1: Introduction

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the twenty-first century is one of the key
marketing methods that is used by conglomerates to promote their products and
services in the intended target market through strengthening their corporate identity as
a socially responsible business organization as argued by Windsor, D. (2001)1. This
makes it clear that the core intention of utilising the CSR by an organization both in
the national and international markets is towards increasing the revenue for the
organization to generate sustainable return on investments as argued by McWilliams,
A. et al (2006)2. The increase in the globalisation and the competition between leading
conglomerates in various segments of business like the Fast Moving Consumer Goods
(FMCG) has increased the need for such organizations to use the CSR as a marketing
strategy to not only strengthen their corporate identity in the global arena but also to
enter new markets in the developing nations of the global economy (Windsor, D.
(2006)3). In this report a critical overview on the key CSR strategies deployed by
conglomerates is presented to the reader along with examples on potential CSR
strategies implemented by such organizations in future to strengthen their global
presence are presented to the reader.

1.2: CSR and its strategic use to leverage competitive advantage

The domestic and international underserved markets in the twenty-first century global
economy represents a potential market for product development to achieve sustainable
competitive advantage as argued by Weiser, J. (2007)4. This is naturally because of the
fact that the sales by volume in these markets which form the majority of the global
population is deemed to be the major source of revenue for a new entrant or an
existing player as argued by Weiser, J. (2007). The fact that the economic
development is the major requirements in these geographies makes it clear that the
involvement of the CSR implemented by the conglomerates through their active
participation in the social development activities would help strengthen their
corporate identity as well as help establish the brand in the target markets. The CSR
strategy is deemed to be the major element that is used for the promotion of the
international brands in such markets in order to first develop the awareness among the
buyers in the market on the product lines promoted under the brand eventually
helping achieve sustainable market share through generating sales by volume as
argued by Weiser, J. (2007). The case of India is a classical example for the
aforementioned where Procter and Gamble a leading FMCG competitor in the
global market has increased its presence in the Indian markets for its FMCG brands
through the Shiksha move in conjunction with Children Rights and You (Gupta, D.
20065). The Shiksha programme by Procter and Gamble is aimed at increasing
awareness and providing education for children in the under developed regions of
India especially rural areas and villages where basic amenities like electricity and
1
Windsor, D. (2001), THE FUTURE OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY, International
Journal of Organizational Analysis; Volume: 9 Issue: 3
2
McWilliams, A. et al (2006), Corporate Social Responsibility: International Perspectives, Journal of
Business Strategies, Spring2006, Vol. 23 Issue 1, p1-12
3
Windsor, D. (2006), Corporate Social Responsibility: Three Key Approaches, Journal of Management
Studies volume 43 Issue 9
4
Weiser, J. (2007), Untapped: strategies for success in underserved markets, JOURNAL OF
BUSINESS STRATEGY, VOL. 28 NO. 2
5
Gupta, D. (2006), P&G steps up CSR events in India, Media: Asia's Media & Marketing Newspaper
water supply are unavailable. This approach since the 2005 by the company has
increased its presence among the middle class and the working communalities of the
Indian buyer market eventually strengthening its corporate identity and brand image
in the target geography.

The key aspect associated with the above move by the Procter and Gamble is to utilise
the CSR strategy not as a promotional mechanism through sponsorship as in the case
of Pantene and the Hair Care Practices of Indias Most Beautiful Women a study
conducted by ACNielsen (Company Profile, 20066) where the role of the companys
investment was to promote the Pantene brand as a strong and reliable entity in the
Indian market for women hair care.

The key aspect associated with the underserved markets of the global environment is
the increasing purchasing power alongside the fast growing business sectors as well as
the a growing workforce. This makes it clear that the affordability of the buyers in
such markets is potentially high but the range of products available are limited thus
creating a gap for quality products and international brands to establish their product
lines in these markets as argued by Weiser, J. (2007). The case of India is a classical
example where the countrys tremendous economic growth due to its role as a key
outsourcing player in the information technology business of global business has
increased the net disposable income among a majority of the working class in the
Indian economy. Thus by presenting the image of Procter and Gamble as a player in
the Indian market that supports the development of rural areas of the geography will
achieve the emotional edge over the buyers interest on the Procter and Gamble
product lines over its competitors. This naturally increases the sales for the
organization increasing the revenue and profits.

The case of Microsoft and its CSR move through enabling the availability off
technology to rural areas and underserved areas of the global market is yet another
example that justifies the profit oriented move towards portraying the corporate
identity of the organization in the global economy. The CSR strategy of Microsoft as
argued by Mortimer, R. (2002)7 is that its strive to make technology available to
many people who may have limited access to technology thus enabling them to realise
the potential of technology. The case of Microsofts involvement in Africa by working
closely with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and relief agencies that aren't
affiliated with any particular government, to assist in implementing localized
solutions through identifying the needs of the people in such local regions is a
classical example for the CSR strategy approach by Microsoft in the twenty-first
century competitive environment of Information Technology solutions sales
(Calypso, A. S. (2007)8).

The above approach of the company in Africa and similar moves in rural areas of
South India through supporting schools in villages by providing technology is one of
the key marketing elements that not only establishes the corporate identity of
Microsoft in the global market but also attracts potential investors across the globe.
This makes it clear that the entry into the underserved market is not only for the
development of sales and generating revenue but also to utilise the CSR activities so
6
Company Profile (2006), The Procter and Gamble Company, Datamonitor Inc
7
Mortimer , R. (2002), Cheque out the charity case, Brand Strategy, May2002 Issue 159, p20
8
Calypso, A. S. (2007), A NEW VISION OF AFRICA, Black Enterprise, May2007, Vol. 37 Issue 10
conducted in such geographical regions to strengthen the organizations presence in
the local market as well as the global competitive arena as argued by F. Brassington
and S. Pettit (2003)9.

The policy based approach to the CSR is one of the key strategic moves by the
conglomerates in the global economy to ensure that the corporate identity of the
organization is strengthened by the policy rather than mere activities at underserved
market and rural areas of Far East and Africa as argued by Mortimer , R. (2002). The
case of Microsoft discussed above is a classical example for the aforementioned as the
companys CSR policy of making technology available to many with limited access to
technology is not only prevalent in Africa and India but also in various other
developing economies thus strengthening the brand image of Microsoft in the global
Information Technology Market.

It is further interesting to note that the effective use of the CSR in the global
environment is not only through the participation in the social events and supporting
the social cause but mainly through identifying the potential market segments where
the CSR initiative will be successful in order to strengthen the corporate identity of
the organization as argued by Weiser, J. (2007). This is evident in the case of Procter
and Gamble discussed above where its initiative to promote education for children in
the rural areas and villages of India is planned alongside the Children Rights and You
justifies that the company is actually utilising the global move to strengthen its
identity in the global market whilst participating in the social development move at
the local geography.

It is interesting to note that the over fifty percent of the global consumers perceive
that the responsibility of the organization matters in forming an impression of a
company (Mortimer, R. 2002). This makes it clear that the effective use of the CSR
strategy can help leverage the potential of a major segment of the global market as
well as the local markets in which the organization is actually implementing its CSR
policies as argued by Weiser, J. (2007).

As the CSR in itself is a deemed as a delicate entity for an organization not to boast
about but to communicate in order to ensure that the organization is delivering its
responsibility to the society rather than a favour to the community is evident in the
case of successful CSR strategies like that of Microsoft discussed above. Another
example for the aforementioned is the case of Shell where the companys promotion
of its responsibility to green environment through energy conservation is a critical
aspect to increase the awareness among the customers both in the domestic and
business markets on the environmental friendly measures of the organization in the
mining and refining of the oil resources as argued by Brooks, G. (2007)10. The case of
E-on and its strategy to generate energy using un-conventional sources of energy like
the wind farms in the North Sea to demonstrate the environmental friendly approach
to the generation and use of energy is deemed as a strong policy measure and strategic
move towards development of business and production process within the

9
F. Brassington and S. Pettit (2003), Principles of Marketing, FT: Prentice Hall Ltd
10
Brooks, G. (2007), Shell awards corporate site redesign to Modem Media, New Media Age
organization as argued by Silagy, E. E. (2007)11. The position of E-On as a key player
in the global energy market especially with strong presence in the European Union
member states makes it clear that the above policy implementation and its
demonstration on an organization wide basis will help leverage the support of the
local government and other environmental bodies in the global energy market to
increase its development strategies for generating renewable sources of energy.

Among the examples discussed above in the global energy sector, the key aspect that
makes the distinction between policy and mere promotion is the extent to which an
organization tends to boast about the social responsibility as part of its promotion
rather than communicate its role in the environmental preservation. In the light of the
above arguments it is clear that the case of Shell although implemented as a policy
and practised through investment into research and development to produce fuels with
low emission levels etc., the fundamental fact that the organization is depleting the oil
resources of the nature makes the overall social responsibility process in-significant
against the level of oil being pumped by the company through its many oil well across
the globe. The case of E-On and its renewable energy through the Wind Mills in the
North Sea portrays the companys responsibility in controlling the use of non-
renewable sources of energy and utilise alternatives like that of the Wind Energy to
generate electricity. Thus the core CSR policy of environmental friendly strategy to
control the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere is evident in this case.
Hence the case of E-On communicates the responsibility whilst the case of Shell Oil
boasts its role in controlling the CO2 and other greenhouse gases emission. From the
above arguments it is clear that the CSR is a marketing strategy that can be leveraged
to the benefit of the strategic business development to achieve sustainable competitive
advantage only through portraying the CSR policy as an element that is delivered over
and above the core business processes of the organization. This is evident in case of
E-On as its electricity generation using gas is the core process whilst its generation of
electricity using Wind Energy to supplement a considerable portion of the demand is
the strategy delivered over and above its usual energy generation process.

From the examples discussed in this section, it is evident that the CSR is a strategy
that is deployed by conglomerates in the global market with the sole intention to
increase their market share and sales in the competing business sector. The portrayal
of the CSR strategy is the factor that differentiates the responsibility of the
organization to the society from its profit driven motive as argued by Johnson, G. et al
(2005)12.

1.3: CSR examples

One of the major areas of the global business is the logistics associated with the
transport and delivery of goods manufactured/produced from Far Eastern nations
where the production is outsourced as argued by Pendrous, R. (2005)13. This is one of
the areas where the CSR can be demonstrated by organization various segments of the
business especially in the retail sector as the retailing of both the perishable and non-
perishable goods in the global economy depends heavily on the outsourcing strategy

11
Silagy, E. E. (2007), Air Apparent, Electric Light & Power, Vol. 85 Issue 3, p42-43
12
Johnson, G. et al (2005), Exploring Corporate Strategy 7th Edition, FT: Prentice Hall Ltd
13
Pendrous, R. (2005), Chill in the wake of frozen food review, Food Manufacture, Oct2005, Vol. 80
Issue 10, p3-3
in the west as argued by Pendrous, R. (2005). A CSR initiative would be the process
of supporting the local farmers and producers by procuring the food products like
milk, egg, wheat and other agricultural products produced in the UK rather than
importing in large quantities from foreign nations. This approach will not only
increase the awareness among the buyers through their role in supporting the
development of their local community but also in the reduction of the carbon foot
print through reducing the level of food products imported into the UK from other
nations. This approach although recommended with various retailing organizations is
not extensively deployed mainly due to the costs associated with the production and
distribution of the food products within the UK.

An approach to encouraging the purchase of the local produce where available rather
than the imported substitute is through addressing the pricing strategy from a
legislation perspective. If the government introduces legislation imposing taxes on
food products that imported when they can be procured locally, the consumers would
be left with the choice of purchasing the local produce at a littler higher price or the
imported product with heavy taxes. This approach is deemed to be implementing the
environmental preservation in a forceful manner but will prove effective when
deployed in the UK as the enforcement of such legislation will naturally divert the
retailers attention to the local producers rather than their substitute imports from Far
East and other non European Union member states. Thus the control of the import
will help control the level of carbon foot print due to the logistics involved with the
retailing in the UK as well as encouraging the local farmers in enabling them to
conduct their business effectively. The process of fair trade when prevalent in cases
where the products are not naturally grown in the UK, the aforementioned approach
with or without the government support will help increase the CSR position of the
retailer in the society thus establishing a strong brand identity in the competing
markets.

The major limitation associated with the case discussed above is the fact that a
distinction cannot be established easily between the products produced locally and
those that must be imported. The second and most important element is the fact that
the poultry, foul and cattle rearing in the UK has seen tremendous setbacks in the
form of bird flu and other animal diseases resulting in the increased dependence on
import of meat products. Alongside, the diversity in the retail sector business with
some of the segments like the clothing industry heavily depending on the out-sourced
production process to again sustainable profit margins to the seller proves the
approach to be complex in nature.

Another example for CSR implementation that can help leverage sustainable
competitive advantage and strengthen the corporate identity of the organization is the
process of increasing the employment level through operating training and
apprenticeship schemes for the underprivileged population in economies like African
nations, India and China. Procter and Gamble or Microsoft can implement the above
in India where both the organizations not only have potential markets for business
development but also the human resource with the skills that can be honed to suit the
business needs of the industry. This approach of training and apprenticeships provided
to such communities will naturally increase the awareness of the organization among
the general public thus strengthening the corporate identity and brand image of the
organization. The involvement of the organization in not only the recruitment of
graduates from popular academic institutions but also providing the training and
apprenticeship to those in the rural areas will help increase the organizations social
responsibility to help control unemployment in the Indian as well as the global
economy. Thus the organization can achieve a strategic position in the global market
through its CSR strategy towards eradicating unemployment in the third world nations
through supporting the global economic growth.

The major constraint with the above-mentioned is the financing by the concerned
organization and the support from the local authorities in identifying the potential
rural areas where such training and apprenticeships can be provided. The fact that
most of the training programme result in the process of training the underprivileged
people in the community without immediate return on investment as the
apprenticeship training cannot always help in generating a skilled work force that can
be deployed in the organizational operations makes the aforementioned a strategy that
does not generate quick return on investment. Alongside, the involvement or success
of the individual concerned depends on a wide range of social and environmental
factors thus making it clear, the efforts dedicated by the organization is not always
realised by the participant to its full potential.

The training and apprenticeship CSR strategy by a multinational organization either in

rural India or underprivileged regions of Africa mainly requires the need to invest
considerable amount of time and money in terms of identifying the needs and then
designing a training package to suit the need. This makes it clear that the CSR
strategy suggested is a long-term initiative involving commitment at a greater level.
This level of commitment especially in CSR aspect of strategy marketing is not
always entertained by the senior management as the company tends to utilise the CSR
policy as a passive element to strengthen the presence of the organization in the
economy.

3: Conclusion

From the discussion presented on the CSR strategic approach by multinational

organizations to achieve competitive advantage in the global arena, it is clear that the
CSR is primarily intended to enhance the commercial aspects of the business through
justifying the contribution of the business to the society. Hence it is clear that the CSR
is a strategy that is intended mainly for profit generation rather than a committed
social responsibility by an organization.
References:

Brooks, G. (2007), Shell awards corporate site redesign to Modem Media, New Media Age
Calypso, A. S. (2007), A NEW VISION OF AFRICA, Black Enterprise, May2007, Vol. 37
Issue 10
Company Profile (2006), The Procter and Gamble Company, Datamonitor Inc
F. Brassington and S. Pettit (2003), Principles of Marketing, FT: Prentice Hall Ltd
Gupta, D. (2006), P&G steps up CSR events in India, Media: Asia's Media & Marketing
Newspaper
Johnson, G. et al (2005), Exploring Corporate Strategy 7th Edition, FT: Prentice Hall Ltd
McWilliams, A. et al (2006), Corporate Social Responsibility: International Perspectives,
Journal of Business Strategies, Spring2006, Vol. 23 Issue 1, p1-12
Mortimer , R. (2002), Cheque out the charity case, Brand Strategy, May2002 Issue 159,
p20
Pendrous, R. (2005), Chill in the wake of frozen food review, Food Manufacture, Oct2005,
Vol. 80 Issue 10, p3-3
Silagy, E. E. (2007), Air Apparent, Electric Light & Power, Vol. 85 Issue 3, p42-43
Weiser, J. (2007), Untapped: strategies for success in underserved markets, JOURNAL OF
BUSINESS STRATEGY, VOL. 28 NO. 2
Windsor, D. (2001), THE FUTURE OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY,
International Journal of Organizational Analysis; Volume: 9 Issue: 3
Windsor, D. (2006), Corporate Social Responsibility: Three Key Approaches, Journal of
Management Studies volume 43 Issue 9