THE RELEVANCE OF STRATEGIC CSR AS A METHOD TO CREATE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE. A STUDY ON THE CUSTOMERS IN THE MARKET OF THE OUTDOOR CLOTHES FOR MOUNTAIN.

Abstract

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has assumed a stronger relevance in the recent past because of its shifting from a second-rate activity to an issue playing a central role in the strategy of the firm. The opinion of the customers in the outdoor clothing industry about the relevance of the CSR in their purchasing choice has been investigated with a duplex goal: to fill the gap on a theoretical level, since not many studies have been carried out about this issue, and to test if these practices could provide a competitive advantage to the firms. It should be pointed out if consumers are asking for more radical practices than the CSR’s ones. In fact, the financial crisis has brought diffidence towards capitalism and some scholars have stated that approaches such as the multi-stakeholder and the for-benefit ones are needed in order to make the companies regain a good reputation. The debate between Porter and Crane on creating shared value and the multi-stakeholder approach has been addressed with this purpose. The outdoor industry has been chosen also because of its sensibility towards topics such as sustainability. The previous literature on the CSR’s effects on the customers has been analysed to form some propositions that needed to be confirmed in this sector. A semi-structured interview has been realized with 14 outdoor enthusiasts coming from all over Europe. The empirical findings of this study clarify that the implementation of CSR policies has a certain impact on the purchasing choice of the customers, especially when they are consistent with customers’ ideals, but also when customers’ personal interests are touched by these policies. There is a problem of trust towards CSR investments: the communication of the companies is not trusted by everybody, and there are cases in which certifications are not enough to enhance their credibility, even if they are able to improve it. The brand reputation is generally increased by these actions and, as a consequence, the interviewees state that they are willing to pay a little bit more for responsible products. Nevertheless, only a minor part of them declares to have already used this criterion while purchasing. Moreover, all customers agree that CSR is not the most important criterion and are not willing to renounce to the quality or to pay an excessive price for such products. The relevance of the multi-stakeholder approach is ambiguous: it is preferred by the customers, but at the same time it preserves the limits of the CSR policies and it does not move customers to purchase more. A similar result can be observed for the b Corp, owing to a lack of awareness about it.