Effect Customers Perception Brand Image Of Fmcg Companies Marketing Essay

Effect Customers Perception Brand Image Of Fmcg Companies Marketing EssayIn the midst of rapid globalization and increasing access to information, companies are acknowledging the grandness of being friendlyly responsible. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) broadly includes social, ethical and environmental responsibilities towards the society (Polonsky and Jevons, 2009). It refers to the triple freighter line, referring to expanding the traditional meaning of organisational success to accommodate ecological and social performance.Research shows pursuing a socially responsible mindset leads to numerous benefits (Butler, 2006 Burke Logsdon, 1996). CSR in any case increasingly plays an all important(p) role in consumer attitudes towards the company and grade as a whole.The tick off of a company plays an essential role in twist an identity, differentiating the value offering, and more importantly, drawing a larger customer base. The brand image of a company refers to a custom ers perception of its brand in totality.In the past couple of years, social responsibility has been in bodiedd with the entrepreneurial characteristics of an organisation, leading to the conceptualisation of a new-sprung(prenominal) term called Corporate Social Entrepreneurship (CSE). It is a comparatively new phenomenon related to integrating social considerations into a companys business operations. CSE is a process aimed at enabling business to develop more advanced and herculean forms of CSR (Austin and Reficco, 2009). transnational Companies (MNCs) producing Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) have been particularly active in displaying CSE in order to uplift the rural sections of the ontogeny society.Being a relatively new concept, the particularised impact of Corporate Social Entrepreneurship on the consumer outlook towards the corporate and product brand has yet to be researched in detail. This research attempts to search this singingship and gain a better understanding of CSE. Adapting the theoretical framework used by Poolthong and Mandhachitara (2009), explained under the literature review, a quantitative study allow for be conducted to examine the install of an MNCs CSE activities on its brand image.RESEARCH OBJECTIVESTo gain acumen into the impact of CSE on customers perception of the companys brand and their brand associations, taking Multinational Companies (MNCs) in the FMCG sector as an example.LITERATURE REVIEWCorporate Social Responsibility (CSR)The concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has gained a lot of sizeableness among stakeholders and in the corporate world in the past few years. Modern literature on the concept thunder mug be traced back to the 1950s (Bowen, 1953 Eells, 1956 Heald, 1957), succession formal definitions came about from the 1970s (Johnson, 1971 Carroll, 1979 Epstein, 1987). The most popular and widely accepted definition of CSR was given by Archie Carroll in 1979The social responsibility of business encompasses the economic, legal, ethical, and discretionary expectations that society has of organizations at a given nous in time (Carroll, 1979, p.500).From a business perspective, this definition forms the basis of CSR, termed as the Triple P concept of People, Planet and Profit.In todays global nature of the corporate environment, firms are increasingly recognising CSR more as a core activity rather than a encircling(prenominal) one. This growing importance of CSR tail be attributed to changing societal expectations, growing affluence of consumers and rapid globalisation (Werther Chandler, 2005).BRAND IMAGEThe term brand can be defined as a name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or combination of them which is intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to tell apart them from those of competitors (Kotler, 1991, p.442). Brand Image is considered to be an important aspect of marketing and was the outset consumer brand perception recogni sed in marketing literature (Gardner Levy, 1955). It is defined as the perceptions about a brand as reflected by the brand associations held in consumer memory (Keller, 1993, p.3). These brand associations refer to perceptions of brand quality and attitudes. The brand image is considered self-reliant of the functional product offering it gives the product a human element.The Branding Law of CSRRecent literature identifies how a company can differentiate itself and can gain a competitive advantage by linking the brand to CSR (Brammer Millington, 2006 Du et al., 2007). The brand image of a company is greatly affected by the degree of social responsibility it shows. CSR helps a company establish social legitimacy in the eyes of the customer. In their paper, Werther and Chandler explored strategic CSR as a means of achieving global brand insurance. A CSR driven approach of a firm incr readinesss the brand-user bond and reduces the brands weakness to other organisational shortcomings (Werther Chandler, 2005). This relationship amidst the brand value of a firm and the importance on CSR to it can be represented as The Branding Law of Corporate Social ResponsibilityThe importance of CSR to any organization is directly related, and rises in proportion, to the value of the firms global brand (Werther Chandler, 2005, p.321).CORPORATE SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP (CSE)Until recently, an organisations involvement in CSR was limited to being certified by social and environmental standards, having a well-established confederation welfare programme and so on. However, increasing global awareness has led companies to take their social responsibility to the next level. Organisations depart have to explore the predilection and initiative of individual employees and this had led to the emergence of a revolutionary concept that would enable firms to accelerate and develop their CSR initiatives. This term is called Corporate Social Entrepreneurship (CSE). CSE draws from the key concepts of corporate entrepreneurship, and social entrepreneurship. Corporate entrepreneurship refers to identifying and utilizing new business opportunities through innovative use of resources and strategies. Simultaneously, social entrepreneurship was defined by J. Gregory Dees as an innovative activity with a social purpose in either the private or nonprofit sector, or across both (Dees, 1998). However, unlike either of these terms, CSE involves mobilizing organizational resources as well as creating social and economic value. It can be defined asthe process of extending the firms domain of competence and corresponding opportunity set through innovative supplement of resources, both within and outside its direct control, aimed at the simultaneous creation of economic and social value (Austin et al., 2005).The Multinational Companies are today recognizing the bottom of developing markets, termed as the base of the pyramid as having a higher potential than the saturated develope d markets through disruptive innovation (Hart Christensen, 2002). This forms the basis of CSE, aiming at targeting new sections of the market for economic benefit through social upliftment.Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) Companies and CSEMultinational Companies (MNCs) in the FMCG Industry have been active in CSE initiatives in relation to the rest of the corporate world. Saroja Subrahmanyan and J. Tomas Gomez-Arias, in their paper in 2008, identify the efforts made by FMCG companies to target consumers at the bottom of the pyramid. Hindustan Unilever in India was one of the first companies to install products in smaller sizes to the rural section of the country. A network of women from rural backgrounds was formed and they were directed to sell Unilever products in sachets door-to-door. Also, Kissan, owned by Hindustan Unilever, buys farm dumbfound as raw material for its products. Danone, the French company partnered with a number of Non Government Organisations (NGOs) to sell yogurt in Bangladesh and South Africa (Subrahmanyan Gomez-Arias, 2008).CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORKIn their paper in 2009, Yaowalak Poolthong and Rujirutana Mandhachitara studied the effect CSR activities had on perceived service quality and brand effect, and the role of trust in establishing a link surrounded by perceived service quality and brand effect in the Thai retail banking sector. Garcia de los Salmones et al. (2005) found a direct relationship between a companys CSR behaviour and the customers perception of service quality. In turn, the study by Poolthong and Mandhachitara (2009) displayed a positive relationship between perceived service quality and trust in the company, hence leading to a positive brand effect.Simultaneously, a considerable number of studies have found a direct relation between CSR and customers attitudes towards the company (Bhattacharya and Sen, 2003 dark-brown and Dacin, 1997), thus representing a positive effect of CSR on brand effect.Based on this fr amework, the proposed research study pull up stakes attempt to gain an understanding of the effect of Corporate Social Entrepreneurship (CSE) on the brand image of an FMCG company (Figure 1).Adapted from Poolthong, Y., and Mandhachitara, R. (2009). Customer expectations of CSR, perceived service quality and brand effect in Thai retail banking. International Journal of Bank Marketing, 27 (6), 408-427.Evident from the corresponding literature, research exploring the concept of CSE is relatively new and has been gradually picking up pace. The specific effect of CSE on the company from the customers point of view is yet to be looked into in detail and this study makes an effort to understand the same, giving valuable insight into development strategic CSR and CSE as a marketing tool. Using the framework given above, this study will try to answer the following research questionsDo CSE activities of a company have a positive relationship with the customers perception of company brand im age?How significant is CSE to develop a favourable brand image for an FMCG company from the customers point of view?METHODOLOGYLuck and Rubin (1987) state that a good rule in all research is parsimony utilize only meaningful data. This study aims to explore and evaluate the effect CSE activities has on customers perception of brand image, taking the FMCG sector as an example.This research will first use secondary sources of information to gain insight into role played by MNCs in the FMCG sector with respect to social responsibility. Secondary data plays an important role in establishing a background to primitive research (Newson-Smith, 1988). Appropriate journals, articles and other publications will be used to understand previous studies conducted analysing the relationship between social responsibility and brand associations made by consumers. Through this source, a pre-existing questionnaire will be adapted in order to gather primary data.Being a quantitative study, a come met hod will be used by means of a questionnaire. According to John Webb (2003), survey research is appropriate for gathering data on attitudes, opinions, respondent knowledge and awareness etc. After looking for an appropriate questionnaire linking CSR and brand image, it will be adapted to devise an appropriate questionnaire analysing customers attitude towards an FMCG companys CSE initiatives. The possible options available to use questionnaires are personal interviews, telephone interviews, mail questionnaires, and e-questionnaires. Given the time and cost constraints, using an e-questionnaire is the most effective and appropriate method of data collection.Emailing questionnaires to respondents has become an increasingly popular method of data collection. In this proposed research study, questionnaires will be emailed to the try on population. Alternatively, online survey software like www.kwiksurveys.com or www.freeonlinesurveys.com may be used to create convenient and hassle-free questionnaires. In this case, using an e-questionnaire is the most appropriate due to advantages of instant(prenominal) delivery, quick responses and convenience for the respondent Kumar et al., 1999). Apart from this, increasing global access to the internet enables easy reach to the targeted respondents. However, using this method poses the limitation of respondents interpreting questions differently along with a high risk of not responding.With regard to the sample size of the study, a total of at least 100 filled questionnaires is aimed at, to pick at the sampling error. Using a judgement sampling technique, consumers of FMCG products on a global level will be identified to fill the questionnaire. Additional respondents will be reached through the snowball sampling, where one respondent may lead the researcher to other potential respondents (Marshall, 1996). The reason behind selecting FMCG consumers for this study is simply establish on the high degree of activity of FMCG c ompanies with regard to CSE and the fact that a large number of common people use some variety of an FMCG. This is ensures ease in reaching these consumers, leading to more reliable results.Based on the data collected, the data analysis software called Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) will be used to organise and interpret the information. Factor Analysis will be used to reduce the number of variables to a few constructs. Following this, bunch analysis will be used to identify clusters of relevant scales for the proposed research. Regression analysis will then be used to establish the nature and dominance of the relationship between CSE and brand image.Ethical considerations will be made in the process of gathering data. A section describing the key aspects and primary motive to carry out the research will be put in before the questionnaire. Additionally, complete anonymity of the respondents will be maintained throughout this study.support by the framework proposed by Poolthong and Mandhachitara (2009) and related literature about CSE and brand image of a company, this research proposes to find a positive effect of a CSE mindset of a company on the customers perception of the brand in totality. It will enable researchers further explore the nature of Corporate Social Entrepreneurship from the point of view of a customer. Also, FMCG marketers will be able to evaluate the significance of CSE in marketing communications.GANTT CHARTThe following chart outlines the schedule of activities in conducting this get the hang thesis. The dissertation period begins in the month of June with the submission of the final dissertation on September 6th 2010.TASKBackground ReadingPreparation of writings ReviewDesk ResearchCollecting DataAnalysing DataWriting Data AnalysisPreparing Background InformationWriting Research MethodologyWriting backchatWriting ConclusionRevision of ChaptersCompleting First DraftFinal Changes and ImprovementsBindingWEEKS123456789101 112JunJulAug