ASSESSMENT OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY INITIATIVES ON ORGANIZATION IMAGE OF SAFARICOM LIMITED NAKURU

Abstract

Corporate social is one of the most important factors influencing an organization‟s corporate image. Despite findings that a positive corporate image in the eyes of stakeholders can provide a competitive advantage many stakeholders remain skeptical about firms‟ reasons for engaging in CSR, making it more difficult for researchers and practitioners to understand the specific consequences and effects of engaging in CSR activities. The purpose of the study was an assessment of corporate social responsibility initiatives on organization image of Safaricom Kenya Limited in Nakuru County. The study specifically sought to establish environmental initiatives and philanthropic initiatives on organization image of Safaricom Kenya Limited in Nakuru County. The study adopted stakeholder‟s theory and legitimacy theories. This study adopted a descriptive research design. The target population were employees in charge of the six major organization funded by Safaricom Foundations in Nakuru County. Specifically the study targeted 48 employees working in organization funded by Safaricom Limited Company. The study also targeted 7 officers in the CSR department at Safaricom Limited in Nakuru County, therefore the study total target population was 55 respondents. Considering the target population was small the researcher used census technique to incorporate all the 55 targeted respondents. Questionnaires were used to collect primary data and consisted of a list of questions relating to the objectives of study. A pilot study was conducted on 6 respondents who were drawn from Sipili School for the deaf in Laikipia.  Data collected was quantitative in nature. Quantitative data was analyzed by use of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 24. Both descriptive and inferential statistics was used in the study. Descriptive statistics involved the use of measures of central tendencies (mean) and measures of dispersion (standard deviation). The findings revealed that environmental initiatives have a significant influence on organization image of Safaricom Kenya Limited in Nakuru County. The study additionally found that philanthropic initiatives have a significant influence on the organization image of Safaricom Kenya Limited in Nakuru County. From the findings the researcher recommended that organizations should realize and invest in corporate social responsibility scheme in order to enhance their relationships with customers by initiating robust corporate strategy particularly in social concerns such as setting reasonable price, improving their services, developing innovation, and implementing privacy policy. The study recommends that further study should be conducted to find out the effect of corporate sustainability on performance of financial institutions.