Bank customers’ preferences and responses to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives in Ghana
Abstract
 The study seeks to investigate Ghanaian bank customers’ ranked preference for corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives and determine which initiative has the greatest effect on attitude and behaviour toward banks. A sample of 384 retail bank customers is employed in the study. Applying a one-way MANOVA and two uni-variate ANOVAs, the study finds that customers have the highest preference for corporate philanthropy initiatives, followed by customer-centric and community volunteering initiatives. Additionally, the overall effects of CSR initiatives on customers’ attitude and behavioural intentions toward bank brands are found to be significant. More specifically, the study finds, using a Scheffé post-hoc test, that corporate philanthropy initiative have the greatest effect on both attitude and behavioural intentions towards bank brands. Based on the findings, the study recommends that the best type of CSR initiative that retail banks should apply to stimulate customers’ attitude and behaviour towards their brands in Ghana is corporate philanthropy initiatives.Downloads
References
Albinger, H. S., & Freeman, S. J. (2000).Corporate social performance and attractiveness as an employer to different job seeking populations. Journal of Business Ethics, 28, 243-253.
Amaeshi, K. M., Adi, B. C., Ogbechie, C., & Amao, O. O. (2006). Corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Nigeria: Western mimicry or indigenous practices? Journal of Corporate Citizenship,24, 83-99.
Auger, P., Devinney, T. M., & Louviere, J. J. (2006).Using best-worst scaling methodology to investigate consumer ethical beliefs across countries. Journal of Business Ethics, 70, 299-326.
Baumann, C., Burton, S., & Elliott, G. (2007). Prediction of attitude and behavioural intentions in retail banking.International Journal of Bank Marketing, 25(2), 102-116.
Beckmann, S. C. (2007). Consumers and corporate social responsibility: Matching the unmatchable? Australasian Marketing Journal, 15(1), 27-36.
Bhattacharya, C. B., Korschun, D., &Sen, S. (2009). Strengthening stakeholder company relationships through mutually beneficial corporate social responsibility initiatives.Journal of Business Ethics, 85, 257-272.
Brooks, S. (2010). CSR and the strait-jacket of economic rationality.International Journalof Sociology and Social Policy,30(11), 604-617.
Brown, T. J., & Dacin, P. A. (1997). The company and the product: Corporate associations and consumer product responses. Journal of Marketing, 61(1), 68-84.
Carroll, A. B. (1979). A three-dimensional conceptual model of corporate performance.Academy of Management Review, 4(4), 497-505.
Carroll, A. B. (1991, July/August). The pyramid of corporate social responsibility: Toward the moral management of organisational stakeholders. Business Horizons, 34, 39-48.
Crane, A., & Matten, D. (2004). Business Ethics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Craig Smith, N. (2003), “Corporate social responsibility: whether or how?â€, California Management Review, Vol. 45 No. 4, pp. 52-76.
Creyer, E. H., & Ross, W. T. (1997). The influence of firm behaviour on purchase intention: Do consumers really care about business ethics? Journal of Consumer Marketing, 14(6), 421-432.
D’Amico, E. J., Neilands, T. B., & Zambarano, R. (2001).Power analysis for multivariate and repeated measures designs: A flexible approach using the SPSS MANOVA procedure. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers 33(4),479-484.
Dartey-Baah, K., &Amponsah-Tawiah, K. (2011).Exploring the limits of western corporate social responsibility theories in Africa. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 2(18), 126-137.
Dolnicar, S., &Pomering, A. (2007). Consumer response to corporate social responsibility initiatives: An investigation of two necessary awareness states. 2007 Australia and New Zealand Marketing Academy Conference (ANZMAC), Dunedin, 3-6 December, available from Google scholar database (accessed 18 January 2013).
Evuleocha, S. U. (2005). Managing indigenous relations: Corporate social responsibility in a new age of activism. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 10(4), 328-340.
Eweje, G. (2006a). The role of MNEs in community development initiatives in developing countries: Corporate social responsibility at work in Nigeria and South Africa. Business and Society, 45(2), 93-129.
Eweje, G. (2006b). Environmental costs and responsibilities resulting from oil exploitation in developing countries: The case of the Niger Delta of Nigeria. Journal of Business Ethics, 69(1), 27-56.
Eweje, G. (2007). Multinational oil companies’ CSR initiatives in Nigeria: The scepticism of stakeholders in host communities. Managerial Law, 49(5/6), 218-235.
Fombrun, C., & Shanley, M. (1990). What's in a name? Reputation building and corporate strategy. Academy of management Journal, 33(2), 233-258.
Frynas, J. G. (2005). The false developmental promise of corporate social responsibility: Evidence from multinational oil companies. International Affairs, 81(3), 581-598.
Ghauri, P., &Grønhaug, K. (2005).Research methods in business studies: A practical guide. (3rded.). Harlow, England: Pearson Education Limited.
Green, T., & Peloza, J. (2011). How does corporate social responsibility create value for consumers? Journal of Consumer Marketing, 28(1), 48-56.
Greening, D. W..& Turban, D. B. (2000).Corporate social performance as a competitive advantage in attracting a quality workforce.Business and Society, 39(3), 254-280.
Groza, M. D., Pronschinske, M. R., & Walker, M. (2011). Perceived organizational motives and consumer responses to proactive and reactive CSR. Journal of Business Ethics, 102, 639-652.
Guzman, F., & Becker-Oslen, K. (2010). Strategic corporate social responsibility: A brand building tool. In Louche, C., Idowu, S. O., Filho L.W. (Eds), Innovative CSR from risk management to value creation (pp. 197-219). Sheffield: Greenleaf.
Haigh, M. M., & Brubaker, P. (2010). Examining how image restoration strategy impacts perceptions of corporate social responsibility, organization-public relationships, and source credibility. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 15(4), 453–468.
Hair Jr., J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., Anderson, R. E., &Tatham, R. L. (2006). Multivariate data analysis.(6thed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
Hinson, R. E. (2011). Online CSR reportage of award-winning versus non award-winning banks in Ghana.Journal of Information, Communication & Ethics in Society, 9(2), 102–115.
Hinson, R. E. (2012). Service marketing excellence.With a twist of corporate social responsibility. Accra, Ghana: Sedco.
Hinson, R. E., &Kodua, P. (2012). Examining the marketing-corporate social responsibility nexus.International Journal of Law and Management, 54(5), 332–344.
Jamali, D. (2008). A stakeholder approach to corporate social responsibility: A fresh perspective into theory and practice. Journal of Business Ethics, 82, 213–231.
Kinney, D. W. (2008). Selected demographic variables, school music participation, and achievement test scores of urban middle school students.Journal of Research in Music Education, 56 (2), 145-161.
Kotler, P., & Lee, N. (2005).Corporate social responsibility: Doing the most for your company and your cause. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Lindgreen, A., Swaen, V., & Campbell, T. T. (2009). Corporate social responsibility practices in developing and transitional countries: Botswana and Malawi. Journal of Business Ethics, 90(3), 429-440.
Lindgreen, A., Swaen, V., & Campbell, T. T. (2009). Corporate social responsibility practices in developing and transitional countries: Botswana and Malawi. Journal of Business Ethics, 90(3), 429-440.
Luo, X., & Bhattacharya, C. B. (2006).Corporate social responsibility, customer satisfaction, and market value. Journalof Marketing, 70,1-18.
Maignan, I. (2001). Consumers’ perceptions of corporate social responsibilities: A cross cultural comparison. Journal of Business Ethics, 30(1), 57-72.
Maignan, I., & Ferrell, O. C. (2003). Nature of corporate responsibilities perspectives from American, French, and German consumers.Journal of Business Research, 56, 55-67.
Malhotra, N. K. (2007). Marketing research: An applied orientation. (6thed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.
Mandhachitara, R., &Poolthong, Y. (2011). A model of customer loyalty and corporate social responsibility.Journal of Services Marketing, 25(2), 122-133.
McDonald, L. M. & Lai, C. H.(2011). Impact of corporate social responsibility initiatives on Taiwanese banking customers.International Journal of Bank Marketing,29(1), 50-63.
McDonald, L. M., & Rundle-Thiele, S. (2008). Corporate social responsibility and bank customer satisfaction: A research agenda. International Journal of Bank Marketing, 26(3), 170-182.
Mohr, L. A., Webb, D. J., & Harris, K. E. (2001). Do consumers expect companies to be socially responsible? The impact of corporate social responsibility on buying behaviour.The Journal of Consumer Affairs, 35(1), 45-72.
Murray, K. B., & Vogel, C. M. (1997). Using a hierarchy-of-effects approach to gauge the effectiveness of corporate social responsibility to generate goodwill toward the firm: Financial versus nonfinancial impacts. Journal of Business Research, 38,141-159.
Ndzibah, E. (2009). CSR in Ghana? Diversity should not mean dumping. Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal,28(7), 498-518.
Ofori, D., & Hinson, R. (2007).Corporate social responsibility perspectives of leading firms in Ghana. Corporate Governance, 7(2), 178-193.
Pomering, A.& Dolnicar, S. (2006). Customers’ sensitivity to different measures of corporate social responsibility in the Australian banking sector. 2006 Australia and New Zealand Marketing Academy Conference (ANZMAC), Brisbane, 4-6 December, available from Google scholar database (accessed 13 September 2012).
Porter, M. E., & Kramer, M. R. (2002).The competitive advantage of corporate philanthropy.Harvard Business Review, 80(12), 57-68.
Rashid, M., Abdeljawad, I., Ngalim, S. M., & Hassan, M. K. (2013). Customer-centric corporate social responsibility: A framework for Islamic banks on ethical efficiency. Management Research Review, 36(4), 359-378.
Safi, A., & Ramay, M. I. (2013). Corporate Social Responsibility and Consumer Behaviour: A Study from Pakistan. Information Management and Business Review. 5(4), 194-202.
Sen, S., & Bhattacharya, C. B. (2001). Does doing good always lead to doing better? Consumer reactions to corporate social responsibility. Journal of Marketing Research, 38(2), 225-243.
Sen, S., Bhattacharya, C. B., & Korschun, D. (2006). The role of corporate social responsibility in strengthening multiple stakeholder relationships: A field experiment. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 34(2), 158-166.
Turban, D. B. &Greening, D. W. (1997). Corporate social performance and organizational attractiveness to prospective employees. Academy of Management Journal, 40(3), 658-672.
Visser, W. (2006).Revisiting Carroll’s CSR pyramid: An African perspective. In Huniche, M., & Pedersen, E. R. (eds.). Corporate citizenship in developing countries: New partnership perspectives. (pp. 29-56). Gylling, Denmark: Narayana Press.
Wilson Van Voorhis, C. R., & Morgan, B. L. (2007). Understanding power and rules of thumb for determining sample sizes. Tutorials in Quantitative Methods for Psychology, 3(2), 43â€50.
World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) (2000).Corporate social responsibility: Making good business sense. WBCSD, Switzerland
This journal is an open access journal, and the authors and journal should be properly acknowledged, when works are cited.
Authors may use the publisher's version for teaching purposes, in books, theses, dissertations, conferences and conference papers.
A copy of the authors’ publisher's version may also be hosted on the following websites:
- Non-commercial personal homepage or blog.
- Institutional webpage.
- Authors Institutional Repository.
The following notice should accompany such a posting on the website: “This is an electronic version of an article published in the African Journal of Business Ethics, Volume XXX, number XXX, pages XXX–XXX”, DOI. Authors should also supply a hyperlink to the original paper or indicate where the original paper (http://ajobe.journals.ac.za/pub) may be found.
The following Creative Commons license applies:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
