Corporate social responsibility in the function of marketing: a case study

Društveno odgovorno poslovanje širok je pojam koji se odnosi na utjecaj tvrtki na društvo i okolinu. Društveno odgovorne tvrtke posebnu pažnju posvećuju brizi za zajednicu, okoliš te na razvoj dobrih odnosa s potrošačima, zaposlenicima, društvom i poslovnim partnerima. Postoje četiri dimenzije društveno odgovornog poslovanja: ekonomska, pravna, moralna i filantropska. Marketing je jedna od najznačajnijih i najsloženijih poslovnih funkcija kojoj je cilj prepoznavanje i zadovoljavanje potreba potrošača, a to se postiže marketinškim procesom, odnosno provodi se istraživanje tržišta, donose se marketinške odluke, definiraju se marketinški ciljevi, određuju se marketinška strategija i marketinške aktivnosti te se izrađuje marketing miks kojemu su osnovni elementi: proizvod, cijena, distribucija i promocija. Društveno odgovorno poslovanje implementiralo se u funkciju marketinga kroz korporacijske društvene inicijative, poput marketinga povezanog s društvenim ciljem, volontiranja i korporativne filantropije te kroz etično marketinško djelovanje, ali i provođenje održivog i zelenog marketinškog koncepta. Na taj način, tvrtke doprinose zajednici i očuvanju okoliša, ostvaruju bolji odnos s dionicima, stvaraju konkurentsku prednost, povećavaju svoj ugled na tržištu te unaprjeđuju svoje poslovanje. Primjeri društvene odgovornosti tvrtki Dm i Kaufland potvrđuju da postoje brojni načini na koji tvrtke mogu primjenjivati društveno odgovorno poslovanje u funkciji marketinga od čega imaju korist one same, ali i njihovi potrošači, dionici te društvo u cjelini. Cilj ovog završnog rada je utvrditi važnost i povezanost društvene odgovornosti i funkcije marketinga te na temelju dvaju primjera uvidjeti kako tvrtke mogu primjenjivati društveno odgovorno poslovanje u funkciji marketinga.Corporate social responsibility is a broad term that refers to the impact of companies on society and the environment. Socially responsible companies pay special attention to care for the community, the environment and the development of good relations with consumers, employees, society and business partners. There are four dimensions of socially responsible business, namely: economic, legal, moral and philanthropic dimensions. Marketing is one of the most important and complex business functions, the goal of which is to identify and satisfy the needs of consumers, and this is achieved through the marketing process, that is, market research is carried out, marketing decisions are made, marketing goals are defined, marketing strategies and marketing activities are determined, and marketing mix, the basic elements of which are product, price, distribution and promotion. Corporate social responsibility was implemented in the function of marketing through corporate social initiatives such as marketing related to a social goal, volunteering, and corporate philanthropy, and through ethical marketing activities, as well as the implementation of a sustainable and green marketing concept. In this way, companies contribute to the community and the preservation of the environment, achieve better relations with stakeholders, create a competitive advantage, increase their reputation on the market and improve their business. The examples of social responsibility of the companies Dm and Kaufland confirm that there are numerous ways in which companies can apply corporate social responsibility in the function of marketing, which benefits not only themselves, but also their consumers, stakeholders and society as a whole. The goal of this undergraduate thesis is to determine the importance and connection between social responsibility and the function of marketing and, based on two examples, to see how companies can apply corporate social responsibility in the function of marketing