Consumer Preferences and Attitudes in Relation to The Social and Environmental Dimensions of Corporate Social Responsibility
Preferencije i stavovi potrošača u odnosu na socijalne i ekološke dimenzije korporativne društvene odgovornosti
Abstract
Corporate social responsibility, as a business philosophy and managerial concept, is increasingly represented in contemporary business operations and marketing, as well as in the scientific literature in this field. The importance that consumers attach to different aspects of social responsibility when evaluating companies and products and making purchasing decisions, is determined by economic, sociological, institutional and technological development of the environment, differing in developed countries and emerging markets. The aim of this paper is to investigate how consumers perceive the responsibility of companies operating in the market of the Republic of Serbia and which aspects of social responsibility they perceive as crucial or more important. In order to examine how consumers perceive the social and environmental dimensions of corporate social responsibility, an empirical study was conducted, using the survey method. For the purposes of the research, the questionnaire was adapted from the similar studies in foreign countries, which enables a compari son of the importance of different dimensions of corporate responsibility with consumers from different markets. In addition to standard demographic questions, the questionnaire also contains questions related to different perception, beliefs and attitudes, as well as expectations of respondents‘ in relation to the social and environmental dimension of company responsibility. The results of the research showed that there is a significant correlation between the perception of environmental and social aspects of corporate social responsibility and consumer preferences, expressed in company’s evaluation and intention to buy its products or services. One of the conclusions of the survey is that demographic characteristics of respondents determine this connection.
Apstrakt
Korporativna društvena odgovornost, kao poslovna filozofija i menadžerski koncept, sve više je zastupljena kako u savremenom poslovanju i marketingu, tako i u naučnoj literaturi iz ove oblasti. Značaj koji potrošači pridaju različitim aspektima društvene odgovornosti prilikom evaluacije kompanije i proizvoda, kao i odlučivanja za kupovinu, se razlikuje u zavisnosti od stepena ekonomskog, sociološkog, institucionalnog i tehnološkog razvoja okruženja, odnosno nije isti u razvijenim zemljama i na tržištima u razvoju. Cilj rada je da se istraži na koji način potrošači percipiraju društvenu odgovornost kompanija koje posluju na tržištu Republike Srbije i kojim aspektima društvene odgovornosti pridaju najveći značaj. Kako bi se ispitalo koja su očekivanja potrošača i na koji način oni percipiraju socijalne i ekološke dimenzije društvene odgovornosti, sprovedeno je empirijsko istraživanje, primenom metode anketiranja. Za potrebe istraživanja prilagođen je upitnik koji je primenjivan u sličnim studijama na inostranim tržištima, što omogućava i poređenje značaja različitih dimenzija korporativne odgovornosti kod potrošača iz različitih tržišnih okruženja. Rezultati istraživanja su pokazali da postoji značajna veza između percepcije ekoloških i socijalnih aspekata društvene odgovornosti kompanija i preferencija potrošača, izraženih u evaluaciji kompanije i nameri za kupovinu, kao i da demografske karakteristike ispitanika u jednom delu determinišu tu vezu.
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