A Research Proposal

On
“A STUDY ON INFLUENCES OF SOCIETAL
MARKETING AND CSR ON ORGANISED
RETAIL OR RETAILING”

Presented By
Noman Aziz Khan
Research Scholar
Enrollment No.-2301136
Department of Business Management
Integral University,Lucknow
2024-25
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

The concept of social responsibility holds that

businesses should be good citizens, balancing their
money-making operations with activities that benefit
society, be it on a local, national, or global scale. Social
responsibility in marketing involves focusing efforts on
attracting consumers who want to make a positive
difference with their purchases. Many companies have
adopted socially responsible elements in their marketing
 IMPORTANCE OF CORPORATE SOCIAL
RESPONSIBILITY

There are many reasons for a company to embrace CSR

practices.
1. It improves customers’ perception of your brand.
2. It attracts and retains employees.
3. It increases your appeal to investors.
REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Andrianova and Yeletskikh (2012) analysed whether

the concept of societal marketing being practised in
developed countries can be directly applied to countries
in transition, such as Belarus, and what adjustments
would be beneficial to achieve this. The paper takes a
comprehensive view of the complex linkages between
the implementation of corporate social responsibility
(CSR) principles by examining elements of societal
marketing in the European Union (EU) countries and in
Belarus.
Chakraborty and Jha (2019) explored the positive impact
of CSR on marketing variables and thereby gives a
compelling reason to the marketers to be socially
responsible. Compilation of persuasive evidence would
encourage the adoption of CSR concepts by the marketers.
This would elicit a more socially responsible action which
will have a positive impact on the society that the marketer
serves.

Khan et al.(2015) investigated specific social roles of

multinational corporations (MNCs) in a developing
economy, and how these MNCs’ CSR marketing activities
are legitimized, from the institutional perspective.
Chaplin and O’Rourke(2018) suggested that there are
still significant benefits of implementing a large-scale
lean agenda in particular when using an LSS
methodology. The paper finds that there are also
significant gaps in achieving full integration within the
organisation and argues that lean and CI are still the remit
of the operations manager. The document goes on to
argue that if the CI initiative is driven by the corporate
social responsibility (CSR) plan, then any lean/lean green
implementation will enable the company to drive CI
integration with all stakeholders.
Podnar and Golob(2007) investigated the link between
individuals' expectations of corporate social
responsibility (CSR) and their readiness to support the
socially responsible behaviour of companies in light of
the expectational relationship a company has with its
stakeholders, as defined in the corporate marketing
model.
Chan et al.(2023) examined that CSR practices (i.e.
environmental CSR and societal CSR) have a positive
influence on purchase intention for apparel products.
Moreover, consumer-retailer love mediates the
relationship between CSR practices (i.e. economic CSR
and environmental CSR) and consumers’ purchase
intention for apparel products.
Gray et al.(2024) investigated that brands progressively
become instruments for consumers to advocate for
social change, many feel pressure to engage in social
purpose branding (SPB) through addressing social
issues. In a rush to remain socially relevant, brands have
approached SPB differently; some genuinely intend to
advance the social issue, while some intend to capitalise
on social movements to mobilise the brand.
Hildebrand et al. (2011) analysed that corporate
marketing and CSR to provide an identity‐based
conceptualization of CSR. Based on this, it positions
CSR as an optimal managerial tool for promoting
alignment between multiple corporate identities (e.g.
internal, external), which ultimately leads to key
benefits for the company.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

For a retailer, it is very difficult to retain the potential

buyer. Because the buyers are scattered according to their
convenience of purchasing. In order to keep possession
of their sales volume, the retailer has to face a stiff
competition in the retail business. Majority of functions
have to be performed by owners themselves due to
limitation of resources. So, the researcher made sincere
attempt to analyse the Problems and Prospects faced by
retailer in the study area, during the course of starting and
managing their enterprise.
TENTATIVE OBJECTIVES

● To critically review and synthesize existing literature

on societal marketing and corporate social

responsibility in the context of organized retail.

● To assess the extent to which societal marketing and

CSR initiatives are integrated into the business

strategies of organized retail companies.

● To analyse the effects of societal marketing and CSR

practices on consumer perceptions, brand loyalty, and

purchase behaviour within organized retail.

● To examine how societal marketing and CSR contribute

to the competitive advantage and long-term viability of

organized retail businesses.

● To identify challenges and barriers faced by organized

retail companies in implementing effective societal

marketing and CSR programs.

TENTATIVE HYPOTHESES
Hypothesis 1
H1: There is Significant Relationship between societal marketing
and corporate social responsibility in the context of organized
retail.
H0: There is no Significant Relationship between societal
marketing and corporate social responsibility in the context of
organized retail.
Hypothesis 2
H1: There is significant impact on CSR initiatives within
organized retail influence consumer perceptions, purchasing
behaviours, and brand loyalty.
H0: There is no significant impact on CSR initiatives within
organized retail influence consumer perceptions, purchasing
behaviours, and brand loyalty.
Hypothesis 3
H1: There is significant relationship between CSR and Societal
Marketing efforts that impact the socio-economic development of
local communities in organized retail.
H0: There is no significant relationship between CSR and Societal
Marketing efforts that impact the socio-economic development of
local communities in organized retail.
Hypothesis 4
H1: There is significant predictor on organized retail companies in
implementing effective societal marketing and CSR programs.
H0: There is no significant predictor on organized retail companies
in implementing effective societal marketing and CSR programs.
Hypothesis 5
H1: There is interaction between societal marketing and CSR with
respect to occupation of the respondents regarding the price of
products at organised retail stores.
H0: There is no interaction between societal marketing and CSR with
respect to occupation of the respondents regarding the price of
products at organised retail stores.
Hypothesis 6
H1: There is significant interaction between Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) and societal marketing in the competitive
advantage and long-term viability of organized retail.
H0: There is no significant interaction between Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) and societal marketing in the competitive
advantage and long-term viability of organized retail.
CHAPTERIZATION SCHEME

CHAPTER ONE: The introduction part of the thesis describes

the concept of CSR and societal marketing. This chapter gives
problem statements and also research scope which would aid in
formulating research objectives and research hypotheses that
need to be evaluated.
CHAPTER TWO: The second chapter gives conceptual
background on the topic of current study. Therefore, this chapter
helps in providing an overview on the research topic.
CHAPTER THREE: The chapter three provides review of
existing literature associated with the research topic. Later, the
research gap in the existing literature will be identified to
enhance the current study.
CHAPTER FOUR: Chapter four provides an overview on the
methodology adopted for the current research. This chapter gives
a brief explanation on research design, sampling method, data
collection and data analysis tool which will be utilized for the
current research.
CHAPTER FIVE: The chapter five deals with analysis of
congregated data with the help of statistical tools to test research
hypotheses. This chapter gives the outcome of the analysis in the
form of a chart, graph or table which will be related to the
research objective.
CHAPTER SIX: The chapter six provides research findings as a
form of conclusion for the analysis conducted on the previous
chapter of the current study.
CHAPTER SEVEN: The chapter seven discusses the conclusion
of the current study along with recommendation and future scope
of research.
REFERENCES
WEB SERCHES
1.https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/042215/why-social-
responsibility-important-marketing.asp
2.https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/corp-social-
responsibility.asp
3.https://www.managementstudyguide.com/societal-
marketing.htm
4.https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/4679-corporate-social-
responsibility.html
5.https://www.tutorhelpdesk.com/homeworkhelp/
Entrepreneurship-/Carrols-Model-of-Corporate-Social-
Responsibility-Assignment-Help.html
6.https://www.shiksha.com/online-courses/articles/about-
societal-marketing-concept/
JOURNALS
Andrianova, O., & Yeletskikh, T. (2012). Societal marketing:
integration of European experiences into business practices in
Belarus. International Journal of Emerging Markets, 7(2), 107-
131.
Chakraborty, A., & Jha, A. (2019). Corporate social responsibility
in marketing: a review of the state-of-the-art literature. Journal of
social marketing, 9(4), 418-446.
Khan, Z., Lew, Y. K., & Park, B. I. (2015). Institutional
legitimacy and norms-based CSR marketing practices: Insights
from MNCs operating in a developing economy. International
Marketing Review, 32(5), 463-491.
Chaplin, L., & O’Rourke, S. T. (2018). Could lean and green be
the driver to integrate business improvement throughout the
organisation?. International Journal of Productivity and
Performance Management, 67(1), 207-219.
Podnar, K., & Golob, U. (2007). CSR expectations: the focus of
corporate marketing. Corporate communications: An international
journal, 12(4), 326-340.
Chan, T. J., Suki, N. M., Ho, P. S. Y., & Akhtar, M. F. (2023). Impact
of corporate social responsibility practices on consumer purchase
intention of apparel products with mediating role of consumer-
retailer love. Social Responsibility Journal, (ahead-of-print).
Gray, H., Dolan, R., Wilkie, D. C., Conduit, J., & Burgess, A. (2024).
Social purpose branding approaches: a typology of how brands
engage with a social purpose. European Journal of Marketing.
Hildebrand, D., Sen, S., & Bhattacharya, C. B. (2011). Corporate
social responsibility: a corporate marketing perspective. European
journal of marketing, 45(9/10), 1353-1364.