Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Brand Image of Rio Tinto, Australia

This research report analyses the relation between the brand of Rio Tinto and its CSR policies. Findings show the importance of CSR in organization and its impact on branding. The research methodology used is positivism philosophy, deductive approach and descriptive design. The research is based on a sample population of 360 employees. Subject: Corporate Social Responsibility, Course Code: NA, Course Name: NA, College/University: NA.

Running head: RESEARCH REPORT
Research report
Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Brand Image of the organisation
Study based on Rio Tinto, Australia
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
1.1: Background.....................................................................................................................3
1.2: Background of the company...........................................................................................3
1.3: Problem statement...........................................................................................................3
1.4: Research aim...................................................................................................................4
1.5: Research objectives.........................................................................................................4
1.6: Research questions..........................................................................................................4
Literature review........................................................................................................................6
Corporate Social Responsibility.............................................................................................6
Theoretical understanding......................................................................................................6
Triple Bottom Line Theory................................................................................................6
CSR pyramid model...........................................................................................................6
Branding concept and theories...............................................................................................7
Importance of CSR in organization........................................................................................7
Impact of CSR on branding....................................................................................................7
Research methodology...............................................................................................................9
Findings and Analysis..............................................................................................................10
Demographic factors............................................................................................................10
Variables..............................................................................................................................11
Conclusion................................................................................................................................18
Linking with objectives........................................................................................................18

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Reference List..........................................................................................................................20
Appendix..................................................................................................................................23

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Introduction
CSR is an important factor that helps in establishing the image and the reputation of
the company in the market. It is a form of continuous commitment that is done by the
organization so that the local community can benefit from it as well as the surrounding
environment. The aim of this research will be to analyse the relation between the brand of the
organization and its CSR policies.
1.1: Background
Corporate Social Responsibility has helped in increasing the level of transparency
among the citizens so that the company can function in a proper manner. The purchasing
behaviour of the consumers also help in analysing the responsibilities that are taken up by the
organization in the surrounding environment (Bhattacharya et al. 2017). The brands have to
set the price of the products in a proper manner so that it can attract the customers. The use of
CSR by the companies allows them in increasing the media coverage so that the consumers
can be aware of the products that are developed by them (Schwartz 2017).
1.2: Background of the company
Rio Tinto is an organization that focuses mainly on mining and processing the mineral
resources that are found on the Earth. The company as established in 1873 and has its
headquarters located in Melbourne and London. It is the leader in extracting bauxite, iron ore,
coal and copper. The company earned a revenue of $40.3 billion and has a equity capital
amounting to $44.711 billion for the year 2017. The company employs more than 50,000
employees and is listed in the Australian and London stock exchanges (Riotinto.com 2018).
1.3: Problem statement
The company has been issuing its CSR report in a transparent manner in the recent
period so that the customers can get to know about the responsibilities that are being taken up

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by the company (Bainton 2017). The survey conducted by Nielsen showed that almost half of
the customers are attracted towards the companies that cares about the social and
environmental well-being. The company deals in the metal industry and is engaged in the
extraction of non-renewable resources. It has been criticized for its activities in the recent
times due to the effects of global warming and degrading the environment (Smh.com.au
2018). The CSR rating of the organization can be seen as 54 on an average. The stopping of
the mining activities in certain locations have caused a stir in the locations sue to the damage
that has been done by the company. The company also did not clean up the activities after
they stopped their activities in Papua New Guinea (Lasslett 2014).
This research will help in finding the issues that are present in CSR in Rio Tinto,
which has caused a problem in their brand value.
1.4: Research aim
The aim of the research is to show the impact of corporate social responsibility on the
branding of the organisations; this research will narrowly focus on Rio Tinto.
1.5: Research objectives
The objectives are:
 To find out the importance of corporate social responsibility of an organisation
 To explain the strategies of the branding of organisations
 To explore the relationship between corporate social responsibilities and branding
 To recommend some possible solutions regarding issues of corporate social
responsibilities and branding
1.6: Research questions
The research questions are:

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 What is the importance of corporate social responsibility of an organisation?
 What are the strategies of the branding of organisations?
 What is the relationship between corporate social responsibilities and branding?
 What are the possible solutions regarding issues of corporate social responsibilities
and branding?

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Literature review
Corporate Social Responsibility
It is the concept where the companies have to integrate the social and environmental
concerns for the business by interacting with the stakeholders (Ruggie 2017). It helps the
organization in maintaining a balance between the economic, social and environmental
authoritative, which needs to meet the expectation of the shareholders. The organization in
the recent times have to increase their capabilities so that it can understand the viability of the
business (Grayson and Hodges 2017).
Theoretical understanding
Triple Bottom Line Theory
This method helps the organization in making the business driven by the purpose of
profit but by providing beneficial causes to the environment as well as the society. The main
motive of the business is that it will not cause any harm to the environment and the human
resources that are being deployed for the purpose of achieving profits. The responsibility of
the company is that it has to make the work place in a desirable manner so that it can provide
a better environment for the employees to work in. The sustainability of the environment will
help in taking help of few resources so that the measures can be cost-effective in nature (Lins,
Servaes and Tamayo 2014).
CSR pyramid model
This pyramid helps in finding the four responsibilities that are present in the business
organization. The economic purpose allows the business in making profits so that they can
ensure its survival in the market. The legal responsibilities allow the business in abiding by
the laws that are set in the region (matten and Moon 2008). The ethical responsibilities that
are present in the business allows the organization in acting in an ethical and moral manner so

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that they can follow the laws properly. The suppliers and the employees need to be treated
ethically by the company. The philanthropic responsibilities help the business to be
responsible for giving back some of the profits to the society so that it can develop the
surrounding environment (Cheng, Ioannou and Serafeim 2014).
Branding concept and theories
The concept of branding is that it helps the company in gaining popularity in the
market with the help of symbols so that it can be differentiated from its competitors. The use
of brands help the products to be identifiable as well as differentiable in the market (Leekha,
Chhabra and Sharma 2014). It is the mixture of the properties that allows the products to be
given a particular identity so that it can be separated from the other products that are
available. Additionally the use of logos, colours and ambassadors help the service to improve
within the company (Herstein et al. 2017).
Importance of CSR in organization
CSR helps in taking a positive outlook in the surrounding environment. It is the
activities that needs to be done so that there is a positive impact on the community. This leads
the customers to be encouraged in taking up decisions to purchase the products from the
organization (Carroll 2016). The use of CSR helps the organization in supporting the
professional and personal development of the organization so that it can help the company to
be responsible towards the society (Pai et al. 2015).
Impact of CSR on branding
It helps the customers in influencing their decision to purchase the products. The
brand image of the company also gets restored in the market so that it can attract more
number of customers (Edinger-Schons et al. 2018). It will also help in controlling the flow of
the resources towards the right direction so that it can be utilized to the full extent. It will also

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help the company in being more transparent with respect to the products that they are
supplying in the market. The use of CSR activities will also result in turning the losses of the
company in to a profitable venture (Rezvanpour and Bayat 2017).

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Research methodology
The research has been done through the positivism philosophy so that it can help in
gathering the data in a scientific manner along with the facts of the data as well. This
philosophy has allowed in gathering qualitative and quantitative data and the data will be
highly structured (Taylor, Bogdan and DeVault 2015).
The deductive approach has been used by the researcher, as the data that has been
gathered has been based on the theories, which has helped in analysing the data in a proper
manner. It has allowed the researcher in developing the concept as well (Lewis 2015).
The researcher has also used the descriptive design so that the data can be collected in
a proper manner. It allowed in understanding the necessary features that are present within
the population (Flick 2015).
The research has been conducted on a sample population of 360 employees and the
size of the sample has been limited to 80 so that the research can be done in an efficient way.
The simple random technique has been used by the researcher so that it can provide an equal
opportunity to the respondents to be a part of the research process. The data has been
analysed with the help of bar charts created in MS-Excel so that it can represent the data in s
visual manner (Silverman 2016).

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Findings and Analysis
Demographic factors
Female Male
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50 47
33
Gender
18-24 years 25-30 years 31-36 years 37 and above
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
15
47
17
1
Age
1.1-3 years 3.1-5 years 5.1 and above Less than 1 year
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
30
19
14
17
Experience

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It can be seen from the collection of the data that majority of the responses that were
collected were form the female employees who are within the age group of 25-30 years and
has an experience of 1.1-3 years within the organization. This has helped the researcher in
narrowing down the observation to these factors so that the research can be conducted in a
proper manner.
Variables
Maybe No Yes
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
24 24
32
CSR policies
The respondents have stated that the company maintains CSR policies in an effective
manner, which has helped them in gaining a strong foothold in the areas where they are
operating. It has also resulted in increasing the corporate image of the company in the local
environment as well. Maintaining the policies in a better manner will help the company in
gaining an advantage in the market, as the customers will be attracted towards the company.
The policies of the company needs to be set in accordance to the activities that they are
carrying out in the market so that it can help them in gaining an overall advantage in the
market. The policies will also restrict the operations of the company so that they do not do
any activity that may harm the external environment and increase the level of liability among
the customers. This may also lead to a downfall of the brand image in the market, as the

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customers will try to shift away from the products. The impact of the policies that are framed
within the organization needs to be positive so that it can allow the company in gaining a
competitive advantage in the market.
Image building Increase in profits Increasing
awareness Pressure from local
community
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40 38
14
24
4
CSR activities
Most of the female respondents between the age group of 25-30 years and having an
experience of 1.1-3 years have stated that the main function of the company with respect to
increasing its CSR activities in the local environment is that it will help in building the image.
The increase in the image of the company within the market will result in increasing the
consumption of the products in the market as well. Since the company focusses mainly on
extraction of non-renewable resources, it can be seen that improving its image in the market
will result in giving them a better chance of selling the products. This will also result in
increasing its chances of gaining a better level of profit from the market. The image of the
company will also be built by improving its CSR activities in the market. The image of the
company plays an important part in attracting the customers so that it can increase its sale in
the market, which will result in increasing its level of profit. The image also helps the
customers in understanding the products with which the company is dealing due to the
increased awareness of its brand in the market.

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Maybe No Yes
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
12
25
43
Funds allocation
The female respondents have stated that the company has a separate fund, which is
used for meeting all the requirements in its Corporate Social Responsibility activities. It can
be seen that 43 percent of the responses have stated that the company maintains a separate
fund that allows them in carrying out the CSR activities. This is due to the fact that the
company can be able to maintain its activities in the local environment in a better manner.
The allocation of the funds need to be done in the beginning of the financial year from the
profits that has been earned so that it can help in carrying out the activities in a proper way.
This will help the company in understanding the needs that are present in the market based on
which the funds need to be allocated. The allocation of the funds will also help in keeping a
check on the resources that are being used by the company towards the activities. The
resources that are allocated help in providing a better understanding of the activities that
needs to be taken up by the organization so that the funds can be utilized in a proper way.

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Nature conservation Poverty alleviation Promotion of culture Providing education
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
5
32
21 22
Activities taken by company
The female respondents have stated that the company uses the funds for promoting its
CSR activities so that the poverty in the area can be alleviated. The company is located in
major regions around the world where the economic conditions are not good. In a place like
Papua New Guinea, where the company operates it can be seen that the economic condition is
not up to the standard, which have resulted in decreasing the level of poverty in the region.
This will allow the company in increasing its brand image so that the products can be
purchased by the potential customers. The decrease in the level of poverty among the region
will also result in increasing the brand image, as more number of customers will have a better
power of purchasing the goods form the company. The decrease in the level of poverty has
also allowed the place to improve its level of economy so that the people of the local
community can lead a proper life.

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In-kind Loans Money Volunteers
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
25
11
36
8
Resource Allocation
The female employees of the company have stated that the resource that has been
allocated by the company are done mostly through monetary benefits so that it can provide
instant benefits through its CSR activities. The monetary resources that will be allocated will
also help in sanctioning the activities that are undertaken by the company within the local
environment. This will result in increasing its share in the market as well. The allocation of
monetary funds will also help in dispersing it whenever required so that the company can
increase its CSR activities in the market.
All of the above Board of Directors Customers Government
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
4
25
34
17
Stakeholders

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The female employees aged between 25-30 years and having an experience of 1.1-3
years have stated that the customers are the primary stakeholders of the company, as they
help in increasing the level of the sales for the company. The customers form an important
part of the stakeholder, as they help in providing better feedbacks regarding the products after
it has been used. The feedback of the customers allow the company in making necessary
changes so that it can help in improving the products in the market as well. This will result in
increasing the level of satisfaction among the customers.
No Yes
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
15
65
CSR Report
The female employees have stated that the company published its CSR report on an
annual basis so that it can help the customers and other stakeholders in knowing the activities
that has been undertaken by them. This helps the company in gaining a competitive
advantage in the market, which allows them in increasing their level of profit in the market.
The report that is published by the company also reflects the amount that they have spent on
the activities that will help in alleviating the level of poverty in the markets where they are
operating. It also helps the company in gathering the level of trust among the stakeholders so
that they can be accountable towards the organization. It also helps the company in taking the
decisions in a proper manner so that the cost of the production can be reduced to a great

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extent and the waste materials can be controlled as well. The resources of the company can
be used in an efficient manner so that it does not get wasted and the company can gain a
competitive advantage in the market.

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Conclusion
This chapter will help in linking the objectives that has been taken up in the research
so that proper recommendations can be provided with the help of the analysis that has been
done. The objectives need to be linked so that it can provide a better approach to the research
and it can help in providing the recommendations as well.
Linking with objectives
To find out the importance of corporate social responsibility of an organisation
CSR is an important part of the organization, as it will help in increasing the
importance of the company in the market where they are operating. It will help the company
in making a better connection with the customers by increasing the level of awareness among
the customers. The use of the CSR activities will also help the company in being responsible
towards the environment so that it can result in caring for the surrounding environment. The
importance of CSR in the organization is that it will also help the customers in being aware of
the products that the company is dealing with so that there can be an increase in the level of
purchases.
To explain the strategies of the branding of organisations
The major strategies that needs to be taken up by the organization is the use of the
promotional activities so that it can spread awareness among the customers. The use of
branding by the company with respect to the special logos and designs will result in
understanding the importance of the company in the market. This will allow the company is
associating themselves with the customers who are present in the market.
To explore the relationship between corporate social responsibilities and branding

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The relationship between the branding of the organization and the corporate social
responsibility is that the use of the CSR activities will result in increasing the level of
awareness among the customers regarding the products that are provided by the company. It
will also help the customers in associating themselves with the brand so that the products can
be sold in a better way within the market. The pricing strategies that will be taken up by the
organization will also result in gaining a competitive advantage in the market.
To recommend some possible solutions regarding issues of corporate social responsibilities
and branding
The recommendations for improving the CSR activities in the market so that the
brand of the company can increase is that the company needs to inform the stakeholders
regarding the work that they are doing within the local environment so that the society can be
uplifted. This will result in gaining the trust of the stakeholders and the functions of the
company can be efficient as well. It will also result in efficiently managing the level of
production so that the company can use the available resources and the waste products can be
recycled as well. This will allow the company in increasing its level of production in the
market, which will also help in providing a competitive advantage to the firm.

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Bougainville And Resistance To Mining. By Kristian Lasslett', Pacific Affairs, vol. 90, no. 2,
pp. 426-428.
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Responsibility', Journal of International Law, vol. 26, no. 2.
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corporate social responsibility, vol. 1, no. 1, p. 3.
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Employees As Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Ambassadors: A Quasi-Field
Experiment', Journal of Business ethics, pp. 1-15.
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social responsibility work for your business, Routledge.
Herstein, R, Drori, N, Berger, R & Barnes, BR 2017, 'Exploring The Gap Between Policy
And Practice In Private Branding Strategy Management In An Emerging Market',
International marketing review, vol. 34, no. 4, pp. 559-578.

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and resistance to mining, Pluto Press.
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Appendix
Survey questions
1. What is your age?
18-24 years
25-30 years
31-36 years
37 and above
2. What is your gender?
Male
Female
3. What is your level of experience?
Less than 1 year
1.1-3 years
3.1-5 years
5.1 and above
4. Does the company maintain CSR policies?
Yes
No
Maybe
5. What drives the company towards CSR activities?

24RESEARCH REPORT
Increase in profits
Image building
Increasing awareness
Pressure from local community
6. Does the company allocate separate funds for the CSR activities?
Yes
No
Maybe
7. What CSR activities has been taken up by the company?
Providing education
Poverty alleviation
Promotion of culture
Nature conservation
8. What type of resources are allocated towards the CSR activities?
Money
In kind
Loans
Volunteers
9. Which stakeholders are involved for the CSR reports?
Board of Directors

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Customers
Government
All of the above
10. Does the company issue CSR report on an annual basis?
Yes
No