Action, not cash

When it comes to public perception of corporate responsibility, more money isn't always better, according to a recent survey on business charity efforts following the May 12 Sichuan earthquake.

Ipsos, a leading global survey, marketing research consultancy, polled 1,032 people aging from 15 to 65 in random telephone interviews in seven Chinese cities: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Wuhan, Xi'an and Shenyang.

It was an effort to measure the reputations of over 70 well-known domestic and foreign brands following the quake, with a focus on an enterprise's social responsibility.

About 73 percent of the respondents said they would prefer to buy brands that made active efforts to fulfill their social responsibilities for quake relief, according to the survey.

And the majority of the public said that the direct actions by enterprises were more important than large cash donations.

Instead, realistic, efficient and relevant solutions were factors that attracted the greatest public attention.

"Providing professional technical support for earthquake rescue and post-disaster reconstruction" was the greatest expectation of the public for enterprises fulfilling their corporate social responsibilities.

"Helping people to independently develop and resume their lives" also garnered public praise.

Also cited as approved examples were "supervising and guaranteeing the proper and reasonable allocation of donations", "cooperating and supporting the government at different levels", and "providing professional policies and management support".

"This shows that the public has higher expectations for the policies, management and solutions taken by an enterprise to fulfill its corporate citizenship responsibilities, instead of simply donating cash and goods," says Su Songying, research manager of Ipsos China and coordinator of the survey.

Eighty eight percent of the interviewees agreed "the aid of an enterprise in this disaster is not a demonstration of benevolence but the social responsibility it should take".

Most people welcome and appreciate whatever actions the enterprises performed as long as they sincerely fulfilled their social responsibilities, says Su.

The overwhelming majority or 89 percent agreed that "any enterprise should be respected no matter how much they donate".

However,"the public showed a higher expectation for large enterprises because, in their view, large enterprises have greatly benefited from the development of the market economy in China," says Su.

The survey covered industries ranging from fast-consumed goods, electronics, IT, automobiles, finance, real estate and pharmaceuticals. Due to the outstanding high profile performances of telecom and medical professionals, the public's attitude towards the reputation of those professions changed more significantly than other industries, with a average level of trust increasing by 34 percent.

Moreover, 55 percent of the respondents expected that multinationals should shoulder more citizenship responsibilities because they benefit from China's economic successes.

"This is an important alarm signal for the reputation risk management of multinationals, and deserves careful attention," Su notes.

Su also says the public's increased expectations for an enterprise was also reflected by its assessment of the effectiveness of a company's practices and the efficiency of its management.

Those surveyed gave high marks to the efficiency of the central government's unified command and expected that enterprises to cooperate with the government in taking prompt, timely action and continuing long-term aid efforts.

Ninety five percent of those surveyed believed that cooperation between enterprises and the government would be the most likely way to gain public praise and support.

Making donations, participating in rescue work and post-disaster reconstruction, were also important factors in an enterprise gaining the public's favor.

"To improve the effectiveness of an enterprise's practices when fulfilling its corporate citizenship responsibilities, the enterprise should understand the expectations of the public, and should formulate proper policies to guide their actions," says the Ipsos research manager.

(China Daily 07/28/2008 page8)