Retail sector employees‘ perceptions on managerial support for CSR initiatives

Abstract

The approach to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in organizations at both the micro and macro levels is critically important since it characterizes the relationship among stakeholders that is used in part, to define and control the strategic direction and performance of an organization. While profit maximization is important, an ethical moral compass is also critical. This study investigates whether or not managers are perceived by employees to be applying ethical principles and strategic thinking in their CSR initiatives. The purpose of the study is twofold. Firstly, to highlight that managers perceive that their CSR attitudes and behaviour are effective and that societal best interests prevail in all their dealings with employees and other stakeholders. Secondly, to ascertain whether employees perceive that their managers CSR attitudes and behaviours are inadequate to meet employee expectations and that their attitudes and behavior are superior in this regard. Structured self-administered questionnaires were collected from four supermarkets in Johannesburg. The sample consisted of fifty employees who were requested to complete the questionnaires. The sample of fifty employees in each of four anonymous retail supermarkets from different stores in Johannesburg, South Africa, responded to a structured questionnaire concerning CSR initiatives in the workplace. In general, the results of the research indicated that employees perceive that the CSR initiatives in place in their organizations were inadequate in that societal best interests were not always met. In addition, the managers‘ attitudes and behaviour concerning CSR in terms of the organization‘s performance were deemed to be poor.