CORPORATE SOCIAL

RESPONSIBILITY AND THE

CONSUMER
Consumers as stakeholders in
the CSR context
 Consumers are one of the most important of
all stakeholders. When they buy products or
service from a firm they provide its revenue,
and so the survival and success of any firm is
heavily reliant on the health of its relationship
with its customers. Indeed, many believe that
the core purpose of a business is not to
maximize profits for shareholders, but to
create and sell products or services to
satisfied cutomers.
Consumer Rights

 The ethical framework with which consumer

issues are framed is that of consumer rights.
Consumer rights are the consumer’s
entitlements to be treated fairly and with
respect when they enter into an exchange
with a seller.
United Nations formulated guidelines for
National Governments to institute
consumer protection laws

 The protection of consumers against hazards to

their health and safety
 the promotion and protection of the economic
interests of consumers
 Access to adequate information to make informed
choices according to individual wishes and needs
 Consumer education, including information on
the environmental, social and economic
impacts of their choices
 the availability of effective consumer redress
 The freedom of form consumer groups and be
represented in decision processes
 The promotion of sustainable consumption.
The ethical consumer
 Over the past four decades since the
inception of the consumer bill of rights,
consumers’ expectations of marketing ethics
and corporate social responsibility have
broadened considerably. Consumers are
increasingly concerned with making purchase
decisions beyond their own self-interest , and
are seeking to consume in ways that are
aligned with their internal moral frameworks
and enhance sustainability for future
generations.
Ethical Consumption
Motivations
 Research suggest that compelling impulses
are guiding our modern consumer cultures
towards considering the ethics of their
consumption. While the external and
internal sources driving these ethical
consumption desires are yet to be fully
understood, some explanations have been
presented.
EXTERNAL FACTORS
1. Globalisation of markets and the weakening
of national governments.
2. The rise of transnational corportions.
3. The rise of single-issue pressure groups.
4. Technological change.
5. A shift in market power towards consumers.
6. The effectiveness of marketing campaigns.
7. The corporate accountability movement.
INTERNAL FACTORS
1. Attainment of a state of self-actualization in
Western societies according to Maslow’s
Hierarchy of needs
2. The evolution of consumption as a means of
constructing self-image and extended self
3. A growing sense of responsibility and
empowerment to address global issues
4. The politicisation of consumption in the face
of unsustainable consumption
consequences.
Why ethical consumers rarely
purchase ethical products
 Social desirability bias
 Cognitive and environmental drivers of the
ethical ‘gap’
 Symbolic undercurrents to the ethical
purchase ‘gap’
THANK YOU!!!