and then
described the methods used for carrying out the research. I have conducted survey and interview
on customers and managers respectively for gathering primary data and secondary data has been
gathered from previous research papers, journals, books, articles, etc. The survey has been
conducted very well as it has provided me with accurate results. Moreover, while conducting the
survey I have faced a lot of problems. First was the financial problem that has restricted me from
19

conducting the research in a better manner. Secondly, after collecting the huge amount of data, I
have faced problem in analysing the data accurately, which caused a limitation for me to conduct
the research effectively. While conducting the interview with the managers, I have faced a
problem of lack of confidence within me, which caused a problem for me to interact with them.
But still, among all the difficulties, I have conducted the research effectively. I have used online
sites for conducting the survey and video call options for conducting the interview. This reduced
the problem of financial crisis. There is also a usefulness of conducting the research because,
with the help of this research, future researchers would gain knowledge about the usefulness of
CSR activities while conducting their research and how it helps in promoting profitability as well
as financial sustainability.
Conclusion
From the above research, it could be concluded that CSR has a great importance in the functional
area for promoting profitability as well as financial sustainability of the organisation. In the
research proposal, the researcher has outlined several objectives that have been fulfilled through
conducting a survey and methodology. For conducting the study, the researcher has established a
management plan along with a timeframe. The method in which the research would be
conducted has also been discussed in this study. Other than this, data analysis of the qualitative,
as well as quantitative data, have been done the research. At the end, several recommendations
have been provided to Sainsbury to improve their CSR activities.
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Appendices
Appendix 1:
Quantitative Questionnaire:
1. How often do you visit Sainsbury?
 Very rarely
 Rarely
 Occasionally
 Frequently
 Very frequently
2. Does Sainsbury follow ethical behaviour?
 Yes
 No
3. What are the CSR activities adopted by Sainsbury?
 Maintains emission of harmful gases
 Recruits employees from backward community
 Uses optimal amount of resources
4. Are you satisfied with the services provided by sainsbury?
 Yes
 No
5. Do you agree that Sainsbury should adopt globalising as its CSR activity?
 Strongly Agree
 Agree
 Neutral
 Disagree
 Strongly Disagree
6. Do you agree that CSR activities of Sainsbury have been promoting profitability as well
as financial sustainability?
 Strongly Agree
 Agree
23

 Neutral
 Disagree
 Strongly Disagree
7. Do agree that CSR activities are important for the organisation to promote profitability
and financial sustainability?
 Strongly Agree
 Agree
 Neutral
 Disagree
 Strongly Disagree
8. Do you think that Sainsbury is an eco-friendly organisation?
 Strongly Agree
 Agree
 Neutral
 Disagree
 Strongly Disagree
9. How is the brand image of Sainsbury?
 Poor
 Fair
 Satisfactory
 Good
 Excellent
10. What CSR activities would you recommend that would improve the profitability and
effectiveness of Sainsbury?
 Globalisation
 Waste management
 Clear tax complications
24

Appendix 2:
Qualitative questionnaire:
1. What are the CSR activities carried out by your organisation?
2. Do you think CSR activities are important for increasing profitability and financial
sustainability?
3. What are the future CSR strategies that you would take for promoting profitability and
financial sustainability?
25