Perception of corporate social responsibility– a comparison study between polish and Slovak consumers

Abstract

Corporate Social Responsibility is a modern business philosophy, according to which the organization has to pursue their economic goals, and at the same time be responsible for the impact on the environment and quality of society life. One of the direct interaction groups of enterprises, representing an increasingly important area of CSR, are consumers. Achieving measurable effects of CSR activities is possible under condition that consumers are aware of them, have positive perception of the specific messages and that this raise the credibility of the organization in their opinion. The main goal of the study was to determine which areas of Corporate Social Responsibility implemented by food producers are perceived as the most important by consumers from Poland and Slovakia. The primary information used for the analyses and inference was derived from two independent consumer studies conducted during the period from November 2017 to January 2018 in Slovakia (Nitra Region) and in Poland (Malopolska Province). PAPI method was used for collection of the empirical material. 279 respondents participated in the study conducted in Slovakia and 272 respondents in Poland. For both consumers from Poland and Slovakia relationships with employees are the most important area of CSR. Developing good relationships with this stakeholder group should include meeting obligations, honesty, dialogue and cooperation, but also increasing employees' economic satisfaction. If a gap exists in meeting the employees' needs, it is impossible to build a high reputation of the enterprise in the area of social responsibility.