Chapter 6: Conclusion discussion and recommendations
The last chapter of this bachelor thesis will consist of the answer to the problem statement and the research question, a discussion and finally recommendations for further research. The answer to the problem statement will consist of the answers to the research questions and this is illustrated by means of the theoretical framework.
6.1 Conclusion
The conclusion of this bachelor thesis is the answer to the problem statement. The problem statement is; what influence does CSR have on a firm’s competitive advantage, in a resource-based view? To answer this question it is important that some keywords are defined. CSR is a very much researched phenomenon. Many researchers defined CSR. But CSR is an umbrella term. CSR is defined after a time study over the last few decades and in this time study revealed the most important aspects of CSR. CSR consists of three dimensions, namely; economic, social and environmental. When a company makes decisions, or in every other aspect of business, a firm must always take these dimensions into account. In fact CSR is about doing business ethical and sustainable. CSR can be compared with social responsibility. Each individual (or in case of CSR, each firm) must think of the impact that his/her actions or decisions can have on the social system. This means that a company must not only respond to economical, technical or even legal obligations, but they must act with the aim of improving community and its well-being. Business is about earning profit and CSR is about improving society. Both are important and both are necessary.
CSR is important for the firm. When engaging in CSR activities a firm might be able to improve its corporate reputation. Reputation is important for a firm. When a firm has a good reputation customers are, for example, willing to pay higher prices which leads to profitability. The impact CSR has on reputation is influenced by some aspects. First of all the CSR activity must be seen as sincere. When customers see a CSR activity as insincere the activity might fail. This means that the firm needs to make sure that customers are suspicious and that there CSR activity is seen as sincere at all times. A firm might have self-interest when engaging in CSR activities, but if the consumer gets suspicious it might backfire and leave the company with an even worse reputation than the reputation that the company would have had without the activity. Communication of the CSR activities in this case is very important. Customers always judge and monitor sincerity of a firms message. Therefore it is important that the customers get information from a neutral party instead of the firm directly.