Įmonių socialinės atsakomybės įtaka vartotojų pirkimo elgsenai

LTStraipsnyje analizuojama įmonių socialinės atsakomybės samprata, jos kaita ir veiklos kryptys, tiriama, kaip vartotojas supranta šį reiškinį ir ar įmonių socialinė atsakomybė daro įtaką pirkimo elgsenai. Tyrimo rezultatai parodė, kad respondentai teigiamai vertina įvairių rūšių įmonių socialinės atsakomybės formas, o labiausiai – aplinkos apsaugą. Tačiau kaip veiksnys perkant produktą įmonės socialinė atsakomybė dar nėra labai aktualus. [Iš leidinio]Reikšminiai žodžiai: Socialiai atsakingas vartojimas; Tvarus vartojimas; Vartotojo elgsena; Vartotojų elgsena; Įmonių socialinė atsakomybė; Consumer behaviour; Corporate social responsibility; Socially responsible consumption; Sustainable consumption.

ENNowadays, more and more companies declare themselves to be socially responsible. The corporate social responsibility (hereinafter referred to as CSR) is becoming a necessity for the companies that expect not only to be publicly acknowledged and recognised, but also secure competitive advantage. Despite the fact that the issue of the CSR is so relevant, it is still a scarcely defined phenomenon. However, it has been observed that what consumers buy, how the product was produced, and what the company is doing in order not to pollute the nature or help the society is becoming more and more important for consumers. It is therefore important to investigate consumers' attitudes towards the CSR; determine what kind of CSR activities are the most important to consumers; and whether the CSR attained (or rejected) by a certain company has any impact on consumers' decision to buy a product. The aim of the research is to reveal consumers’ opinion on CSR and whether it (CSR) can influence consumers and their buying behaviour. In order to achieve this aim, the following objectives were set: 1. To analyse the theoretical aspects of the concept of the CSR, its functioning and driving forces as well as its impact on consumers. 2. To investigate consumers' attitudes towards CSR and the impact of CSR on consumers. Research methods include the analysis of scientific references and documents, questionnaire survey and statistical analysis of the data. The survey was conducted in October, 2015. During the investigation, 396 residents of Lithuania were surveyed. The sources analysed suggested the following conclusions. Despite deep historical roots of the concept of the CSR, so far its notion is not completely purified. Different authors provide different definitions of the CSR that emphasise various social problems. The authors justify the indefiniteness of the CSR by the evolution of its concept.Having started as an act of protecting the environment, nowadays, the CSR has become a process covering a lot of activities and can be described as a corporate involvement in solving the issues related to the protection of the environment and social issues. The CSR is a process that is linked with many factors and includes the cycle of product development and manufacture as well as environmental, social, economic and ethical issues related to it. It can be stated that the CSR is an activity that starts from the product supply chain and ensures ethical, sustainable and responsible performance of the organization from its establishment till its closure. One of the main drivers of the CSR is the consumer, who is becoming more increasingly interested in the conditions the product was produced in, where it was manufactured, what it was made of, and even whether the employees of the company are not exploited. The findings of the investigation revealed that the issue of the CSR is relevant to the majority of respondents, and although it is not the most important criterion, it has some impact on the choice of products. The majority of respondents are interested in CSR activities, and 23 per cent consider social responsibility when purchasing products. Consumers perceive the importance of the CSR and mostly appreciate the CSR activities related to environmental protection, support for the community and society, compliance with legislation and tolerance in the workplace. Consumers not only just expect for the principles of social responsibility to be followed by companies, but they also try to be socially responsible themselves. Therefore, it can be stated that in the near future, inceasing consumer awareness and providing more information on nature and importance of CSR, its influence to consumers buying behaviour should increase. [From the publication]