Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Customer Retention in Hilton Group of Hotels

This research study examines the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on customer retention in the Hilton Group of Hotels. The study analyzes the CSR practices of the hotel and their relationship with customer retention. Recommendations for improving customer retention are also provided.

Running head: CSR AND CUSTOMER RETENTION
CSR AND CUSTOMER RETENTION
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1CSR AND CUSTOMER RETENTION
Abstract
The Corporate Social responsibility can be understood to be an essential part of the organization
and with respect to this, it becomes considerably important for the different firms as present in
the industry to ensure that, they are successfully be able to use it as a tool to meet the needs of
the different customers as present in the business environment. The given report can be
understood to be a research based on the overall impact of the corporate social responsibility on
the Customer retention in the Hilton Group of hotels. The study has followed a systematic
approach with respect to which, the Introduction has presented an overall background of the
paper. In line of this, the second chapter presents the overall Review of Literature, whereby the
theoretical aspects related to the Independent Variable of Corporate social responsibility and its
impact on the Customer retention which was taken as the Dependent Variable. The third chapter
laid down the Research Methodology followed in the paper. The fourth chapter presented the
overall Data analysis which was conducted with respect to the paper and helps in accepting the
Alternate hypothesis which means that the corporate social responsibility does have an impact on
the Customer retention in the hotel. The findings have been summarized and presented
successfully.

2CSR AND CUSTOMER RETENTION
Acknowledgements
This research was supported/partially supported by [Name of Foundation, Grant maker, Donor].
We thank our colleagues from [Name of the supporting institution] who provided insight and
expertise that greatly assisted the research, although they may not agree with all of the
interpretations/conclusions of this paper.
We thank [Name Surname, title] for assistance with [particular technique, methodology], and
[Name Surname, position, institution name] for comments that greatly improved the manuscript.
We would also like to show our gratitude to the (Name Surname, title, institution) for sharing
their pearls of wisdom with us during the course of this research, and we thank 3 “anonymous”
reviewers for their so-called insights. We are also immensely grateful to (List names and
positions) for their comments on an earlier version of the manuscript, although any errors are our
own and should not tarnish the reputations of these esteemed persons.

3CSR AND CUSTOMER RETENTION
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction....................................................................................................................7
1.1 Overview................................................................................................................................7
1.2 About the Hilton Group of Hotels in Australia.....................................................................8
1.3 Statement of the Problem.......................................................................................................9
1.4 Research Objectives...............................................................................................................9
1.5 Scope of the Research..........................................................................................................10
1.6 Limitations of the Study......................................................................................................10
1.7 Significance of the study.....................................................................................................10
Chapter 2: Review of Literature....................................................................................................13
2.1 Overview..............................................................................................................................13
2.2 Individual Variable : Corporate social responsibility..........................................................13
2.2.1 Factors affecting corporate social responsibility Practices...............................................14
2.3 Dependent Variable: Customer retention............................................................................16
2.3.1 Factors affecting Customer retention................................................................................17
2.4 Conceptual framework.........................................................................................................20
2.5 Critical analysis on the Impact of Corporate Social responsibility Practices in the
Hospitality Industry...................................................................................................................20
2.6 Previous studies...................................................................................................................21
2.7 Summary..............................................................................................................................21

4CSR AND CUSTOMER RETENTION
Chapter 3: Research Framework...................................................................................................23
3.1 Theoretical Frameworks......................................................................................................23
3.2 Conceptual Framework........................................................................................................23
3.3 Research Hypothesis............................................................................................................24
3.4 Operationalization of the Variables.....................................................................................24
Chapter 4: Research Methodology................................................................................................27
4.1 Research Philosophy............................................................................................................27
4.2 Research Approach..............................................................................................................27
4.3 Research design...................................................................................................................28
4.4 Data collection and Analysis...............................................................................................28
4.5 Sampling and survey strategy..............................................................................................29
4.6 Reliability and Validity........................................................................................................29
4.7 Ethical consideration...........................................................................................................30
Chapter 5: Data Analysis and Results...........................................................................................32
5.1 Overview..............................................................................................................................32
5.2 Descriptive Statistics...........................................................................................................32
5.3 Inferential Statistics.............................................................................................................36
5.3.1 Correlation Analysis.........................................................................................................36
5.3.2 Regression Analysis..........................................................................................................41
Chapter 6: Conclusion, Recommendations and Findings..............................................................45

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6.1 Summary of findings...........................................................................................................45
6.2 Conclusion...........................................................................................................................46
6.3 Recommendations................................................................................................................46
6.4 Further Research..................................................................................................................47
References......................................................................................................................................48
Appendix........................................................................................................................................52

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Chapter 1

7CSR AND CUSTOMER RETENTION
Chapter 1: Introduction
1.1 Overview
Belal (2016) states that there is a general perception around the business environment
which states that the different businesses have a crucial role to play in the society and hence, the
main goal of the business lies to go beyond the profit making objective and also focus on the
benefit of the society as a whole. The concept of the Corporate Social responsibility has changed
considerably and earlier where it was looked upon as a wishful contribution which was required
to be made by the business to the society as present, it has now become compulsory for all the
businesses to undertake a considerable participation in the scope of their operations and thereby
contributor to the society (Crowther & Seifi, 2018). The corporate social responsibility as
undertaken by the business will go a long way in ensuring that the business will be successful in
the long run and that, the firm will be successfully able to create a better image of itself in the
eyes of the different customers, suppliers, employee , government and the other stakeholders as
present. In line of this, the importance of the environmental aspect is heightened and the triple
bottom line approach is generally focused on (Al-Tit, 2015). There exists various hotels around
the globe which have been able to undertake considerable initiatives in order to undertake
considerable corporate social responsibility activities, however, out of these, the Marriott
International can be understood to be a hotel which has been able to undertake considerable
activities which thereby contribute to the overall society as a whole. There are other hotels as
present like the Kempton Hotels, Hilton Worldwide and the Wyndham Worldwide (Chernev &
Blair, 2015).
This is the reason why the different organizations are often inclined towards publishing
the corporate social responsibility reports which will ensure that the firm is able to maintain

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considerable transparency and in line of this, they will also be able to align the overall
competencies of the firm well with the different strategies of the organization (Chernev & Blair,
2015). Additionally, when the firm publishes a report on the Corporate social responsibility then
in such a case, they will be able to provide a complete exposure to the different stakeholders of
the organization and in line of this, they will also be able to ensure that, the different investors
who have funded the firm will be able to work for the welfare of the organization and in the
same manner, they will bring about considerable goodwill for the firm in the long run. Hence, it
can be mentioned that it is because of the reason that as hospitality industries are customer
centric and highly competitive in nature, it is crucial for them to retain and earn the goodwill
adequately which will help them to serve the customers in the right manner both at the good as
well as poor times (Belal, 2016).
Therefore, it is because of this that the research will lay down the different ways in which
the corporate social responsibility disclosure has had a considerable impact on the overall
operations of the firm and in a manner similar to this, the research shall be carried out.
1.2 About the Hilton Group of Hotels in Australia
The Hilton group of hotels can be understood to be a large group of hotel chains as found
around the globe and can also be considered to be an American multinational hospitality
company which is generally managed as a broad portfolio of resorts as well as related hotels.
The firm has its headquarters in Virginia in Australia and has above 5000 properties in 1100
countries around the globe (Hilton.com ,2019). The workplace has been ranked as one of the
happiest companies to work for as present around the globe and hence, in line of this, the
company has been appreciated for various characteristics like the culture of the company, the
work life balance and the relationship of the firm with the employees.

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1.3 Statement of the Problem
The reason why the given topic has been chosen as a topic of concern and why the
understanding of the impact of the Corporate Social responsibility on the business and customer
retention of the different hotels can be understood to be as crucial is because, it has an overall
impact on the profitability of the firm and hence, there can be understood to be a lack of research
in this domain. It is for this reason that, the research proposal will largely focus on the impact of
the corporate social responsibility on the operations of the firm and will have a special reference
to the Hilton Group of Hotels as present in Australia (Al-Tit, 2015). The different factors as
impacting the overall operations of the firm in line to the corporate social responsibility will be
analyzed and the manner in which the performance of the firm is greatly impacted by this
disclosure will also be discussed.
1.4 Research Objectives
The research objectives of the dissertation can be stated to be as follows:
 To understand the extent to which the Corporate Social Responsibility practices have an
impact on the customer retention in the hospitality industry with respect to the Hilton
Group of Hotels in Australia.
 To evaluate the extent to which the Corporate Social responsibility practices tend to
effect the customer retention in the hospitality industry with respect to the Hilton Group
of Hotels in Australia.
 To find the relationship between the corporate social responsibility practices which are
undertaken by the Hilton Group of Hotels in Australia and the customer retention

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 To provide certain recommendations to the Hilton Group of Hotels in Australia with
respect to improvement in the Customer retention practices which shall help them to
engage in long term success.
1.5 Scope of the Research
By undertaking the research, the paper aims to find the overall impact of the different
corporate social responsibility practices which are generally undertaken by the firm on the
overall operations of the Hilton Group of Hotels so as to determine the overall retention rate of
the guests as well as the customers who are visiting the hotel. The topic aims to find the impact
of the corporate social responsibility practices on the Customer retention of the hotels as present
and to find how the hospitality industry has been coming up with an example of the Hilton
Group of Hotels as present in Australia.
1.6 Limitations of the Study
The limitations of the study can be understood as follows:
 The example of all the hotels cannot be undertaken and the number of respondents can be
stated to be considerably limited in nature. In line of this, it is very crucial to understand
that, the sample size of 100 will not be enough to present a considerable number.
 Moreover, a limited number of journals as well business reviews will be analyzed which
will then lead to a limited approach with respect to the overall goals of the paper.
1.7 Significance of the study
As the hospitality industry is one of the most popular and profitable industries as present
around the globe, the economical footprint which the industry tends to create on the different
members of the society can be considered to be very strong and hence, they are essentially bound

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to engage themselves in corporate activities which shall bring about and concern the overall
welfare of the society. Moreover, the different initiatives as taken by the hotel will also instigate
the different customers to pay a premium price for the same and will assist the hotel to survive
the different seasonal demands as well as poor economic cycles. The new age customers are
considerably inclined towards the overall sustainability of the environment and these customers
have become quite environmental conscious which then enables them to pay more in order to
engage the hotels to engage in the sustainable activities.

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Chapter 2

13CSR AND CUSTOMER RETENTION
Chapter 2: Review of Literature
2.1 Overview
The given section of the dissertation will throw light on the Review of Literature and
shall be thereby divided into various sections with each section discussing the different variables
which are involved in the study. The variables which will be discussed are the Corporate Social
Responsibility and the Customer retention in the Hospitality Industry. Various journals, business
reviews and the articles have been incorporated accordingly in order to ensure that a varied
sphere of information is covered.
2.2 Individual Variable : Corporate social responsibility
The corporate social responsibility can be considered as a self- regulating business model
which allows the firm to become socially accountable to itself and ensure that it is being able to
contribute to the society adequately. When the different firms engage in the corporate social
responsibility, the firm becomes socially aware and is able to create adequate awareness for itself
(Crowther & Seifi, 2018). While involving itself in this activity, the organization has a
considerable impact on the society which varies from social activities, environmental activities
and the economic activities as well (De Grosbois, 2016).
As agreed by Farrington et al. (2017), the different companies have different domains of
the Corporate social responsibility practices and it is not compulsory for all the organizations to
carry out a similar line of work and the as the concept is a relatively large one, each company can
adopt various domains, which range from the health and safety, corporate governance, human
rights and employee welfare, moreover, charity, controlling the environmental effects, limiting
the contribution made to the society for the economic development and bringing about an

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improvement in the overall working conditions of the society can be understood to be some of
the spheres where the company can easily perform in order to complete the service to the society.
According to Flammer (2015), the main purpose of the social responsibility always lies to
ensure sustainability and in line of this, various companies have made considerable initiatives
and taken various efforts which would then go a long way to assists them and thereby ensure that
remarkable progress can be carried out. However, it has to be noted that each company has a
specific reason for carrying out these activities and in line of this, there are certain Factors which
have an impact on the Corporate social responsibility Practices. Each organization is governed
by these set of factors and with respect to this, the following section will focus on the factors
influencing the adoption of Corporate Social responsibility at the workplace.
2.2.1 Factors affecting corporate social responsibility Practices
According to Farrington et al. (2017), the different companies are often influenced by
various factors which tend to determine whether the organization will be able to adopt a certain
corporate social responsibility practice or not and whether the firm will be able to ensure long
term success. The particular section will discuss the factors affecting the adoption of the
corporate social responsibility at the workplace.
The financial positioning of the firm
The first factor can be considered to be relating to the Financial positioning of the firm.
The financial positioning of the firm can be considered to be a strong determinant of the fact
whether the organizations wants to adopt the corporate social responsibility or not (Fletcher,
2017). In line of this, the corporate social responsibility requires huge investment from the side
of the firm and in case where the firm is not stable then, it will not be able to afford the use of
such an expensive investment. Therefore, as agreed by Flammer (2015), the firms which have a

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strong inclination towards performing well will be inclined more towards engaging in the
corporate social responsibility activities instead of those who are not performing well financially.
The Service offering of the firm
The service which is offered by the organization is also a primary factor which influences
the overall corporate social responsibility practices which are adopted by the organization. The
nature of the operations and the line of work as undertaken by the firm tends to determine the
manner in which the organization will be able to carry out the corporate social responsibility
activity. In line with this, it can be rightfully mentioned that, the firms generally like to attract the
different customers as present in alignment with the Corporate Social Responsibility
practices(Fletcher, 2017).
The Image of the firm in the market
The overall brand image of the firm in the market can also be understood as a relevant
aspect which can be made use of by the business as a deciding factor of whether they will be
engaging in considerable Corporate Social responsibility or not. According to Grayson and
Hodges (2017), if the organization has a positive image in the market then in such a case, they
would be required to maintain this large brand image and thereby engage in activities which will
then bring about an overall welfare of the society (Gustafsson, Johnson & Roos, 2005).
Therefore, in line of this, a firm with a considerably good image, will be required to engage
themselves in better corporate social responsibility activities as this will ensure that they are able
to build a better image for themselves.
The socio-economical aspects

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The socio economical aspects can be rightfully understood as the Values, concerns of the
target consumers, the attitudes and the economic ability to afford a particular service. So as to
ensure long term sustenance of the business environment, it is important for the business to
ensure that, the overall popularity and image of the firm is enhanced in the eyes of the customers
and that the organization focuses on the values, concerns of the target market and the attitudes
which will help them to come up with strategic ways to carry out the Corporate social
responsibility in alignment with the needs of the customers (Grayson & Hodges, 2017). This
also assists in determining the overall focus of the society and the communities which will
benefit accordingly.
Legal and ethical aspects
The ethical as well as the legal aspects can be thereby understood to be another important
factor which is required to be considered in determining the overall choice of the corporate social
responsibility which the firm will be undertaking. These legal and ethical environmental aspects
will ensure that all ethical as well as business environment needs are met by the different firms
and that, the focus on the overall standards and regulations can be met with (Gustafsson, Johnson
& Roos, 2005)
2.3 Dependent Variable: Customer retention
The customer retention can be understood to be the procedure through which a particular
client or a customer tends to become a regular part of the organization. It can be defined as the
different set of activities along with the actions which various organizations would be required to
undertake in order to see to it that the customers remain a closer part of the organization.
According to Degbey (2015), the main reason why the different organizations tend to get
involved in the concepts relating to the customer retention as well as the customer loyalty can be

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understood to be the fact that, these programs help the firm to accumulate the different customers
as present and in addition to this, also allows the audience to feel an integral part of the
organization and prosper in the long run. Hennig‐Thurau and Klee (1997 ), states that the
customer retention process can be considered to be a systematized procedure with respect to
which, the customers first come in contact with the firm and continues throughout the entire life
cycle of the organizational contact with the customers as present. Hennig-Thurau (2004) states
that the customer acquisition can be considered to be a relevant part of the firm and in line of
this, in order to be able to increase the overall revenue, it is important for the firm to ensure that,
they need to deal effectively with all the customers who are related to them so as to be able to
build a formidable relationship and increase the overall profitability of the firm.
Therefore, it becomes crucial for the organization to see to it the different organizational
members are able to shift their focus on the overall retention of the different customers as present
and improve their overall experiences with the firm (Verhoef, 2003).
2.3.1 Factors affecting Customer retention
Although the organization has a key role to play in the overall retention of the different
customers, it is important for the firm to ensure that, they are well aware of the different factors
which influence the overall customer retention of the different clients as present and thereby
influence the customers in the long run. Some of these factors may be external factors and others
may be organizational factors (Hilton.com ,2019).
Value offered by the firm
The value which is offered by the firm can be understood to be a key factor which
influences the overall customers and their interest towards the firm. In line of this, it is required

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to understand that, when the customers are under the belief that they will benefit greatly then in
such a scenario, they tend to remain associated with the firm for a longer frame of time and then
they remain loyal to the overall aims and objectives of the firm (Kim, Song & Lee, 2016).
The workplace culture of the organization
The culture of the organization can also be understood to play a key role and the culture
tends to determine the overall values as possessed by the firm (Degbey, 2015). The overall
culture of a firm portrays the belief at the workplace and thus tends to reflect upon the overall
society as a whole. In addition to this, it is generally believed that a good work culture is
essential for the firm in the long run and that, if an organization wants the different customers to
be attracted towards the firm then in such a case, it will be required to engage in considerable
activities which shall benefit the firm.
The communication medium of the firm
The communication which takes place in an organization is a strong factor which tends to
impact the firm and helps them to ensure that they are able to meet with the customers and in line
with this, they should also be able to ensure that, the customers are being successfully able to
communicate effectively with the different stakeholders in line of ensuring that the corporate
social responsibility can be effectively used to maintain a close contact with the different
consumers and see to it that, the firm is well aware of the overall offerings of the firm , their
values, their activities as well as their overall culture (Magatef, & Tomalieh, 2015).
Overall customer satisfaction
The customer satisfaction can also be understood to be an integral part of the organization
and with respect to this, it is important for the firm to ensure that in order to attract the right kind

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of customers and ensure that the remain within the firm, they will be required to ensure that, the
overall experiences with the customers and their overall expectations can be matched with
successfully. According to Kim, Kim and Mattila (2017) , in case the customer had a positive
experience with the different organizational aspects, then in such a case, they will be more loyal
towards the brand and they will then be able to remain associated with the firm for a long period.
Therefore, it is due to this reason, that the customer satisfaction is considered to be one of the
primary elements which are involved in the field of the customer retention with respect to any
organization as present.
Price
Another factor which has a crucial role to play in the in the customer retention which
takes place in the organization, can be understood to be related to the decision making which
takes place in the firm or not. However, when the customers often re-evaluate the overall
consideration of their stay in the hotel in such a case, they are even ready to pay higher price for
the benefit of the society and in such a scenario. Therefore, it has to be understood that pricing
has a greater role to play in deciding the customer retention of the customers and in line of this,
the price matching is often used to encourage the repetitive purchase behavior because, it reflects
the commitment of the different customers to protect the society and even the intentions of the
firm are presented.

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2.4 Conceptual framework
2.5 Critical analysis on the Impact of Corporate Social responsibility Practices in the
Hospitality Industry
Hence, from the above review of literature, it can be rightfully understood that, the
corporate social responsibility factors are crucial factors which have an impact on the overall
profitability as well as the revenue earning capacity of the organization (Kang, Germann &
Grewal, 2016). The different customers often consider the Corporate social responsibility as a
crucial aspect which the firm is required to engage in and in line of this, all the firms are greatly
attracted to organizations with a good brand image Hence, it needs to be the overall aim of the
organization to ensure that it is able to maintain a good brand name (Schrempf-Stirling et al.,
2016). Hence, the Hilton Group of Hotels would be required to ensure that if it wants to ensure
success in the long run, then in such a case, they would be required to undertake considerable
initiatives which will then assists them in ensuring that, the organization is able to retain new
Corporate Social
Responsibility
Financial Position
Service offerings
Image of the firm
Socio-economic
Aspects
Ethical and Legal
aspects
Customer
Retention

21CSR AND CUSTOMER RETENTION
customers and in line of this, it will also be able to ensure success (Kang et al., 2015). Although
the concepts have been critiques by various authors, however, authors like Khan (2016), have
found a positive correlation and relationship between the customer retention and the corporate
social responsibility activities as undertaken by various hotels.
2.6 Previous studies
It can be understood that various studies, have taken place earlier, and in line of this, it
can be understood that although the benefits of corporate social responsibilities in the different
fields and domains have been discussed adequately, however, there has always been a lack of
discussion on the topic relating to the impact of corporate social responsibility activities on the
customer retention in the hotel industry (Kim et al. 2018). Hence, this study tends to cover the
overall gap and in line of this, the study can be contributing considerably in the field of the future
studies.
2.7 Summary
Hence, the summary covered the two crucial factors as present in the field of
management. The literature review focused on the Corporate Social Responsibility and the
Factors which affect the corporate social responsibility practices. In addition to this, the
Customer retention in the hotel industry as a concept has been discussed along with the factors
influencing the customer retention at the workplace.

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Chapter 3

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Chapter 3: Research Framework
The given section of the paper will provide the highlight on the Theoretical frameworks,
conceptual frameworks and the Operationalization of the Variables.
3.1 Theoretical Frameworks
The given study which was conducted can be largely understood to be based on the
Corporate social responsibility theory and in line of this, it can be largely understood that, the
Corporate social responsibility forms an integral part of the organization and in case the firm
wants to ensure that it will be requiring growth, then in such a case, the firm will be requiring to
take considerable efforts as well. The discussion of these concepts and relating the theory with
the Hotel Industry will ensure that the firm will be able to assist the researcher in finding the
research objectives and ensuring that the impact of Corporate social responsibility activities on
the customer retention in the hospitality industry with special reference to the Hilton Group of
Hotels.

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3.2 Conceptual Framework
3.3 Research Hypothesis
The research hypothesis can be understood to be as follows:
H1: The Corporate social responsibility activities have a strong impact on the Customer retention
at the Hilton Group of Hotels.
H0: The Corporate social responsibility activities do not have a strong impact on the Customer
retention at the Hilton Group of Hotels.
3.4 Operationalization of the Variables
Independent Variable (IDV): The corporate social responsibility activities of the firm
Dependent Variable (DV): The customer retention at the hotel
When the survey was conducted, with respect to this, the Likert scale was used as the primary
medium whereby the following ratings were used:
Corporate Social
Responsibility
Financial Position
Service offerings
Image of the firm
Socio-economic
Aspects
Ethical and Legal
aspects

25CSR AND CUSTOMER RETENTION
1=strongly agree
2=Agree
3=Neutral
4= Disagree
5= strongly disagree

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Chapter 4

27CSR AND CUSTOMER RETENTION
Chapter 4: Research Methodology
The given section of the report will throw light on the different research techniques which
have been made use of for the particular research. The section will prescribe the Research
method, philosophy and the related techniques which will be used by the paper in order to ensure
successful implementation of the research objectives.
4.1 Research Philosophy
The research philosophy which has been adopted for the particular research paper can be
understood to be the Positivism research approach. In this research approach, the factual data is
collected and the entire research study is based on the scientific data (Kumar, 2019). The
primary advantages of the research approach is that the scientific information makes the research
more authentic in nature.
Justification of the research philosophy
The given research philosophy of the positivism which was chosen for the research will
help to find the manner in which the Corporate social responsibility practices will have on the
overall customer retention and how the customer retention can be improved in the hotel industry.
4.2 Research Approach
The research approach which has been adopted for the purpose of the study can be
understood to be the Deductive research approach. In this kind of a research approach, the
hypothesis which has been set out for the paper will be discussed and the causality will be
analyzed.
Justification of the chosen research approach

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The reason why this research approach was adopted can be understood to be that, it went
a long way in discussing the relationship which exists between the corporate social responsibility
activities on the customer retention in the hotel industry (Kumar, 2019).
4.3 Research design
The descriptive research design was adopted for the paper in order to identify the overall
impact of the corporate social responsibility practices on the customer retention at the Hilton
Group of Hotels. The aim advantage of the research design can be understood to be that a deeper
understanding of the topic can be made successfully (Quinlan et al. 2019).
Justification for the chosen research design
The reason why the particular research design has been chosen can be contributed to the
fact that the design will help in effective analysis of the relationship between the corporate social
responsibility practices and the customer retention as undertaken by the Hilton Group of Hotels
in Australia. The identification of the retention between the two variables will become easier.
4.4 Data collection and Analysis
For the research paper, the data collection forms an effective part of the study and in line
of this the primary data collection method has been adopted for the same. The reason why the
primary data collection method is understood to be a suitable approach is because, it will go a
long way in assisting the researcher to understand the customer response on the concept of the
Corporate social responsibility (Silverman, 2016). Hence, although various journals and other
similar sources were reviewed for the purpose of the research, the primary collection method
using a survey was adopted for the analysis. Moreover, the quantitative analysis using the SPSS
tool was carried out for the purpose of the research whereby the statistical tools of Correlation

29CSR AND CUSTOMER RETENTION
and Regression were made use of to understand and analyze the impact of the corporate social
responsibility activities on the customer retention.
4.5 Sampling and survey strategy
The sampling technique which has been made use of in the given research can be
understood to be the Simple Random Probability sampling method. In line of this method, the
sample is chosen on the basis of the convenience to the researcher. Each participant will be
chosen randomly and the main advantage of this kind of a sampling technique is that the research
which will be carried out will not be biased in nature. A total of 100 respondents were chosen
and regular customers at the Hotel were targeted (Thomas, 2001). These customers and other
similar respondents were asked questions based on the different corporate social responsibility
practices and the reason why they are the regulars at any hotel group.
Moreover, the different factors which influence the different customers to stay with a
firm were discussed an analyzed accordingly. The Google form was used as a medium to form
the questionnaire and with respect to this the Likert Method was used to gather the responses. A
total of 20 questions were used for the purpose of the analysis. The survey were divided into
various topics and hence, this will assist in finding the impact of the independent variable on the
dependent variable.
4.6 Reliability and Validity
The responses from the 100 respondents were collected on a random basis and hence,
will be authentic in nature. In addition to this, the respondents were briefed upon the overall
purpose of the research, which assisted in ensuring the overall scenario and the manner in which
they could have given reliable answers (Taylor, Bogdan & DeVault, 2015).

30CSR AND CUSTOMER RETENTION
4.7 Ethical consideration
The research is entirely based on ethical guidelines and hence, it has ensured that the
privacy and personal rights of the different participants were given the utmost importance. In line
with this, the information which was obtained from the different respondents were utilized for
the sole purpose of the research and none of the personal information they provided was
misused.

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Chapter 5

32CSR AND CUSTOMER RETENTION
Chapter 5: Data Analysis and Results
5.1 Overview
Having collected the responses by making use of the Primary data collection technique
and analyzing the same using the Quantitative data analysis technique, the given section will
analyze the data as received from the sample participants and in a manner similar to this, it will
also be discussing the quantitative analysis results from the Correlation and Regression analysis
which was carried out using the SPSS as a tool.
5.2 Descriptive Statistics
Gender:
Figure 1

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From the given chart, it can be rightfully observed that the percentage of gender division
can be stated to considerably balanced. This means that, the survey was distributed amongst both
the male as well as female participants equally. This tends to provide a wholesome view of the
research and helps in determining the overall response. 55% of the participants in the survey
were female whereas the rest 45% of the participants were male.
Age Group
Figure 2
In line of this, it can be understood that 32% of the population belonged to the age group
of 37 years and above. In addition to this, the next major groups which were present could be
understood to be belonging to the age group 32 to 36 years having 26% and 23 to 26 years
having 25%. Hence, the opinions collected, can be understood to be belonging to all age groups
in a balanced manner.

34CSR AND CUSTOMER RETENTION
Income
Figure 3
The participants were asked about their overall income level and from the analysis as
conducted it could be rightfully understood that, a majority of the participants belonged to the
income group of 23000 to 26000 Australian dollars. In addition to this, the next group which was
a major was the income group above 37000 Australian Dollars. The rest of the income groups
constituted of 17% each.

35CSR AND CUSTOMER RETENTION
Occupation
Figure 4
From the above graph, it can be rightfully understood that the three occupations namely
Business, Service and Professional were divided equally. The Businessmen or women were the
highest in majority with 36%. In addition to this, the Service individuals constituted of 33%
whereas the Professionals constituted 31%. Hence, the survey can be understood to be
distributed adequately amongst the three occupational groups.

36CSR AND CUSTOMER RETENTION
5.3 Inferential Statistics
5.3.1 Correlation Analysis
The Correlation analysis can be largely understood to be as a method of statistical
evaluation which is used to study the strength of the relationship between two variables
measured continuously. The particular analysis is largely useful when a researcher wants to
establish the possible connections between the different variables as present. If there exists
considerable correlation between the different variables as present then in such case, the different
variables tend to move together in the long run (Kumar, 2019).
The Pearson’s coefficient can be understood to be a measurement of the correlation and
ranges between the measures +1 to -1. The +1 indicates the strongest correlation relationship
between the variables whereas -1 tends to indicate the strongest negative correlation possible
between the two variables. The closer the correlation is to 0, the weaker is the relationship
between the two variables.
The main aim of the Pearson`s correlation attempts to draw a line of best fit through the
data of the two variables and indicates the best fit. In the given section, the correlation has been
performed between the different variables belonging under the variables, Customer retention and
the Corporate Social responsibility.
Correlation coefficient of the Dependent Variable

37CSR AND CUSTOMER RETENTION
In the given section, the correlation between the different variables was conducted with
respect to the Dependent variable which is the Customer satisfaction. From the given table it can

38CSR AND CUSTOMER RETENTION
be largely understood that, the correlation between the Value offering and the Advertisement
which tends to attract the customer can be understood to be the highest, with respect to which,
the coefficient is 0.556 which indicates a positive moderate correlation relationship and in line of
this, it can be understood that as the Value offerings of the firm tends to increase, with respect to
this, the Advertising also increases considerably. Moreover, it was also observed that, the
correlation between the Pricing and the Customer satisfaction can be understood to be negative
in nature with respect to which it can be understood that when the Pricing of the hotel decreases,
with respect to which the Customer satisfaction increases considerably. The value of the
correlation coefficient in such a case came up to -0.048.

39CSR AND CUSTOMER RETENTION
Correlation coefficient of the Independent Variables

40CSR AND CUSTOMER RETENTION
The above table tends to discuss the Correlation between the various components of the
independent variable which is the Corporate Social responsibility. Undertaking the corporate
social responsibility is a duty of the organization which it is required to undertake and if the hotel
wants to ensure success in the long run then in such a case, it will be required to undertake
considerable measures to ensure success with respect to the same. In line of this, it can be
rightfully understood that, the correlation coefficient between the Legal and Ethical aspects with
the Social and Economic aspects can be considered to be the highest. The correlation coefficient

41CSR AND CUSTOMER RETENTION
between the variables can be understood to be 0.794 and hence, with respect to this it can be
understood to be Positive and High. The correlation coefficient between the variable
components, the image of the firm and the financial position can be understood to be lowest
amongst this group with a coefficient of 0.519 which means that, there is a positive moderate
relationship between the two.
Hence, in line of this it can be understood that, various variables such as the pricing,
advertising and customer satisfaction under the Customer retention tend to strongly influence the
different customers to take decisions accordingly with respect to these factors and in the case of
the Corporate social responsibility, the factors like the Financial position of the firm, its image
and other related factors have a crucial role to play.
5.3.2 Regression Analysis
The Regression Analysis can be understood to be a powerful statistical method which
allows to examine the relationship between two or more variable interests. In line of this, it can
be rightfully understood that, there exists various types of regression analysis, which tends to
examine the overall influence of one or more independent variable types on the dependent
variable. The regression analysis can be largely used to determine the overall impact of the
dependent variable which is the Customer retention on the Independent Variable which can be
understood to be the corporate social responsibility activities s undertaken by the hotel (Kumar,
2019). The regression analysis can be understood to be a reliable method of identifying the
different variables in the given topic domain. The process of performing a regression analysis
allows the business to determine the most crucial factors which tend to have an impact on the
given topic of interest (Saeidi et al. 2015). The Regression analysis comprises of the following:
 The dependent variable: Which is the main factor which has to be predicted in the study.

42CSR AND CUSTOMER RETENTION
 Independent Variables: This is the factor which remains unchanged and has a strong
influence on the dependent variable.
The regression analysis test has been conducted as follows in order to determine the impact
of the corporate social responsibility on Customer retention:
From the given analysis, it can be rightfully understood that, the difference between the R
square and the Adjusted R square can be understood to be just 0.011 which can be understood to
be minute in nature and hence, in line of this, the model can be understood to be a good fit
model. The model will help in finding the correct impact of the corporate social responsibility on
the overall organizational customer retention of the Hilton group of Hotels. The minute
difference between the R square and adjusted R square also indicates that the Survey is a perfect
fit for the particular research paper.

43CSR AND CUSTOMER RETENTION
By analyzing the given Annova Table it can be largely be interpreted that:
The value of the Significant F is 0.000 which means that the Null hypothesis can be
rejected and that the Alternate hypothesis can be accepted. This means that, the corporate social
responsibility can be understood to have a considerable impact on the Customer retention at the
Hilton Hotel. In line of this, the overall outcome of the research can be stated to be achieved
which means that, the corporate social responsibility activities of an organization does have an
impact on the overall customer retention of the hotel.

44CSR AND CUSTOMER RETENTION
Note: If Significant F < 0.05 then the Null hypothesis is rejected and alternate is
accepted.
Chapter 6

45CSR AND CUSTOMER RETENTION
Chapter 6: Conclusion, Recommendations and Findings
The given section will provide a brief overview of the overall findings as well as
understandings as obtained from the given research process. Moreover, the overall outcomes will
be discussed.
6.1 Summary of findings
The findings of the study can be understood to be as follows:
 The Corporate social responsibility forms an integral part of the organization and with
respect to this, it becomes considerably important for the different firms as present that it
becomes necessary for the firms to ensure that they are being able to undertake various
steps and procedures so as to ensure that they are being able to attract the customers and
ensure the overall success in the long run.
 In line of this, an organization can only find success if it is successfully able to retent the
different customers as present. In line of this, it is important to ensure that the firm would
be required to undertake measures in order to ensure that the customers remain with the
firm for long (Reichheld & Kenny, 1990).
 From the review of literature we were successfully able to understand that, the corporate
social responsibility in an organization is greatly affected by the different factors like the
financial positioning of the firm, the overall image of the firm and other related factors
(Rust & Zahorik, 1993). In line of this, the Customer retention in an organization is also
affected by various factors and hence, in line of this, the firm would be required to
undertake considerable measures which will ensure that, the organization is able to grow
successfully (Rosenberg & Czepiel, 1984).

46CSR AND CUSTOMER RETENTION
 From the inferential statistics which were conducted, it could be rightly understood that
the Regression analysis proved that, there exists considerable relationship between the
Dependent variable and the Independent variable and thereby as the value of Significant
F came up to less than 0.05, it was proved that, the Corporate Social Responsibilities
have a strong impact on the Customer retention in the hospitality industry and in the case
of the Hilton Hotels.
6.2 Conclusion
Therefore, from the given analysis, it can be rightfully understood that the customer
landscape has been changing adequately and in line of this, it can be rightfully mentioned that
when the firm wants to ensure success in the long run, it would be required to meet with the
changing needs of the different customers. Hence, in regard with this, it has to be mentioned that
the overall landscape of the hotel industry has also changed considerably and with respect to this,
the customer needs and demands have been changing considerably. The corporate social
responsibility has become an integral part of the industry and hence in line of this, those hotels
which will adopt considerable measures, will be able to ensure success in the long run. From the
Literature review and the data analysis, it was observed that, customers are greatly attracted to
those hotels who are willing to undertake the Corporate social responsibility activities and in line
of this, understanding the needs of the customers is crucial.
6.3 Recommendations
The following recommendations can be made for the organization:
 The hotels need to undertake considerable corporate social responsibility initiatives
which will then help them in ensuring that, they are able to retent the different customers
in the long run.

47CSR AND CUSTOMER RETENTION
 The needs of the customers’ needs to be met with accordingly and those businesses which
undertake the right initiatives, will be able to ensure a long term relationship with the
customers.
6.4 Further Research
Hence, the given study was able to find the overall relationship between the corporate
social responsibility and its impact on the customer retention on the Hilton Group of Hotels,
however, it was quite limited in nature as the other hotels in the industries could not be
considered. Hence, as an extension to this research, the further researchers should undertake the
case in the future studies as well.

48CSR AND CUSTOMER RETENTION
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Appendix
Impacts of Corporate social responsibility on the Customer retention in the hospitality
industry: A case study of Hilton Group, Australia
Section1 General Information (Please choose the most convenient answer)
G01 Gender ☐ Male ☐ Female
G02 Age group (years) ☐ 18 -29 ☐30-39 ☐40-49 ☐50+
G03
Occupation
a. Business
b. Service
c. Professional
G04
Monthly Income
a. 23000-26000
b. 27000-31000
c. 32000-36000
d. 37000 and above

53CSR AND CUSTOMER RETENTION
SECTION B: Customer retention
Customer satisfaction
1 The services provided by the hotel are satisfactory SD D N A SA
2
The hotel consistently takes into consideration the customer
feedback
SD D N A SA
Advertising and promotion
1 The hotel makes use of bloggers and celebrity influence SD D N A SA
2 The hotel continuously evolves its services SD D N A SA
3 The communication of the hotel is very relevant SD D N A SA
Value Offering
1 The connection with the staff affects my trust and comfort level SD D N A SA
2 The brand takes issues on the concerns faced by us SD D N A SA
3 The hotel provides us with personalized services SD D N A SA

54CSR AND CUSTOMER RETENTION
SECTION C: Corporate social responsibility
Pricing
1 The pricing provided by the hotel is reasonable and value-worth SD D N A SA
2
The value based pricing influences decision making of the
customers
SD D N A SA
Financial positioning
1
A good financial positioning of the firm impacts the decision
making of CSR
SD D N A SA
2 Firms which perform well invest more into the CSR SD D N A SA
Service offering of the firm
1
The reliable services offered by the hotel indicate better CSR
performance
SD D N A SA

55CSR AND CUSTOMER RETENTION
SECTION D: Impact of Corporate social responsibility on the Customer retention
Image of the firm
1 The image of the hotel is positive through the CSR activities SD D N A SA
Socio economic aspects
1 The values of the firm impact the CSR activities SD D N A SA
2 The CSR activities makes a positive image in the society SD D N A SA
Legal and ethical aspects
1 The hotel carry out CSR due to legal considerations SD D N A SA
2
Ethical considerations have a greater role to play in the field of
CSR
SD D N A SA
Impact of IDV on DV
1
Do you think that the CSR activities of the hotel helps in
customer retention
SD D N A SA

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