Gauging Malaysian Consumers Perspectives about Corporate Social Responsibility

Abstract

This research was carried out on the premise that as CSR was becoming popular among corporations in Malaysia, it was important to gauge consumers’ beliefs and perspectives about CSR and the CSR issues that mattered to them most when purchasing a product. The research covered 12 states of West Malaysia targeting 120 respondents each, bringing the total sample size to 1440 respondents that were selected via quota sampling method for representation of major ethnic groups in Malaysia. Respondents were presented with three main questions to gauge their perspectives and were allowed to tick as many responses as they wished from a list of options available. Basic descriptive statistics were deployed to interpret the findings of the study. The findings give evidence that Malaysian consumers are becoming highly aware about CSR and the type of CSR activities organizations should undertake. The research also seemed to imply that consumers in Malaysia have begun taking into account an organization’s CSR involvements when making a purchase decision.