Corporate Socıal Responsıbılıty (CSR) as a Marketıng Tool: A Case of Multınatıonal Corporatıons in Nigeria

doi:10.7176/jesd/13-4-03

Abstract

The study examined corporate social responsibility as a marketing tool amongst multinational corporations in Nigeria. Corporate social responsibility was broken down into four indicators which were accountability, transparency, responsibility and competitiveness. Therefore, the study was guided by four null hypotheses which state respectively that accountability, transparency, responsibility and competitiveness have no effect on marketing amongst multinational corporations in Nigeria. The study employed the path and factor technique for data analysis through the use of a statistical software package referred to as AMOS. The study employed Likert scale measurement in questionnaire examination and the sample consist of highly-placed managers in 15 multinational corporations in Nigeria. The questionnaire was properly structured and adequately developed and reviewed by experts. Essentially, the findings of the study were not surprising as they revealed that corporate social responsibility is a major factor influencing the level of marketing amongst multinational corporations in Nigeria. Specifically, responsibility and competitiveness were found to exert greater effect on organizational marketing strategy while accountability and transparency were found to exert lower effect on organizational marketing strategy as revealed by their respective path coefficients. The findings of the study were in addendum to the findings of Rindova et al. (2005) and Hair et al., (2006) who discovered that corporate social responsibility through its indicators of accountability, transparency, responsibility and competitiveness significantly influence organizational performance. Given the above useful findings of the study, the study recommends for effective marketing of products, multinational corporations in Nigeria should improve their commitment towards giving back to the society. This can be achieved if multinational corporations carry out their respective activities in an accountable, transparent, responsible and competitive way. DOI: 10.7176/JESD/13-4-03 Publication date: February 28 th 2022

Highlights

The topic of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has attracted interest from several researchers in recent time
It was found that there is a significant effect of accountability, transparency, responsibility and competitiveness on marketing among multinational firms in Nigeria
Examined in the study was the effect of corporate social responsibility on marketing amongst multinational corporations in Nigeria

Summary

Introduction

The topic of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has attracted interest from several researchers in recent time. Marketing researchers (Baker 2003 and Snider et al, 2003) observed that most organizations employ CSR more as a marketing tool than its actual traditional usage. This brings a question of what exactly is CSR and what roles does it play in organizational processes? Wood et al (2007) noted that the crux behind CSR rests on the fact that organizations need to pursue other pro-social and pro-environmental objectives which transcend the objective of maximizing profit. CSR is basically about developing ways in which organizations can give back to not just their customers and to the environment It employs an approach of where organizations become community-friendly, employee-friendly and environment-friendly (Waddock, 2004). In the context of multinational corporations, agitation of host communities, issues of government policies and environmental degradation have heightened the need for CSR

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