Management Assignment: Benefits OfAdopting Sustainable Strategies As CSR Approaches in UK
Question
Task: Develop a well-researched management assignmenton the topic “Benefits of adopting sustainable strategies as CSR approaches by the businesses in UK”. Make sure to use credible sources to support your discussion.
Answer
1. Introduction
The outbreak of the pandemic has developed a concern among the people towards the protection of the environmentandsustainability. As per the words of Lowet al., (2020) undertaken within this management assignment,the concept of sustainability has been an integral part of the corporatesocialresponsibility of the companies. They claimed that they are shifting to the complete sustainable productionprocessand will be contributing towards the sustainable environment as well as the responses (Abbasand Sa?san2019). Thus, the use of approachestowardssustainability has been beneficial in attracting customers towards the brands as it has been the need for the hour.
The implication of the claims made by the company was difficult as the business was suffering from a financial deficit. Large businesses like BASF SE have been subjected to market criticism when they were unable to execute their strategic measures of sustainable approaches (Low et al., 2020). The confusion, as well as complexity, arose within the businesses as the changed production approaches were in need of skilled exporters.
The increased demand of the customers for the products which issustainableis the reason for the shift of the businesses of chemical industry towards the sustainable production and services (Nambisan et al., 2019). It has been helpful in elevating the sales rate, and the companies able to actively adopt the changers within the businesses environment have been able to develop effective customer acquisition in the complex market condition. (Alaaraj et al., 2018) opinioned that the business approaches are changes and the business are tending to adopt sustainable as per their excellent CSR measures to keep their targeted customers satisfied as well as the developed brand valuation,
In this literature, the evaluation of the effective implication of the sustainable approaches as per the CSR measures of the different companies comes. The close connection of sustainable CSR and the customer’s accusation are portrayed in an effective manner.
2. Literature overview and Literature map
The research is based on the sustainable approaches adopted by the companies in order to attract the attention of the customers. Thus the two broad sections have been evaluated, including the sustainable approaches as well as the customer acquisition in the process of evaluating the literature supporting the selected research domain.
Figure 1: Literature map
2.1 Sustainable approaches used by the businesses as per their CSR measures
Tien et al.(2019) were in the opinion that the sustainable approaches are in the recentapproaches, the measure lies reduction of waste generation are used by the businesses so that the company can ensure an efficient, productive process. The role of the environment has been overshadowing the social and economical aspects post-pandemic. There has been a buzz among the people for sustainable products. Lowet al. (2020) was of the opinion that the initiates of the business in adopting the sustainable approaches were as by the change in the buying perception of the customers. The customers were willing to buy the products from companies that were not harming the environment. Nambisan et al. (2019) mentioned that the pandemic had been a trigger to the sustainable approaches adopted by the businesses. The shifts from the traditional to the sustainable business prospects include the measures by reducing, reusing, and recycling. It has been evident that the businesses were able to develop better strategies in developing better market positioning with their investment in an environmental pillar of sustainable development.Sivarajah et al.(2020), on the other hand, stated that the adaptation of the sustainability by the business was the outcome of the financial loss the business faced during the pandemics. It has been, therefore, evident that the smart approaches of using advanced technologies and planned management have been implicated by the business to ensure that the approaches towards sustainability are acting in favor of the company.
2.2 Role of effective CSR in developing brand value
Awan et al. (2018) were in the opinion that corporate social responsibility is the approach of the company in serving the surround in which it is operating. It has been coherently used by the business as the marketing opportunity where their claims and the transparency of CSR measures are acting as words of mouth. Dabija et al. (2018) mentioned that effective CSR is contributing towards building customer loyalty as it has been helpful in providing positive experiences to the customers. With the increase in the competitiveness of the business, the approaches of sustainability as per CSR are contributing to the building of a stronger engagement of the customers towards the brand value. It provides a feeling that purchasing the product is allowing the customers to contribute to the good work of the businesses. Martínez-Martínezet al. (2019) were of the opinion that productive CSR is helpful in increasing the lifetime value of the customers. The level of satisfaction increases as the company is providing products as per the expectation of the customers by elevating brand value. Abbasand Sa?san(2019) mentioned that the business is producing CSR reports each year, and the main concern of almost all the businesses is focused on ensuring their sustainability as it is in demand and the key to gaining effective brand valuation.
3. Literature Analysis: Methodology
Table 1: Overview of Methodology
Citation |
Research question |
Theory/Model |
Method of data collection and Analysis |
Tien et al. (2019) |
What is the role of international marketing in international business strategy? |
Classic model, business network theory. |
Qualitativeresearch and summarizing experiencewith thematicanalysis |
Dabija et al. (2018) |
H1: Green behavior positively affects a consumer’s loyalty towards green-oriented retail formats; H2: A proclivity for environmental protection positively affects a consumer’s loyalty towards green-oriented retail formats; and H3: Responsible consumption positively affects a Consumer’s loyalty towards green-oriented retail formats. |
Consumer behavior model and Integrative Theory of Socially Responsible. |
Qualitative research with objectivist problematic, ontological and epistemological Methodology. |
Havierniková and Kordoš (2019) |
H0: ranks do not differ among groups H1: ranks differ among groups of respondents |
Porter´s diamond model, cost-effective theory |
Quantitative research: Survey of total 1004 owners or managers of eight Slovak regions |
Martínez-Martínez et al., (2019) |
H1: Knowledge agents have a positive effect on the presence of environmental knowledge in a firm at a given point in time t. H2: The presence of an environmental knowledge base in an organization at a point in time (t) favors the presence of an up-to-date environmental knowledge base in that organization at a later stage (t+6 years) H3: The presence of an up-to-date environmental knowledge base at a given point in time (t+6) could enable a hotel to improve its business performance. |
Psychometric theory |
Quantitative research: Longitudinal study of 87 organizations in the Spanish hospitality industry. |
Alaaraj et al. (2018) |
H1. External growth strategies have a significant effect on organizational performance. H1a. Strategic alliance has a significant effect on organizational performance. H1b. Acquisition has a significant effect on the organizational performance of PLCs. H1c. Merger has a significant effect on the organizational performance of PLCs. |
Resource-based view theory and The commitment-trust theory |
Quantitative research: 240 senior managers from public listed companies (PLCs) in Malaysia |
Suryanto et al. (2018) |
H1: practices of GSCM adopted by Malaysian organizations will be positively related to the level of organizational learning capabilities. H2: GSCM practices adopted by Malaysian organizations will be positively related to the level of management support. |
Intuitional theory and Theory of Investment Recovery |
Quantitative research: 128 respondents of Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Berhad. |
Nambisan et al. (2019) |
What is the implication for international business theories? |
Business models |
Qualitative survey: Thematic evaluation |
Abbas and Sa?san (2019) |
What is the role of KM in green innovation and CSD? _ Do the contextual factors, such as organizational size and industry Category, significantly impact on CSD activities? |
Theory of SD |
Quantitative research: Survey of five major business cities in Pakistan, namely Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad, Sialkot, and Faisalabad.
|
Sivarajah et al. (2020) |
How can participatory web-enabled organizations orient business to Business practices towards sustainability? What big data and social media analytics techniques can be used by organizations to support their business to business sustainability Initiatives? What is the impact of intelligence gathered through big data and social media analytics for driving business to business sustainability Initiatives? |
Practical model for Sustainable Business |
Qualitative research with collaboratively find innovative methods |
Awan et al. (2018) |
Hypothesis (H1).Contract governance positively affects a firm’s collaboration propensity. Hypothesis (H2).There is a positive relationship between collaboration and social performance improvements.
|
Transaction cost economics (TCE) theory |
Quantitative research: The sample data for this study consisted of 1152 firms from different export industries |
Ying et al. (2019) |
Hypothesis H1. Intellectual capital significantly positively influences sustainable competitive performance. Hypothesis H2. Intellectual capital significantly positively influences resource acquisition. |
Upper echelon theory |
Quantitative research: cross-sectional data (e.g., within two months) through a structured questionnaire from top managers of Pakistani SMEs |
Low et al. (2020) |
What is theSmart Digital Marketing Capabilities for Sustainable Property Development? |
Technology acceptance model |
Quantitative research: The survey by Qualtrics survey platform. |
4. Critical literature review
4.1. Article 1: Dabija, D.C., Bejan, B.M. and Grant, D.B., 2018. The impact of green consumer behavior on green loyalty among retail formats: A Romanian case study. Moravian geographical reports, 26(3), pp.173-185.
4.1.1 Data collection and Analysis Method
The use of the survey is taken into consideration for the execution of the quantitative data extraction. The adaptation of the objectivist problematic ontological, as well as the epistemological method, are taken into consideration (Dabija et al., 2018). The study has been relying on the survey-based qualitative explorer study with the execution of the face-to-face questionnaire. The inspection of the Romanian customer is done to understand their reliability on the green loyalty. The three different districts in Romania were selected, including the Crisana, Centu as well as Banat, with the 3400 sample collection using the questionnaires ensuring that the sample is collected from the different geographical disparity (Dabija et al., 2018). It is effective in understating the situation better regarding the perception of the customers towards the green and sustainable measures adopted by the retail businesses. The different stores visited by the respondents to buy products from the domestic and international food or nonfood retail chains (Dabija et al., 2018). The use of statistical testing is done to ensure the accuracy of the outcome is derived in coherent manner.
4.1.2 Literature Contribution
Dabijaet al. (2018) were in the view that word of mouth plays a vital role in attracting the attention of the customers in the competitive businesses market. Green values play a vital role in the process of influencing the buying perception of the customers. The article outlines that the retail businesses, along with other prominent businesses in the market, are shifting towards the green approaches by adopting environmentally friendly measures. They tend to be more socially responsible, and thus the firm is able to develop capabilities in developing customer acquisition. Measures like pollution prevention, sustainable development as well as stewardship have been productive in keeping the customers attracted to the brand. Dabijaet al. (2018) were of the opinion that green behavior is effective in generating the concept of loyalty within the businesses organization. It has been productive in developing the buying perception in a comprehensive manner in the competitive businesses environment.
4.1.3 Gap, Limitation and Direction Future Research
Currently, the business is covering a wider association of understanding the buying perception of the customers in Romania. It inspects the role of the green behavior of the customers in the buying process in the differentindustrialsectors. However, the topic is currently too broad and is not able to fetch a clear idea about the role of sustainability in influencing the buying behavior of the customers. Thus, it can be stated that the narrow done of the study to the inspection of sustainable development and customer's loyalty on Romania would have fetched better outcomes. In the future, the study can be drawn on the inspection of the purchasing perception of customers and its correction with the sustainable development measures adopted by the businesses
4.2. Article 2: Havierniková, K. and Kordoš, M., 2019. Selected risks perceived by SMEs related to sustainable entrepreneurship in case of engagement into cluster cooperation. Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues, 6(4), p.1680
4.2.1 Data collection and Analysis Method
In the process of inspecting the risk associated with the selection of the sustainable measure by the SME business, the use of the survey is done to collect the primary qualitative data. One thousand four owners and managers of SME businesses have been surveyed using the Likert scale to understand the degree of risk as per them (Haviernikováand Kordoš, 2019). The different caterers of risk with evaluated, such as the market risk, trust risk, Competitive risk as well as competitive risk. The variables are tested with the use of Levene’s test and the Shapiro-Wilk test. The statistical evaluation has been productive in understanding the situation better in adopting sustainability (Haviernikováand Kordoš, 2019).
4.2.2 LiteratureContribution
Haviernikováand Kordoš (2019) were of the opinion that in the process of adopting sustainable measures, the business has to encounternumerousrisks. Therisk is high in the case of the SME business, and it is acting as a barrier to the businesses in meeting their objectives. The risk is defined as the uncertainty in this article. Measures are taken to exploit the different risks associated with the businesses. Haviernikováand Kordoš (2019) mentioned that businesses needto develop a balance in the process of adopting measures towards suitability. The selection of the approaches indicators and the approached resources are a must so that productivity can be ensured by adopting sustainable measures. The measure of adopting sustainable strategies for development is effective in attracting customers and ensuring collaborative development.
4.2.3 Gap, Limitation and Direction Future Research
The studyfocuses on the risk that the business has to face, which attains customers' attention by the adaptation of sustainable development. The study did not fetch a proper idea about the positive outcomes of suitability and its needs in recent times. Thus, in the future,investigationof overcoming the risk and ensuring positive outcomes by the company can be inspected.
5. Conclusion and Tentative Dissertation Research Direction
The evaluation of the correction of the sustainable measure as per CSR of the business and the customer’s acquisition is not much explored. The economical contents being the recent one are not much explored by the research in the previous study. The existingliteratureand the methods used more likely intend to understand the perception of the customers, and the buying powers of the customers are influenced by the sustainable approaches of the company.
The research topic is “Benefits of adopting sustainable strategies as CSR approaches bythe businesses in the UK “aims to answer the question such as 1. What is the impact of sustainable measures on customers buying perceptions in chemical industry? As well as 2.what role does sustainable development plays in building effective CSR and ensured positive sales chemical industry? The use of qualitative research will be used in which 55 samples from the customers of the UK will be collected using an online survey to understand their views on sustainable measures adopted by businesses and their impact on their buying intentions. ?
Reference List
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Alaaraj, S., Mohamed, Z.A. and Bustamam, U.S.A., 2018. External growth strategies and organizational performance in emerging markets: The mediating role of inter-organizational trust. Review of International Business and Strategy.Available at: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/RIBS-09-2017-0079/full/html(Accessed on 12.2.2022) Awan, U., Kraslawski, A. and Huiskonen, J., 2018. Governing interfirm relationships for social sustainability: the relationship between governance mechanisms, sustainable collaboration, and cultural intelligence. Sustainability, 10(12), p.4473.Available at: https://www.mdpi.com/372306(Accessed on 12.2.2022)
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