The relation of corporate social responsibility with the corporate reputation and image: A field study in GSM industry

Today contemporary businesses have to behave in accordance with both their own interest and the society's interest. If their only goal is to make profit they are bound to fall behind their competitors and shrink in size and finally they will fail. In a competitive environment in order to remain in the competition and make profit in the long run it is vital for the companies to do their duties towards the society with a social responsibility consciousness. Both the ever-increasing competition and the requests made by the conscious consumers have highlighted the importance of social responsibility. Companies participating in social projects, which can benefit the society, along with making profit strengthen their image and reputation. This is an empirical study evaluating the social responsibility and corporate reputation and image perceptions for four important GSM operators in Turkey (Turkcell, Avea, Vodafone, PTTCell). The data collected by survey studies is analyzed and the relations between variables are evaluated. The results reveal that corporate social responsibility is an important component of corporate reputation. Reputation perceptions rise equally with social responsibility perceptions. Reputation perceptions contribute to corporate image. That is corporate social responsibility effects corporate reputation directly and corporate image indirectly. Key Words: Corporate social responsibility, corporate reputation, corporate image, GSM operators.