Corporate Social Responsibility Awareness and Consumer Purchasing Decision-Making of Sachet Water: The Case of University of Ghana Students

Bachelor Thesis from the year 2017 in the subject Business economics - Business Ethics, Corporate Ethics, grade: A, , course: Sociology, language: English, abstract: The purpose of this study was to empirically investigate Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) awareness and consumer purchasing decision-making of sachet water among University of Ghana students. The study sought to find answers to the following questions: What is the awareness level of CSR activities of sachet water producers in Ghana among consumers? What are consumer perceptions about CSR activities of sachet water producers? How do CSR initiatives of sachet water producers influence purchasing behavior of customers? A sample size of one hundred (100) consumers of sachet water was selected from University of Ghana for the study using the purposive random and convenience sampling method. The data obtained were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 20.0) software. From the study, the researcher found out that, relatively fewer consumers of sachet water are aware of CSR activities of sachet water companies. The study also discovered that more consumers highly perceived environmental friendly activities as corporate socially responsible. The study also revealed that, other factors such as product quality, brand, advertisements and price influence the purchasing decisions of sachet water buyers, even to a greater extent than CSR. It was found that consumers are particularly concerned about quality when buying sachet water. However, CSR activities performed by sachet water companies were rated as a lesser factor that influence consumers stay and repurchase of sachet water. The researcher recommends, among other things, that regulatory bodies be firm in enforcing laws in corporate organizations. Again, CSR should be viewed as part of the code of ethics of any corporate organization, including sachet water companies. Also, the government should design national policies to set parameters for CSR in Ghana to reflect national needs.