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Brand Social Responsibility in the FMCG Sector
The influence of product-related vs. non-product-related BSR
activities on consumer’s purchase intentions
Master Thesis Exposé
Meike Brunz
Kirchweg 25
34121 Kassel
University of Kassel
Faculty of Economics and Management
DMCC – Dialog Marketing Competence Center
Prof. Dr. Ralf Wagner
Kassel, 17.12.2017Abstract
Title: Brand Social Responsibility in the FMCG Sector: The influence of product-related
vs. non-product-related Brand Social Responsibility activities on consumer’s purchase
intentions
Keywords: Brand Social Responsibility, Consumer Behaviour; Purchase Intention; Fast
Moving Consumer Goods
Background: Daily news about natural catastrophes and how harmful substances in
clothes or food can lead to diseases contributes to an increased awareness of people on
what they consume every day. They are becoming increasingly concerned about their
well-being and the continuous existence of planet earth. It is therefore important for
companies to adapt to these needs and to emphasise how their products contribute to a
better living. This so-called Brand Social Responsibility refers to activities that can be
either related to the product or independent from the product and consists of legal, ethical
or socially responsible behaviour of the brand.
Purpose: This study aims at filling a gap concerning Brand Social Responsibility and
consumer’s purchase intention. The purpose is to find out if and to what extent product-
related or non-product-related Brand Social Responsibility activities have a positive
influence on consumer’s purchase intention. This study focuses on three exemplary
products of the Fast Moving Consumer goods sector and moreover seeks to analyse
whether there are differences between these three products.
Method: The influence of product-related and non-product-related Brand Social
Responsibility activities on consumer’s purchase intention will be surveyed via an
empirical study. A first desk research on existing literature will help developing first
concepts and research hypotheses. Then, an online survey will be conducted and
displayed on consumers interested in sustainability and those who are not interested in
this topic. To gather a sufficient number of participants, the survey will be distributed in
online forums, on social media networks and in the personal environment of the author.
The collected data will be evaluated using structural equation modelling.
IITable of contents
Abstract........................................................................................................................... II
Table of contents .......................................................................................................... III
List of Abbreviations ....................................................................................................IV
List of Tables .................................................................................................................. V
1. Introduction ................................................................................................................. 1
2. Theoretical Framework .............................................................................................. 2
2.1 Brand Management: An Overview ......................................................................... 2
2.2 Corporate Social Responsibility vs. Brand Social Responsibility .......................... 3
2.3 The Fast Moving Consumer Goods Market: An Overview .................................... 5
3. Literature Review ....................................................................................................... 7
4. Research Questions ................................................................................................... 10
5. Methodology .............................................................................................................. 11
5.1 Selection of brands ................................................................................................ 11
5.2 Operationalism ...................................................................................................... 13
5.3 Data Collection ..................................................................................................... 14
6. Work Plan .................................................................................................................. 16
7. Overview of the chapters .......................................................................................... 17
References ......................................................................................................................VI
IIIList of Abbreviations
BSR Brand Social Responsibility
CSR Corporate Social Responsibility
FMCG Fast Moving Consumer Goods
CEO Chief Executive Officer
IVList of Tables
Table 1: Turnover fairtrade products in Europe in 2016 .................................................. 6
Table 2: Literature Review ............................................................................................... 7
Table 3: Overview of the brands: Examples of their BSR activities .............................. 12
Table 4: Planned work plan ............................................................................................ 16
V1. Introduction
In its 2017 Globale Lebensmittel- und Getränketrends 2018 report, the market research
agency Mintel found out that consumers are increasingly sceptical towards food and
beverages. This results in a growing interest in the trustworthiness and security of food
and beverages. Consumers require products to be organic, ethical and to not cause
environmental damage. More and more companies adapt to these new standards when
launching a product or adapt their existing products. These activities can be summarised
under the term Brand Social Responsibility (BSR). Brand Social Responsibility consists
of the two topics Branding and Corporate Social Responsibility. Whereas Corporate
Social Responsibility addresses socially responsible activities that concern the company
as a whole, Brand Social Responsibility focuses on creating a socially responsible brand
(Grohmann and Bodur, 2015).
Brand Social Responsibility has not always been of importance: In 1776, Adam Smith
said: “I have never known much good done by those who profess to trade for the public
good”. However, these views have changed. In 2016, Fortune 500 companies annually
spent over $15 billion on activities that are socially responsible and on corporate
philanthropy (Harvard Law School Forum, 2016). It is becoming increasingly important
for companies to engage in Corporate Social Responsibility in order to remain relevant
and to adapt to the zeitgeist. Among business leaders it is believed that CSR is not only
an add-on but an economic imperative in today’s world (Beh, 1994, Murray and Vogel,
1997).
In Europe, and especially in Germany, the society is increasingly sensitised for topics
such as fair working conditions, recycling and gender equality. People tend to search for
a better world with less stress, less fear, but better food and more mindfulness (Kirchof
& Nickel, 2014). Thus, CSR activities in companies are no longer seen as something that
is optional, but expected. Companies have no longer only have to consider the quality,
size or style of their product; now they also have to think about BSR aspects when
developing a brand (Werther and Chandler, 2005). This not only has positive effects for
the consumers but also for the company itself (Polonsky and Jevons, 2009). Being
socially responsible could, amongst others, help improve the company’s financial
performance (Johnson, 2003) and the connection with consumers (Porter and Kramer,
12002). Moreover, it contributes to the market value (Luo and Bhattacharya, 2006).
Especially in the food sector, more and more people tend to be increasingly willing to pay
more for products that are organic or produced in a fair way (Ernst & Young, 2007).
Although the topic of Corporate Social Responsibility in combination with branding has
already been widely discussed, there are no scientific findings whether it is better to
communicate product-related BSR activities or non-product-related BSR activities in
order to enhance the consumer’s purchase intention. This thesis will investigate this
problem on the basis of three products from the Fast Moving Consumer Goods sector.
2. Theoretical Framework
2.1 Brand Management: An Overview
The former CEO of Quaker Oats, John Stewart, once said, “If this business were split up,
I would give you the land and bricks and mortar, and I would keep the brands and
trademarks, and I would fare better than you”. This shows how powerful brands can be
and, thus, they have to be managed carefully (Kotler & Armstrong, 2012).
The American Marketion Association (2017) defines a brand as a “name, term, design,
symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller’s good or service as distinct from
those of other sellers”.
Brands can have several meanings which can be divided into six categories according to
Kotler and Armstrong (2012):
Attributes Brands are connected via attributes, through which the brand
defines its position, e.g., Chanel = expensive.
Benefits Benefits are the consumers’ reason to buy. This means that the
consumers transform the attributes into benefits, e.g., expensive =
good.
Values Consumers buy brands that represent their own values. Thus, they
are looking for brands whose values are conform to their own ones,
e.g., Apple, Armed Angels.
2Cultures Brands can represent the characteristics or values of a certain
country, e.g., Harley Davidson = American freedom.
Personality Brands might stand for a certain type of person or can be strongly
linked to a celebrity or spokesperson, e.g., George Clooney for
Nespresso.
User Brands can target certain groups of consumers whose beliefs
correspond with the values or the personality that the brand
represents, e.g., organic food brands such as Whole Foods.
Marketers have to align all these categories in order to provide meaning for the brand and
to protect it (Meister, 2012). This means that a brand should create a picture in the
consumer’s head. This is the so-called brand equity. A brand has positive brand equity
when consumers prefer it rather than other unbranded versions of the same product. The
brand equity is negative when consumers prefer the unbranded version rather than the
branded one. Most important for high brand equity is that the brand has to be relevant for
the consumer. This means that the brand has to distinguish itself from other brands, and
it has to meet the consumer’s needs. The brand has to stand for a certain promise to deliver
specific benefits, services, and experiences to its buyers (Kotler & Armstrong, 2012). For
example, Moët stands for luxurious and exclusive champagne whereas Jive promises low
prices. Thus, people who buy Moët feel better, richer and more beautiful than buyer of
Jive. Part of the promise could be that the brand represents specific values like
sustainability. This Brand Social Responsibility is often a mixture of marketing and
Corporate Social Responsibility and will be explained in the following chapter.
2.2 Corporate Social Responsibility vs. Brand Social Responsibility
There are several definitions of Corporate Social Responsibility. The European
Commission defines it as “the responsibility of enterprises for their impact on society”.
It is of the opinion that CSR should mainly be promoted by the company. Public
authorities should only play a supporting and tangential role (European Commission
2017). There are three areas of Corporate Social Responsibility: Legal Behaviour, Ethical
Behaviour and Social Responsibility Behaviour.
Legal Companies have to make sure that their employees know
and observe the relevant laws (Sullivan, 2009).
3Ethical Companies should implement a written code of ethics and
build a company tradition of ethical behaviour in order to
avoid unethical or illegal behaviour like bribery, deceptive
advertising or inaccurate labelling. Moreover, they must
make sure that their employees comply with these
guidelines (Kotler & Keller, 2012).
Social Responsibility Consumers are more and more interested in
companies’ activities on social and environmental
activities. Deciding from which company to buy, invest in,
or work for is becoming a crucial factor (Hatch & Schultz,
2008).
How difficult it is to build a linear CSR image can be seen on the example of Unilever.
Even though the company engages in a lot of social and environmental activities and has
implemented an Unilever Sustainable Living Plan (Unilever, 2017), it is facing serious
cracks in its CSR façade. The company was accused of exposing its workers to mercury
in India in 2016. Moreover, in 2011, Unilever supervisors in Kenya were indicted of
harassing their workers sexually. Therefore, Unilever’s attempts to become a sustainable
company do not appear to credible anymore to NGO’s (Borelli, 2017). As a result, Brand
Social Responsibility is becoming increasingly important. In contrast to Corporate Social
Responsibility, it does not concentrate on the company level but develops a socially
responsible strategy for the brand. Grohmann and Bodur (2015) state that it differs from
CSR in three ways: “(1) consumers are the primary stakeholders, (2) there is a limited
transfer of CSR perceptions to the product brand level, and (3) it is based on holistic
perceptions rather than dimension-focused evaluations of social responsibility activities.”
Moreover, their study implicates that BSR activities have a positive influence on
consumers’ brand attitude and purchase intention whereas CSR activities only influence
corporate factors (e.g. investment intent or employment intent).
A Best Practice example for Brand Social Responsibility could be the shoe brand Toms.
The founder of the brand wanted to help children who suffered because they did not own
shoes. Thus, he founded Toms and the One for One-strategy. For every pair of Toms
shoes bought, another pair of shoes would be donated to poor children. Nowadays, the
company also helps people to get eye surgery, to gain access to water and to give birth
4safely (Toms, 2017). The consumer gets the feeling that he is doing something good when
purchasing a pair of shoes. This example shows that companies can use BSR activities as
part of their marketing strategy. However, it has to be mentioned that Toms was founded
on basis of the BSR strategy.
In this thesis, product-related BSR activities include all aspects that are directly linked to
the product. This means that these are activities including the manufacturing process,
ingredients and the product’s packaging.
Non-product-related BSR activities cannot be directly linked to the product. There are
many possibilities to engage in a BSR activity that is not directly associated with the
product. This could be, e.g., paying fair wages to the workers, supporting a social or
environmental cause, and many more.
2.3 The Fast Moving Consumer Goods Market: An Overview
Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) are products that rotate very fast on the store
shelves. Therefore, the rotation stands for the speed of sale of a product (WuV, 2017).
Typical fast-selling products are consumer goods such as food, body care products or
cleaning products which are bought weekly, spontaneously and without long reflection.
The products are characterised by relatively low prices and a simple substitution with
qualitatively equal products. This distinguishes FMCG products from luxury goods
(AGOF, 2009). The products are distributed via classic retailers and drugstores (Statista,
2017). The FMCG market can be subdivided into the following categories (AGOF, 2009):
Source: Own representation based on AGOF, 2009.
Table 1: FMCG categories
Beverages Baby Needs
• Non-alcoholic beverages
• Beer Pet Needs
• Other alcoholic beverages and
spirits Detergents and Cleaners
Food Decorative Cosmetics and Skin Care
• Sweets and salty snacks • Women’s cosmetics
5• Frozen products and ready meals • Men’s cosmetics
• Hair-care products
Dairy Products • Personal-care products
• Dental-care products
The biggest consumer goods manufacturers worldwide are Nestlé (turnover: US-$90,8
bn), Procter & Gamble (turnover: US-$64,9 bn) and Pepsico (turnover: US-$62,8 bn). In
Germany, the biggest manufacturers are Henkel (turnover: 18,7 bn €) and Beiersdorf
(turnover: 6,7 bn €). It is typical of these companies that they often hide behind their
brands. Even though Beiersdorf itself is quite unknown, everybody knows its products
like Nivea or Labello (Statista, 2017).
Current challenges of the FMCG market are the increasing importance of the retail
brands, as well as the saturation of the consumer goods markets in Europe, USA and
Japan which leads to shorter product life cycles (Statista, 2017). Concerning
sustainability, Germany is the leading country in Europe with a turnover of 1,15 mio. €
on fair trade products in 2016. Especially regarding bananas, coffee, sugar and cocoa,
consumers are increasingly interested in organic products (Fairtrade International 2016).
Source: Own representation based on Fairtrade International, 2016.
Table 1: Turnover fairtrade products in Europe in 2016
Turnover fairtrade products in Europe in 2016
1.400,00
1.155,12
1.200,00
1.000,00
800,00
534,96
600,00
400,00 272,51 270 266,87
134 110,2
200,00 31,51 15,04
0,00
Turnover
63. Literature Review
Table 2: Literature Review
Authors, Year Publication Title Main Findings
Farooq, O., Journal of Corporate Social In companies with high
Aguenaou, S. Applied Responsibility Policy investor interests, CSR
& Amor, M.A. Business and Brand Value has a negative effect on
(2015) Research brand value
Graeff, T.R. Psychology & Consumption Marketers can manage
(1997) Marketing Situations and the the congruence
Effects of Brand Image between brand image
on Consumers’ Brand and self-image by
Evaluations promoting various
consumption situations
Grohmann, B. Journal of Brand Social Shows the difference
& Bodur, H.O. Business Ethics Responsibility: between Corporate
(2015) Conceptualization, Social Responsibility
Measurement, and and Brand Social
Outcomes Responsibility
He, H., Zhu, European Moral identity BSR and emotional
W., Gouran, D. Journal of centrality and cause- brand attachment
& Kolo, O. Marketing related marketing: The positively moderate the
(2016) moderating effects of relationship between
brand social consumer MI centrality
responsibility image and the intention to
and emotional brand purchase the brand
attachment
Jin, Y.-J., Park, Social Behavior Effects of Corporate Engaging in CSR does
S.-C. & Yoo, and Personality Social Responsibility not always lead to a
J.-W. (2017) on Consumer more positive
Credibility Perception reputation. However,
and Attitude Toward no CSR activities lead
Luxury Brands to a more negative
perception
7Luo, X. & Journal of Corporate Social Corporate Social
Bhattacharya, Marketing Responsibility, Responsibility can
C.B. (2006) Customer Satisfaction, reduce customer
and Market Value satisfaction and thus,
the market value
Nan, X. & Journal of Consumer Responses Regardless of the
Heo, K. (2007) Advertising to Corporate Social brand-cause fit, an
Responsibility (CSR) advertisement with a
Initiatives: Examining CRM message elicits
the Role of Brand- more favourable
Cause Fit in Cause- consumer attitude
Related Marketing towards the company
Polonsky, M. International Global branding and Social issue,
& Jevons, C. Marketing strategic CSR: an organizational and
(2019) Review overview of three types communication
of complexity complexity must be
considered when
developing a CSR
strategy for a brand
Sen, S. & Journal of Does Doing Good Companies’ CSR
Bhattacharya, Marketing Always Lead to Doing initiatives have to be in
C.B. (2001) Research Better? Consumer line with consumers’
Reactions to Corporate beliefs on this topic in
Social Responsibility order to be successful
Singh, J., Journal of Understanding Companies’ Corporate
Sanchez, M. & Business Ethics Corporate Social Social Responsibility
del Bosque, Responsibility and activities are often not
I.R. (2008) Product Perceptions in perceived by the
Consumer Markets: A consumer
Cross-cultural
Evaluation
Teusner, S. Gabler Kunden-Hersteller- This study explains
(2010) Research Beziehungen unter how the market
Berücksichtigung des atmosphere influences
8Marktklimas – Eine the brand loyalty on the
empirische Studie im FMCG sector
Bereich Fast Moving
Consumer Goods
van Rekom, J., Journal of Communicating a Perceived authenticity
Go, M.F. & Business company’s positive and fit enhance
Calter, D.M. Research impact on society – consumers’ loyalty and
(2014) Can plausible stakeholders’ attitudes
explanations secure towards the company
authenticity?
Wong, J.Y. & Management Communicating The paradox between
Dhanesh, G.S. Communication Corporate Social luxury and CSR can be
(2016) Quarterly Responsibility (CSR) overcome by either a
in the Luxury Industry harmonious
coexistence of these
opposites or a slow
convergence
94. Research Questions
This section illustrates initial drafts for possible research questions. These questions
should not be seen as finalised. It might be possible that other research questions come
up during further investigation of the theoretical literature that might be more interesting.
The hypotheses that are marked in bold are the ones that will be tested.
As He et al. (2016) pointed out, especially emotional moderators influence consumers’
perception on CSR activities. The influence was even higher when the emotional brand
attachment was high. As especially non-product related BSR activities aim at the
consumers’ emotions, it is assumed that they correlate significantly in a more positive
way with consumers’ purchase intentions than product-related BSR activities.
Ho.1: Non-product-related Brand Social Responsibility activities correlate
significantly more positive with consumers’ purchase intentions than
product-related Brand Social Responsibility activities.
HA.1: Non-product related Brand Social Responsibility activities do not correlate
significantly more positive with consumers’ purchase intentions than
product-related Brand Social Responsibility activities.
It is often believed that the concept of luxury on the one hand and acting in a socially and
environmentally responsible way do not fit together (Torelli, Monga & Kaikati, 2012;
Wong & Dhanesh, 2016). As not only companies but also consumers might believe this,
it is assumed that Brand Social Responsibility is generally regarded as less important for
luxury goods than it is for the other two product categories.
H0.2: BSR is significantly more important for sustainable brands or love brands
than it is for luxury goods.
HA.2: BSR is not significantly more important for sustainable brands or love
brands than it is for luxury goods.
From the paper of kfw Research (2012) on income distribution and education, it can be
seen that people with a higher education often also have a higher income and are less
likely to be unemployed in Germany. Moreover, they are more interested in a healthy
10way of life and therefore decide more often to buy healthy food than people with a lower
education (Ohr, 1999). As a result, another hypothesis is that people with a higher income
are more interested in Brand Social Responsibility as a high income implies a higher
education.
H0.3: BSR is significantly more important for people with higher income as
higher income generally implies a higher education.
HA.3: BSR is not significantly more important for people with higher income
even though higher income generally implies higher education.
What products people buy depends on the situation and the occasion for which they buy
them. It is assumed that they choose different products when inviting colleagues than
when inviting their friends (Graeff, 1997). Therefore, the hypothesis is proposed that
people act differently when they buy the product for someone else. It is assumed that
consumers use sustainable products to show that they care about healthy lifestyle and
well-being (Kirchof & Nickel 2017).
H0.4: Participants that buy the product for someone else are significantly more
interested in the BSR of these products than participants who buy products
for themselves.
HA.4: Participants that buy the product for someone else are not significantly
more interested in the BSR of these products than participants who buy
products for themselves.
5. Methodology
5.1 Selection of brands
In order to examine the influence of product-related BSR activities and non-product-
related BSR activities on consumers’ purchase intentions, three products will be
presented. As already mentioned above, all three products are supposed to be from the
FMCG sector. However, to examine differences, every product should serve a different
purpose. Therefore, one product should be an luxury product. Here, Nespresso Intenso
was chosen. Nespresso is a coffee brand belonging to the Swiss food corporation Nestlé
S.A. which is the leading coffee production company worldwide (VuMA, 2017). The
coffee is sold in single-use aluminium capsules, so-called pods. The brand belongs to the
11premium price segment and is sold globally. The brand fits to the topic, as it promotes
the recyclability of its pods and its sustainably cultivated coffee. However, it has often
been criticised for the fact that the production of the aluminium is extremely energy-
consuming and thus not sustainable. In terms of non-product-related BSR, the brand
promotes its collaboration with Rainforest Alliance and the support of their coffee farmers
(Nespresso, 2017).
Next, Innocent Smoothies was chosen as a brand that advertises its sustainability strategy
a lot. The smoothies are promoted as being full of natural ingredients that help living a
healthier life and do not harm the environment. Its farmers have to meet certain
sustainable standards and it tries to minimise its carbon footprint during the whole
production process. That is why it tries to use as much recyclable packaging as possible.
Moreover, it founded a foundation to help the world’s hungry (Innocent Drinks, 2017).
Lastly, Ritter Sport was chosen to represent a brand people love. The brand is the second
favourite chocolate brand in Germany (VuMA 2016). It has the goal to only use
sustainable chocolate until 2020. To reach this goal, it has bought 2.500 hectare of land
in Nicaragua to cultivate its own sustainable chocolate. Moreover, it wants to reduce its
carbon footprint and use recyclable packaging (Ritter Sport, 2017).
Table 3: Overview of the brands: Examples of their BSR activities
Brand Product-Related BSR Non-product-related BSR
-Collaboration with Rainforest
- Recyclable packaging Alliance
Nespresso - Sustainable coffee - Supporting the coffee farmers
- Reduce carbon foodprint - Economic revival of South Sudan
as a coffee region
- Collaboration with WWF
- Recyclable packaging
- Help the world’s hungry
Innocent - Sustainable ingredients
- Treating children suffering from
- Reduce carbon footprint
malnutrition
- Recyclable packaging - Collaboration with Plant-for-the-
Ritter Sport
- Sustainable chocolate Planet
12- Reduce carbon footprint - Support volunteer work of their
employees
- Support the hometown of Ritter
Sport
5.2 Operationalism
Brand Awareness
Brand awareness is the first step to create a picture in the mind of the consumer and, as a
next step, to create brand equity (Ebel & Hofer, 2014). Therefore, participants will be
asked about their brand awareness of every brand. A 5-point Likert-scale could be used
in order to ask the participants how well they know the brand (1=“Not at all” … 5=“Very
well”). There are no data on brand awareness of Innocent Smoothies. However, as it is a
relatively young brand it is assumed that the brand awareness is high in terms of younger
people up to 30 years. There is no accessible information on the brand awareness of
Nespresso in Germany. However, as Nespresso ranks as the most popular brand for coffee
capsules (Statista 2017), it can be assumed that the brand awareness is quite high.
According to a market research of WuV (2011), Ritter Sport is the chocolate brand with
the highest brand awareness in Germany.
Interest in Brand Social Responsibility Issues
As Brand Social Responsibility is a rather specific and broad term, it will be subdivided
into three areas: Legal Behaviour, Ethical Behaviour and Social Responsibility Behaviour
in this thesis. Therefore, participants can rate their interest in each of these categories on
a 5-point Likert-scale from 1=”Not interested at all” to 5=”Very interested”. A few
examples for each category are given, as the umbrella term could be rather abstract.
Brand Purchase Intention
Furthermore, a 5-point Likert-scale will be used to query the brand purchase intention of
the participants (1=”I would not buy this brand at all.” to 5=”I am very interested in
buying this brand.”). Moreover, another question will be used to ask the participants
whether they would buy the brand for themselves or for someone else.
13Product-related vs. Non-product-related BSR Activities
To assess if and to what extent product-related or non-product-related Brand Social
Responsibility activities have a positive influence on consumer’s purchase intentions, the
criteria will be presented on a 5-point Likert scale. Thus, participants can choose how
important each criterion is for them for each brand ranging from 1=”Not important at all”
to 5=”Very important”. In addition to the BSR activities, in which the three brands engage
in, purchase criteria like “Price”, “Brand” and “Taste” will be added to measure whether
the BSR activities rank higher or lower.
Willingness to Pay
Lastly, it will be tested whether participants are willing to pay more for socially
responsible products. A Nielsen survey from 2014 states that over 50% of global online
consumers are willing to pay more for products that are provided by companies that act
in an ethical way. Therefore, it will be examined in general whether participants are
willing to pay more and specifically how much more in percentages. For this, they have
the possibility to give a free answer, lest they will be influenced by different options.
5.3 Data Collection
In order to answer the research questions, an Internet-based quantitative survey will be
designed. The survey could be uploaded on SoSci Survey, a free service for academic and
non-commercial purposes without functionality restrictions. Another advantage of this
service is the possibility to implement filter questions and to export the data in SPSS
readable files.
To examine the comprehensibility of the survey a pre-test will be conducted. The pre-test
should also examine the suitability of the three brands in relation to Brand Social
Responsibility.
The obligatory question for sustainability affinity is asked at the beginning of the survey.
Moreover, the general brand affinity of the participants is queried. Questions for gender,
age and income will be included to get an impression of the sample and to investigate
possible gender or income effects and age tendencies. As people often do not like to reveal
their monthly income, this question will be asked at the end of the survey and by means
of income groups (e.g. 0-500€, 500-1.500€…). It is aspired to reach a total amount of at
14least 200 participants. To reach this number, three weeks are calculated for the data
acquisition. An additional week is included in the Work Plan in case the number of
participants is insufficient. To acquire the necessary number of participants, social media
platforms, mailing lists, as well as personal contacts could be used. An English version
of the survey is not planned up to now, as different brand awareness and cultural
backgrounds in different countries might bias the results. It is planned to include a raffle
of different REWE vouchers to encourage the participation. It should take around ten
minutes to answer the questionnaire. This time should be sufficient, as lengthy surveys
are regarded as being demotivating and lead to an increased breakup rate.
Lastly, a statistical structural equation model programme like SPSS or R will be used to
analyse the collected data. Initially, participants that have not answered seriously, (which
can be worked out by unusual answer patterns) will be eliminated from the data pool.
Afterwards, statistical tests can be conducted in order to answer the research questions.
156. Work Plan
Table 4: Planned work plan
Period Activity Description
Definition of the topic, literature
01.11.17 – 31.12.17 Exposé review and theoretical
framework
Designing the survey and
01.01.18 – 14.02.18 Research Design implementing it in a suitable
software
15.02.18 – 14.03.18 Field Research Running the survey
Analysing the data collected
15.03.18 – 30.04.18 Analysis of the results
from the survey
Conclusions and final Drawing conclusions and
01.05.18 – 31.05.18
revision revising the entire work
167. Overview of the chapters
1. Introduction……………………………………………………………………………..
2. Theoretical Background………………………………………………………………...
2.1 Brand Management ……………………………………………………...…....
2.2 Corporate vs. Brand Social Responsibility……………………………………
2.3 The Fast Moving Consumer Goods Market……………………………………
3. Hypotheses……………………………………………………………………………...
4. Methodology……………………………………………………………………………
4.1 Experimental Framework……………………………………………………...
4.1.1 Constructs and Operationalism………………………………………
4.1.2 Pre-Test……………………………………………………...............
4.1.3 Survey…………………………………………………….................
4.2 Analysis………………………………………………………………………..
4.2.1 Pre-Test Sample Audit………………………………………………
4.2.2 Sample Audit………………………………………………………...
4.2.3 Construct Verification………………………………………………
5. Results…………………………………………………………………………………..
6. Discussion………………………………………………………………………………
6.1 Summary and Interpretation…………………………………………………..
6.2 Limitations…………………………………………………………………….
6.3 Outlook………………………………………………………………………..
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