The Role of Corporate Social Responsibility in Shaping Community Perception about an Organization

Abstract

Organizations have invested substantially in initiatives that do not generate revenue or profit in the short-term, but rather with the potential to shape the public perception about them, all in a bid to secure a significant market share and enhanced financial position in the medium to long-term. A very potent strategy employed by organizations to shape the perception of the public is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The concept of CSR is now firmly rooted on the global business agenda but in order to move from theory to concrete action, many obstacles need to be overcome including the challenges inherent in the use ofCSR communication. It is against this backdrop that this research seeks to examine the role of CSR in shaping the perception of a community about an organization. The study also among others, aims at identifying effective strategies that organizations could employ to communicate CSR to shape community perception. To achieve these objectives, the researcher used quantitative research approach and surveyed 200 residents of Srafa Immuna community through the use of simple random sampling method. The research revealed that Corporate Social Responsibility has the potential of enhancing an organization's corporate image, reputation and credibility culminating in rise in sales, customer loyalty gains, attainment of competitive advantage and improvement in the overall organizational perfonnance. As the need for organizations to undertake CSR initiatives gain momentum, communication of CSR has been cited as being one of the crucial elements of shaping public perception. It is therefore recommended that, MTN integrates CSR communication into its CSR programs in order to effectively shape public perception.