CSR communication to consumers in the food delivery platform industry - A case study of consumer perceptions in Finland
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School of Business |
Master's thesis
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Authors
Date
2023
Department
Major/Subject
Mcode
Degree programme
Management and International Business (MIB)
Language
en
Pages
77+7
Series
Abstract
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become increasingly important for companies and stakeholders in recent years due to the increase in legal requirements and consumer pressure for companies to partake in more sustainable practices. This has pushed companies to increasingly consider their economic, social, and environmental impact on society. While previous studies indicate that companies’ participation in CSR can lead to many benefits, CSR communication to consumers has been found to pose many challenges such as consumer scepticism and low consumer awareness. To tackle these challenges, the purpose of this research was to increase understanding of consumer perceptions about CSR and CSR communication in order to improve the awareness, trust and understanding of consumer expectations and hopes for CSR communication. The objective of this study was to explore how consumers perceive the CSR and CSR communication in the food delivery platform industry in Finland. Consideration of the industry was relevant as CSR issues related to the industry have been increasingly academically considered in the last years due to the rapid growth of the food delivery platform industry as well as because of the lack of research in smaller markets like Finland. The empirical part of the study was done by conducting semi-structured interviews with eight consumers living in Finland. In accordance with the framework of this study, the interview questions were conducted to gain understanding of consumer perception of the industry based on experiences and on total communication of the industry platforms. Furthermore, it explored how consumers would wish companies to communicate about CSR to increase their awareness, trust, and positive responses to it. The interview data was analysed by using theoretical thematic analysis. The findings suggest that consumers have positive perceptions of the food delivery platform industry due to satisfaction to user experience but are concerned about the platforms’ social impact related to couriers due to their gig-economy business models. The participants expressed low awareness of CSR communication and instead, media is the main source of CSR information. Based on the findings, consumers wish to receive more CSR communication from food couriers and wish for more information that is based on facts and statistics as it increases transparency and trust. To raise awareness, the findings indicate that consumers wish for more visible CSR communication from companies in the industry and thus, the preferred channels include social media, website, platform application, and media. The findings of this study provide insight for the type of CSR communication that consumers wish for the food delivery platform industry and can provide information for the planning of CSR communication to consumers in other industries as well.Description
Thesis advisor
Moisander, JohannaKeywords
corporate social responsibility, CSR communication, consumer perceptions, food delivery platform industry