Corporate Social Responsibility and Firms Brand Development: A Case of Equity Group

Abstract

Firms are continuously seeking to enhance their brand development through adopting all possible strategies with the main focus being Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The study sought to establish the impact of CSR on firm’ brand development. The objectives of the study were; to establish the effect of economic responsibility on Equity Group brand development, to investigate the effect of legal responsibility on Equity Group brand development, to determine the influence of ethical responsibility on Equity Group brand development and to determine the effect of Philanthropic responsibility on Equity Group brand development. The study adopted a descriptive survey design to establish the relationship between independent and dependent variables. The target population of the study was Corporate Social Responsibility activities in the 23 Equity Group branches in Nairobi Count. The study used secondary data which was collected using the bank records. Data was collected covering 10 years from 2010 to 2020. The published statements are reliable because all listed companies are required by law to report their audited statements as well as stating their compliance with performance principles. The collected data was analyzed using SPSS. Data was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The results indicated that economic responsibility, legal responsibility, ethical responsibility and philanthropic responsibility have a positive and significant effect on firm`s brand development. The study concluded that there is a significantly positive relationship between corporate social responsibility activities of firms on their brand development. This study recommends firms to build collaborative partnerships with other stakeholders to impact positively to society through Corporate Social Responsibility. The study further recommends on firms to integrate Corporate Social Responsibility with their vision, mission, core competencies, values, strategic goals and objectives to benefit both the firm and the society. Keywords: Economic Responsibility, Ethical Responsibility, Legal Responsibility, Philanthropic Responsibility & Brand Development