Role of Corporate Social Responsibility in improving brand image

Individual Research
Project

Abstract
Corporate social responsibility can say to be one of the most important aspects for
organizations operating across different industries. This is because it can also have a significant
impact on the overall brand image as well as performance of a firm. There are different activities
that are undertaken by organizations in order to ensure that the overall success of the company.
This further helps in making sure that the goals as well as objectives are achieved. When
organizations show that they are socially conscious, they are able to attract a greater number of
customers and also ensure that company is able to focus on enhancing as well as innovating its
products as well as services to a great extent. Many organizations are now focused towards
practicing corporate social responsibility. And this is because the preferences of the customers
are shifting towards sustainable products as well as services. A researcher can use different
research approaches based on the requirement of the study to ensure that the study is completed
in an effective manner. The respective research report explained the different ways in which
environmental protection activities can have an impact on the overall brand image of an
organization as well as its profitability. Besides this the report has found out regarding the direct
linkage between brand image and environment protection practices used by the organization.

Contents
Abstract......................................................................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................................................4
Background of the research.....................................................................................................................4
Research Aim...........................................................................................................................................4
Research Objectives................................................................................................................................5
Research Questions.................................................................................................................................5
Rationale of the research........................................................................................................................5
Literature Review......................................................................................................................................6
What is the concept of corporate social responsibility in relation to retail sector of UK?.......................6
What are the different environmental protection measures adopted by retail organizations in the UK?
.................................................................................................................................................................8
What is the influence of environmental protection activities in improving organizational brand image
and customer loyalty?.............................................................................................................................9
Gaps in literature...................................................................................................................................10
Methods and Methodology......................................................................................................................11
Results/Findings.......................................................................................................................................14
Discussion.................................................................................................................................................29
Conclusion and Recommendations........................................................................................................32
REFERENCES........................................................................................................................................34
Appendix..................................................................................................................................................36
Frequency distribution table.................................................................................................................39

Title: Role of Corporate Social Responsibility in improving brand image.
INTRODUCTION
CSR or corporate social responsibility can be referred to as a management concept wherein
companies combine social and environmental concerns in their respective business operations as well as
interactions with their stakeholders. In other words, corporate social responsibility can be referred to as
the voluntary commitment of an organization to enhance its overall economic value, brand image as well
as social value (Kang, Slaten and Choi, 2021). It can be said that corporate social responsibility is
important for any business because it helps in attracting as well as retaining employees. Not only this,
companies or businesses that are socially responsible, are able to build a positive brand image in the
market. Besides this, it can also help in boosting the overall morale of the employees and thus, lead to a
greater productivity. Customers today look out for brands that are socially conscious and offer sustainable
products to the customers. Corporate social responsibility plays a vital role in improving the brand image
of a business by helping it in reducing costs, attract experienced as well as qualified talent etc. The
respective report will help in developing a basic understanding on the concept of corporate social
responsibility as well as provide information about different environmental protection measures adopted
by UK organizations.
Background of the research
The respective research is based on the role of corporate social responsibility in
improving the brand image of an organization. It will also ascertain the influence of environment
protection activities in developing organizational brand image among customers of the
organisation. The research will help the readers in developing an understanding about the
concept of corporate social responsibility, the information on different environmental protection
measures adopted by UK organizations (Lui, Zainuldin and et.al., 2021). Lastly, the research will
also help in determining the influence of environmental protection activities in improving
organizational brand image among general public and government of UK. It is a known fact that
corporate social responsibility is an important aspect for any firm because it significantly
contributes to the overall brand image of the company, thereby helping it achieve a higher level
of performance.

Research Aim
“To ascertain the influence of environment protection activities in developing
organizational brand image and customer loyalty.”
Research Objectives
 To understand the concept of corporate social responsibility in relation to retail sector of
UK.
 To analyse the different environmental protection measures adopted by retail
organizations in the UK.
 To determine the influence of environmental protection activities in improving
organizational brand image and customer loyalty.
Research Questions
 What is the concept of corporate social responsibility in relation to retail sector of UK?
 What are the different environmental protection measures adopted by retail organizations
in the UK?
 What is the influence of environmental protection activities in improving organizational
brand image and customer loyalty?
Rationale of the research
The primary rationale for undertaking this research is to develop a basic understanding
about the concept of corporate social responsibility as well as its importance for businesses.
Apart from this, another rationale for undertaking this research is to help the readers enhance
their existing knowledge about the influence of environmental protection activities in improving
organizational brand image and customer satisfaction level.

Literature Review
What is the concept of corporate social responsibility in relation to retail sector of UK?
Corporate social responsibility has gained a lot of importance over the last few years and
the primary purpose of corporate social responsibility is to maximize the shared value among
different organizations, their employees, customers as well as shareholders. A business or an
organization can practice corporate social responsibility in different ways such as environmental,
ethical as well as philanthropic. It can be said that practicing corporate social responsibility can
have various benefits for the businesses such as it helps in enhancing the reputation of the
business, better financial performance as well as operational costs as well as greater ability to
attract a greater number of high performing employees. It can be said that corporate social
responsibility can have a significant impact on the overall performance of the firm along with its
overall profitability. CSR includes various activities that are voluntary and help the business in
improving its overall image in the market. CSR is important because it helps the business in
increasing its overall awareness in the market as well as attract potential customers. Not only
this, the firm is able to save additional costs and instead, give back to the society for its
betterment (The Importance of Corporate Social Responsibility for Your Business, 2021). As far
as the internal stakeholders of the organizations are concerned, corporate social responsibility
ensures that the employees are empowered and their overall morale is increased. This further
leads to an increase in the overall productivity as well as performance of the firm to a great
extent.
Another advantage of practicing corporate social responsibility is that the businesses are
able to maintain a high level of engagement with the customers. This is because when an
organization uses sustainable business practices, it can create awareness about its efforts on
various social media platforms (Rodríguez-Domínguez and Gallego-Alvarez, 2021). This further
leads to an increase in the engagement among the customers. This is because they get to know
about the products as well as services of the brand and hence, they engage with the brand’s
operations. Similarly, there is also an increase in the engagement level of employees as they
would enjoy working for a firm that is committed towards giving back to the society and has a
good public image. This also help the company in attracting a greater number of qualified as well
as experienced professionals. Thus, it can be said that when a business organization is committed

towards giving back to the community and reducing the harm caused to the environment, it is
able to enhance its overall performance as well as profitability. Corporate social can be very
effective for any business and allow it to gain a greater number of customers.
Corporate Social Responsibility is a control idea wherein agencies combine social and
environmental concerns of their enterprise operations and interactions with their stakeholders.
CSR is generally understood as being the manner via which a employer achieves a stability of
economic, environmental and social imperatives, even as at the equal time addressing the
expectations of shareholders and stakeholders. In this experience it is essential to attract a
difference among CSR, which may be a strategic enterprise control concept, and charity,
sponsorships or philanthropy. Even even though the latter also can make a treasured
contribution to poverty reduction, will without delay enhance the reputation of a business
enterprise and reinforce its emblem, the idea of CSR certainly is going past that. Promoting the
uptake of CSR amongst SMEs calls for techniques that healthy the respective desires and
capacities of those companies, and do now not adversely affect their financial viability. UNIDO
based totally its CSR programme on the Triple Bottom Line Approach, which has tested to be a a
hit tool for SMEs within the developing nations to assist them in meeting social and
environmental standards without compromising their competitiveness (Wang, 2021). The TBL
technique is used as a framework for measuring and reporting company performance in
opposition to economic, social and environmental overall performance. It is an try and align
personal businesses to the purpose of sustainable international development by supplying them
with a more complete set of operating goals than simply earnings by myself. The perspective
taken is that for an company to be sustainable, it must be financially at ease, reduce its terrible
environmental affects and act in conformity with societal expectancies.
Key CSR issues: environmental control, eco-efficiency, responsible sourcing, stakeholder
engagement, labour standards and operating conditions, employee and community family
members, social equity, gender stability, human rights, desirable governance, and anti-corruption
measures. A well implemented CSR idea can convey alongside a ramification of competitive
advantages, along with improved get entry to capital and markets, increased sales and income,
operational price savings, stepped forward productiveness and pleasant, green human useful
resource base, improved brand picture and recognition, more suitable purchaser loyalty, better

decision making and threat management methods. Corporate social responsibility is a kind of
enterprise self-regulation with the goal of being socially accountable. There is not any one
"proper" manner corporations can exercise CSR; many company CSR projects try to definitely
contribute to the general public, the economy or the surroundings. In latest socially conscious
surroundings, personnel and customers area a premium on operating for and spending their cash
with corporations that prioritize CSR. Katie Schmidt, the founder and lead dressmaker of Passion
Lilie, said that groups that enforce CSR stand to advantage in multiple approaches.
What are the different environmental protection measures adopted by retail organizations in the
UK?
Environmental protection measures can be referred to as the different measures or
strategies that are adopted by various organizations operating across different industries within a
country to minimize the impact on the environment as well as the community on the whole. On
the other hand, environment protection can be referred to any activity that is undertaken to
maintain or restore the quality of the environment by preventing the emissions of the pollutants
(Zhu, Yeung and Zhou, 2021). The United Kingdom has various organizations operating in
different industries that are now gradually moving towards a much more sustainable side of
business. They are adopting various measures in which any harm that is caused to the
environmental is minimized. There are various laws as well as measures in the United Kingdom
that organizations operating across different industries. This is primarily because the customers
are now increasingly moving towards products as well as services that are socially conscious. It
can be said that the different laws such as the Control of Pollution Act is one of the important
measures that was passed in the country to ensure that the business operations are conducted in
an effective manner. This act takes into account the various environmental issues such as air,
noise and water.
For instance, the companies are now focused on designing as well as developing products
that are safe for the environment and would not cause any harm to the environment. apart from
this, many businesses are also focused towards improving the way in which their business
processes work and reduce a lot of energy consumption (Zhu, Yeung and Zhou, 2021). This has
helped businesses in attracting a greater number of customers and satisfy their needs in an
effective manner. this is also because there are a lot of different organizations that operate within
the different industries in the country. A good sized percentage of environmental legislation in