Abstract
A positioning construct based on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) actions is a suitable alternative for companies acting especially in mature markets. Today’s highly-competitive business environment is marked by fast innovation, shorter product life cycles and an abundance of substitute alternatives. Also, regardless the market, the consumers are better informed than ever before and, hence, more demanding. Many businesses struggle to be better or different, based just on the peculiarities of the marketing mix as in many instances the offers are similar, the price differences are insignificant or the communication and distribution channels are the same. These considerations are prerequisites for uncovering new and effective market positioning strategies. This chapter presents the theoretical grounds for CSR market positioning constructs and focuses on CSR positioning endeavours suitable for Romanian Internet Service Providers (ISP). The chapter aims to offer a view that targets not just the most important players, but the small and medium ones as well. Although a few large Romanian ISPs have developed CSR structures to support community projects, the CSR actions are still in their infancy having a weak representation. This chapter will consider important social issues with a tremendous impact on the telecommunication industry, such as privacy, child internet access permission or service coverage in remote areas, or traditional CSR actions focused on stakeholders and build around them effective market positioning strategies for Romanian ISPs.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Aluchna, M. (2015). Employee volunteering as an element of corporate social responsibility: The evidence from polish listed companies. In S. O. Idowu & C. S. Frederiksen (Eds.), Corporate social responsibility and governance, CSR, sustainability, ethics and governance. Berlin: Springer.
Anselmsson, J., & Johansson, U. (2007). Corporate social responsibility and the positioning of grocery brands: An exploratory study of retailer and manufacturer brands at point of purchase. International Journal of Retail and Distribution Management, 35(10), 835–856.
Autoritatea Nationala pentru Administrare si Reglementare in Comunicatii. (2014a). Raport Anual 2013. Bucharest, Romania: Author. Retrieved from http://www.ancom.org.ro/uploads/links_files/Raport_Anual_2013_ro_FINAL.pdf
Autoritatea Nationala pentru Administrare si Reglementare in Comunicatii. (2014b). The Romanian electronic communication services market-01 January-30 June 2014. Bucharest, Romania: Author.
Autoritatea Nationala pentru Administrare si Reglementare in Comunicatii. (2014c). Registered entities as Internet Service Providers in Romania. Bucharest, Romania: Author.
Baron, D. (2001). Private politics, corporate social responsibility and integrated society. Journal of Economics and Management Strategy, 10, 7–45.
Beal, V. (2014a). Spam. Webopedia. Retrieved from http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/S/spam.html
Beal, V. (2014b). Phishing. Webopedia. Retrieved from http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/S/phishing.html
Berman, S. L., Wicks, A. C., Kotha, S., & Jones, T. M. (1999). Does stakeholder orientation matter? The relationship between stakeholder management models and firm financial performance. Academy of Management Journal, 42, 480–506.
Boulouta, I., & Pitelis, C. N. (2014). Who needs CSR? The impact of corporate social responsibility on national competitiveness. Journal of Business Ethics, 119, 349–364.
Carrigan, M., & Attalla, A. (2001). The Myth of the ethical consumer—Do ethics matter in purchase behaviour? Journal of Consumer Marketing, 18(7), 560–577.
Carroll, A. B., & Shabana, K. M. (2010). The business case for corporate social responsibility: A review of concepts, research and practice. International Journal of Management Reviews, 12(1), 85–105.
Catoiu, I., & Edu, T. (2007, May). The Internet Service Provider- an essential element of the microenvironment of marketing for the modern enterprise. In Volume II. Paper presented at the International Economic Conference Romania Within the EU: Opportunities, Requirements and Perspectives, Lucian Blaga University, Sibiu (pp. 88–94). Ed. ULBS, Sibiu.
Commission of the European Communities. (2001). Prompting a European framework for corporate social responsibility. Brussels, COM (2001), pp. 366-final.
Craciunescu, M. (2014). Cum arata piata de telefonie mobila in Romania tinerilor la finalul verii, Smark Research. Retrieved from http://www.smark.ro/articol/31015/cum-arata-piata-de-telefonie-mobila-in-romania-tinerilor-la-finalul-verii
Crowther, D., & Aras, G. (2008). Corporate social responsibility. Denmark: Ventus Publishing ApS.
Du, S., Bhattacharya, C. B., & Sen, S. (2010). Maximizing business returns to corporate social responsibility (CSR): The role of CSR communication. International Journal of Management Reviews, 12(1), 8–19.
Edu, T. (2009). Marketingul Serviciilor Internet. Bucharest: Pro Universitaria.
Edu, T. (2013). Marketing strategic. Bucharest: Pro Universitaria.
European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, European Parliament. (2011). A required EU strategy 2011-14 for corporate social responsibility. Brussels, (COM 2011), 681-final.
Garriga, E., & Mele, D. (2004). Corporate social responsibility theories: Mapping the territory. Journal of Business Ethics, 53, 51–71.
Hart, S. L., & Milstein, M. B. (2003). Creating sustainable value. Academy of Management Executive, 17(2), 1–15.
Idowu, S. O. (2009). Corporate social responsibility from the perspective of corporate secretaries. In S. O. Idowu & F. Walter (Eds.), Professionals’ perspectives of corporate social responsibility. Heidelberg: Springer.
Jucan, C. N., & Dolf Baier, M. S. (2012). The ICT implication on CSR in the tourism of emerging markets. Procedia Economics and Finance, 3, 702–709.
Kinder, Lydenberg, & Domini Co. Inc. (1999). Socrates: The corporate social ratings monitor. Cambridge, MA: Kinder, Lydenberg and Domini Co. Inc.
Knox, S. (2004). Positioning and branding your organization. Journal of Product and Brand Management, 13(2), 105–115.
Knox, S., & Maklan, S. (2004). Corporate social responsibility: Moving beyond investment towards measuring outcomes. European Management Journal, 22(5), 508–516.
Leonard, D., & McAdam, R. (2003). Corporate social responsibility. Quality Progress, 36(10), 27–32.
Levis, J. (2006). Adoption of corporate social responsibility codes by multinational companies. Journal of Asian Economies, 17(1), 50–55.
Lichtenstein, D. R., Drumwright, M. E., & Braig, B. M. (2004). The effect of corporate social responsibility on customer donations to corporate-supported non-profits. Journal of Marketing, 68, 16–32.
Luo, X., & Bhattacharya, C. B. (2006). Corporate social responsibility, customer satisfaction and market value. Journal of Marketing, 70(4), 1–18.
Mahon, J. F., & Wartick, S. L. (2003). Dealing with stakeholders: How reputations, credibility and framing influence the game. Corporate Reputation Review, 6(1), 19–35.
McWilliams, A., & Siegel, D. (2001). Corporate social responsibility: A theory of the firm perspective. Academy of Management Review, 25(1), 117–127.
Moutinho, L., & Southern, G. (2010). Strategic marketing management: A process-based approach. Andover: Cengage Learning.
Polonsky, M., & Jevons, C. (2009). Global branding and strategic CSR: An overview of three types of complexity. International Marketing Review, 26(3), 327–347.
Porter, M. E., & Kramer, M. R. (2006). Strategy and society: The link between competitive advantage and corporate social responsibility. Harvard Business Review, 84(12), 78–92.
Post, J. E., Preston, L. E., & Sachs, S. (2002). Managing the extended enterprise: The new stakeholder view. California Management Review, 45(1), 5–28.
Ries, A., & Trout, J. (2001). Positioning—The battle for your mind. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Roland Berger Strategy Consultants. (2014). Fixed broadband in Romania—Trends and economic impact. Bucharest: Author.
Santos, M. (2011). CSR in SMEs: Strategies, practices, motivations and obstacles. Social Responsibility Journal, 7(3), 490–508.
Scherer, A. G., & Palazzo, G. (2008). Globalization and corporate social responsibility. In A. Crane, A. McWilliams, D. Matten Dirk, J. Moon, & D. Siegel (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of corporate social responsibility (p. 656). Oxford: Oxford University.
Schlegelmilch, B. B., & Pollach, I. (2005). The perils and opportunities of communicating corporate ethics. Journal of Marketing Management, 21(3, 4), 267–290.
Sheikh, S. U. R., & Beise-Zee, R. (2011). Corporate social responsibility or cause related marketing? The role of cause specificity of CSR. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 28(1), 27–39.
Siegel, D. S., & Vitaliano D. F. (2006). An empirical analysis of the strategic use of corporate social responsibility. Working Paper in Economics, 0602. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Smith, N. C. (2003). Corporate social responsibility: Whether or how? California Management Review, 45, 52–76.
Smith, T. (2005). Institutional and social investors find common ground. Journal of Investing, 14, 57–65.
Van Tonder, E., & Roberts-Lombard, M. (2013). A theoretical framework for managing CSR plans and related initiatives in the modern business environment. Journal of Business and Economics Research, 11(12), 503–520.
Wu, X. (2007). Stakeholder identifying and positioning models: From Google’s operation in China to a general case-analysis framework. Public Relations Review, 33, 415–425.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Edu, T., Negricea, I.C. (2017). CSR Market Positioning Constructs: From Planning to Action. Evidence from Romanian Internet Service Providers. In: Aluchna, M., Idowu, S. (eds) The Dynamics of Corporate Social Responsibility. CSR, Sustainability, Ethics & Governance. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39089-5_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39089-5_7
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-39088-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-39089-5
eBook Packages: Business and ManagementBusiness and Management (R0)