Corporate Social Responsibility and Competitive Advantage at the Nairobi Coca-cola Bottling Company Ltd

Abstract

Most organizations have realized the importance of integrating Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in their operations and embraced the concept of incorporating Corporate Social Responsibility .CSR is a way of giving back to the community within which organizations operate. It is a concept whereby business organizations consider the interest of society by taking responsibility for the impact of their activities on customers, suppliers, employees, shareholders, communities and other stakeholders as well as their environment. This obligation shows that the organizations have to comply with legislation and voluntarily take initiatives to improve the well-being of their internal stakeholders as well as for the local community and society at large. Corporate Social Responsibility has become a critical component of organizations that wish to build a strong image of themselves towards the public as an aid to achieving their stated objectives or who merely want to give back to society the gains they make in business. There is also a growing consensus that corporate social responsibility (CSR) has crossed the line from being a business jargon to becoming a critical business function. The importance of CSR in marketing has been demonstrated both in academic circles and in managerial practice by the growing importance and publicity given to it. As such, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is the idea that companies should combine economic, social and environmental concerns, seems an unavoidable component of discourses on business and society. The fact that social responsibility has become an inescapable priority in business enterprises have led to the study of its influences towards brand performance in major organizations and to business leaders .The purpose of this study was to establish the effects of corporate social responsibility on competitive advantages in a company in an industry. The study focused on Nairobi Coca-Cola Bottling Company Ltd. The study sought to achieve one objective: to establish the extent to which corporate social responsibility affects the competitive advantages in the case of Nairobi Coca-Cola bottling Company Ltd. The study adopted a case study research design and data was collected through an interview guide from middle to senior managers of the company. The findings indicate that the company has is very keen on incorporating CSR activities in their operations. The company has a CSR policy that supports education, health, sports and there are also keen on young talent development. It was clear from the study that the Company‟s market share has greatly improved due to their well thought and executed CSR activities. The adoption of a sound CSR policy by the company has helped them become strong and successful in the industry. There is a lot of good will on the ground and this has positively impacted their performance. The implications of this study are that organizations increase their spending on CSR activities with the aim of having a competitive edge in the market. This is supported by stakeholder‟s theory which argued that higher level of CSR practices leads to higher level of business performance. The organizations that invest in CSR activities will have a competitive advantage over others. The study recommends that more studies be conducted on more than one company so as to avoid the overgeneralization of the findings. The study also recommends the company to explore other CSR activities that are being offered by the other institutions so as to be at par with the industry standards. This could help them penetrate areas where they have not been able to penetrate