Social Corporate Responsibility: A Tool of Achieving and Maintaining Competitive Advantage: An Assessment of Safaricom Kenya Limited

A Research Project Report; Submitted to the Chandaria School of Business in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of Master of Business Administration (MBA)The general objective of the study is to examine whether Safaricom Kenya Limited has utilized CSR to attain and maintain a competitive advantage in the Kenyan mobile telephony market. The study is guided by three specific research objectives, namely; To examine the extent to which Safaricom’s CSR engagements has influenced its image; To assess how Safaricom’s CSR engagements have influenced customer satisfaction and loyalty; To explore the extent to which Safaricom’s CSR engagement has improved its organizational performance. The research design used in this study was an explanatory research design. The population of this study comprised middle-level managers of the Safaricom and the current customers of Safaricom. The study employed the use of purposive sampling method and conducted a survey among 30 middle-level managers of Safaricom. This study utilized purposive sampling, a sampling technique that permits the researcher to use only individuals deemed to have the relevant information. This technique was used for various reasons including lowering cost, increasing the accuracy of results, and facilitating speedy data collection, as well as accessibility of population elements. Semi-structured questionnaires were used in the study to collect data from the potential respondents. The researcher used MS Excel and the Statistical package (SPSS) to produce and the descriptive statics and the inferential statistics for the study. The inferential statistics include the Chi-Square tests, the determination of central tendencies and deviations and the calculation of correlations. The study has determined that Safaricom’s CSR engagements have markedly enhanced the firm’s corporate image. The study has found that the majority of respondents are of the opinion that CSR has contributed to the establishment of a positive corporate reputation and image for Safaricom. The study has also found that the firm’s CSR activities have influenced customer satisfaction and loyalty for Safaricom. The study has further found that CSR has precipitated increased organizational performance of the firm. The study results indicate that CSR has influenced Safaricom’s financial performance and growth. The study has further established that due to CSR, more customers are likely to subscribe to Safaricom’s products. It has also found that the CSR has facilitated Shareholder value creation or performance further adding to the firm’s performance. The study concludes by contending that CSR can facilitate the attainment and sustenance of a positive corporate image. It helps the corporation establish a reputation as a firm that is not abstracted from the society but one that shares in the society’s issues and concerns and which is part of the solution to those challenges. The study further contends that CSR facilitates customer loyalty to Safaricom and thereby enhances the corporation’s competitive advantage. It also notes that in the same way that CSR positively influences corporate image and customer satisfaction and loyalty, it also influences the firm’s organizational performance. The study recommends that managers should appreciate the positive correlation between involvement in CSR and the advancement of the corporate image. It contends that CSR should not be taken as a legal responsibility but rather as a fundamental corporate strategy. It also recommends that the leadership at Safaricom must include CSR as an integral part of the firm’s organizational strategy and use to attain customer satisfaction and thereby customer loyalty. It suggest that the managers of Safaricom and other firms must appreciate the fundamental importance of CSR for organizational performance. The managers and CEO’s should recognize the association between CSR and other attributes of performance including, sales, customer-corporation relationships, rate of return on assets among others. it further recommends that there is need for more academic research on the association between CSR and organizational strategy