Corporate social responsibility effect on consumer patronage-management perspective: case study of a telecommunication company in Nigeria

Abstract

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become an important topic in recent years, most especially in a developing country like Nigeria where government regulation is a toothless bulldog to the private and multi-national companies. This, with the growing recognition of the significant effect the CSR has on a company and the environment. So it is becoming increasingly clear that firms can contribute to their own wealth and to overall societal wealth by considering the effect they have on the community where they operate and the world at large when making decisions. Although consumers are often identified as a driver of the business case for corporate social responsibility, but little is known about the precise effect of CSR on the consumer of a product or service. This study used a case study approach from the managerial view to empirically test the effect of CSR on consumer patronage of a leading telecommunications network company in Nigeria. Hypotheses were developed to test the relationship between CSR initiatives and societal benefit. The Chi-square method is adopted in testing the various formula hypotheses. The findings suggest that the practice of CSR enhances consumer loyalty and patronage towards a particular firm and also by investing in CSR, a firm could achieve a positive outcome in terms of its financial performance.