Research Proposal: CSR and Employee Perception in the Oman Context

This research proposal investigates the impact of employees’ perceptions of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) within the context of Oman. The study begins with an introduction to CSR, highlighting its increasing importance for businesses and the potential benefits of incorporating CSR into business processes. The research justifies the need for this study, citing the growing number of SMEs in Oman and the lack of research on this topic. The proposal outlines the research objectives, which include examining the importance of employee perceptions of CSR and its relationship with organizational commitment. The methodology section details a mixed-methods approach, including quantitative and qualitative research phases, data collection via surveys, and data analysis techniques. Ethical considerations and limitations are also addressed. The report concludes with references to the research papers used.

Running head: CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Corporate Social Responsibility
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Title of the Research:
The impact of employees’ perceptions related to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in
Oman context
1. Introduction or background to the research problem or issue
The term corporate social responsibility (CSR) refers to a current business topic that is
nowadays is one of the most important consideration for the most of the companies in the
modern world. On the other hand, the term employees’ perception related to the corporate
social responsibility (CSR) refers to the employees view on the corporate social responsibility
(CSR) as ethical and philanthropic concern. According to the study of Minee et al. (2019), it
is reported that, the fast diffusion of CSR in the business process can positively affect the
business process and business performance as well. For example it can be said that, the
reputation of the business organization and the profit of the organization can be improved by
the incorporation of the CSR in the business process.
According to the study of Peterson (2016), it is reported that, the Oman is one of the
emerging economies in the Islamic country world and the government of this country is
associated with the continuous development of socio-economic condition of the country.
Government is planning to work with all the private sectors and civil society organization in a
collaborative way so that, the all the organization can meet the expectations of the local needs
as a part of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). On the other hand, the study of
Korschun, Bhattacharya and Swain (2014), reported that there is a significant relationship in
between the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and employee’s performance. It is
reported that, the rapid of infusion of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) into the
business process of this world is highly influencing the business process of various countries
of this world. According to the study of Dursun (2015), the perceptions of Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) among the employees of an organization can positively impact the

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organization’s trust as the organizational trust is related to the relationship of the employees
and the organization. As Oman is an emerging economy country, so it is very crucial to
maintain the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in various organization of the country.
Therefore it can be said that, the banking sector is one of the most important sectors that
particularly needs the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in order to enhance the
organizational commitment. According to the study of Sarfraz et al. (2018), it is reported that
in the banking industry, the employees’ perception towards the Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) is very crucial as it has crucial roles in building organizational trusts
and commitment. On the other hand the study of Platnova et al. (2016), it is reported that,
the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has severe effect on the financial performance of
the banking sectors of a country. This study reveals that , there is a positive relationship ion
between the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) disclosure and economic performance of
the Islamic banks of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region.
According to the study of Halim, Sumiati and Rahayu (2016), it is reported that the
practice of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the developing countries like Oman, is
associated with the economic sustainability and sustainable development of the countries like
Oman. In the developing countries like Oman, the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
among the employees will work as a public relation strategy. On the other hand, in various
studies it is also reported that, in the countries of Gulf regions, there is inadequacy of
knowledge regarding the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) among the employees. The
study of Choi and Yanni (2014), it is reported that the concept of Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) is very common among the developed countries in the world .
However, in most of the developing countries, specifically in the middle-east countries, the
concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is not so popular. However, in various
studies, it is reported that the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is very

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crucial and there is a significance relationship in between the employees’ perception related
to the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and organization’s reputation and commitment.
According to the study of Lee et al. (2013), it is reported that, the Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) has immense importance in the small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Along this the researchers also reported that, in most of the developing countries in Asia and
middle east region, the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are not at all familiar with the
concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Moreover, the small and medium
enterprises (SMEs) will be more benefited by the measures of Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) as it will provide them long term business assurance, survival, and
simultaneously help the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to adapt to the new concepts
of world business. In Oman, there is a huge numbers of small and medium enterprises
(SMEs) and they are also unaware about the concepts of Corporate Social Responsibility
(CSR). So, it is quite evident that it is very crucial to have perceptions regarding Corporate
Social Responsibility (CSR) among the employees of the country (Sarfraz et al. 2018).
2. Justification for the proposal research, i.e., why the research is needed?
In the current business scenario, this research is very crucial as the perceptions of
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) among the employees of an organization will
improve the organizational trust and commitment. Therefore, it is quite evident that,
these two factors are associated with the development of economy of the country. As
this concept is not so popular among the developing countries of the world, so there
are not enough numbers of studies that address this problem in countries like Oman.
In addition to this, various studies find that the number of small and medium
enterprises (SMEs) is very high and most of the small and medium enterprises
(SMEs) does not provide adequate working facilities, and that results in lower
turnover of the company (Sarfraz et al. 2018). Moreover, there is no such evidences

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regarding the perceptions of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) among the
employees of organization in Oman. So, it can be said that this research will help the
organization to understand the importance employees’ perception related to the
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the country.
3. Objectives of the Research
The main objective of this research is to examine the importance of employees’
perception related to the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Oman and to find
the relationship of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) with the organization
commitment.
4. Methodology
4.1 Research Design (quantitative/qualitative/mixed)
In this study, a mixed method research design will be used. There will be two stages in this
study. In the first stage, a quantitative research study will be used to examine the Corporate
Social Responsibility (CSR). On the other hand, in the second part of this study, a qualitative
research will be conducted in order to examine the relationship of Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) and organizational commitment in the context of Oman.
4.2 Data collection methods
For collecting the data from the participants of the study a survey method will be used. For
this survey, a self-structured questionnaire will be developed with 15 open ended question as
this will allow the researchers to collect the actual opinions of the study participants. In an
open ended question, the participants are free to answer the questions in their own way and
this will help the researchers to quantify the relationship

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4.3 Sampling frame and sample size
In this study, the random sampling technique will be to choose the sample population of
this study. A minimum of 30 employees will be selected from the various organization
involved in small and medium scale business enterprises of Oman in order to execute the
study.
4.4 Data analysis techniques
For analyzing the collected data, the SPSS version 22.0 software will be used in this
research process and then a descriptive statistics will be used. Moreover, one way ANOVA
will be used to find the correlation in between the employees’ perception regarding Corporate
Social Responsibility (CSR) and organizational commitment in the context of Oman.
5. Code of Ethics
During the research process, all the ethical aspects of the research will be maintained. The
consent form will be collected from the participants stating that all of them are ready to take
part in this process. No information regarding the participants’ data will not be shared with
anyone except from the researchers. Moreover, name of the organization will also be
hindered.
6. Limitation
The main limitation of this study will be the small sample size and moreover, only the small
and medium industries of Oman are used to perform this study. There may be other
organization that may have employees who are unaware about the Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR).
7. Research Structure
In the first part of this research, the introduction of the topic is present and then there is a
small review of previous literature. This stage also speaks about the objective of the study.

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In the next part, the research design, study methodology, data collection technique, data
analysis method are discussed.
Lastly, the ethical consideration and study limitation are discussed in a brief manner.

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8. References
Choi, Y and Yanni Y., 2014. The Influence of Perceived Corporate Sustainability Practices
on Employees and Organizational Performance. Sustainability 2014, 6, 348-364
Dursun., 2015. The relation between organizational trust, organizational support, and
organizational commitment. African Journal of Business Management. Vol. 9 (4), pp.134-
156.
Halim, L., Sumiati and Rahayu, M,., 2016. The Effect of Employee’s Perceptions on
Corporate Social Responsibility Activities on Organizational Commitment, Mediated by
Organizational Trust. International Journal of Business and Management Invention ISSN
(Online), PP—43-49
Korschun, D., Bhattacharya, C.B. and Swain, S.D., 2014. Corporate social responsibility,
customer orientation, and the job performance of frontline employees. Journal of
Marketing, 78(3), pp.20-37.
Lee, Choong-Ki Hak-Jun Song, Hye-Mi Lee, Seoki Lee, & Bo Jason Bernhard., 2013. The
impact of CSR on casino employees’ organizational trust, job satisfaction, and customer
orientation: An empirical examination of responsible gambling strategies. International
Journal of Hospitality Management 33, pp. 406–415
Minee, F., Shanka, T., Taylor, R., and Handley, B., 2019. EXPLORING CORPORATE
RESPONSIBILITY IN OMAN – SOCIAL EXPECTATIONS AND PRACTICE. Curtin
University. Retrieved from-
https://espace.curtin.edu.au/bitstream/handle/20.500.11937/4926/196137_196137.pdf?
sequence=2

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Peterson, J.E., 2016. Oman in the twentieth century: Political foundations of an emerging
state. Routledge.
Platonova, E., Asutay, M., Dixon, R. and Mohammad, S., 2018. The impact of corporate
social responsibility disclosure on financial performance: Evidence from the GCC Islamic
banking sector. Journal of Business Ethics, 151(2), pp.451-471.
Sarfraz, M., Qun, W., Abdullah, M. and Alvi, A., 2018. Employees’ perception of corporate
social responsibility impact on employee outcomes: Mediating role of organizational justice
for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Sustainability, 10(7), p.2429.