Impact of corporate social responsibility programs on brand image: A case study of Delta Corporation Limited

Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate the impact of corporate social responsibility programs on brand image. The study was confined to a case study of Delta Corporation Limited, a Zimbabwean beverages manufacturer. The company invested heavily in CSR programs in the domains of social, environmental and corporate governance in the five-year period from 2015 to 2019. The problem emanated from the fact that despite the huge CSR spending, sales revenue and profitability did not follow the same trajectory. The study therefore sought to investigate the impact of CSR programs on brand image across different CSR domains. The level of awareness of Delta Corporation Limited’s CSR programs was another key outcome sought from the study. Furthermore, there was need to recommend strategies that could be used to improve visibility of the company’s CSR programs as a way of enhancing brand image. The research was an explanatory study and the researcher chose purposive sampling drawing participants from a population comprising of customers, consumers, employees and suppliers of Delta Corporation from Harare and Mashonaland Central provinces. Data was collected through self-administered questionnaires. Findings from Pearson’s Correlation tests showed that there was a statistically significant correlation between CSR programs in various domains and brand image. From the research findings, the level of awareness of CSR programs was low in comparison to some developing and developed countries. Highest awareness was on social CSR programs. Consumers were the stakeholder group that was mostly positively impacted by CSR programs. The company must therefore invest more in social CSR programs biased towards the final consumer. From the study, the majority of respondents cited that using new media channels such as blogs and social media were instrumental in improving visibility of CSR programs.