Important attributes of corporate social responsibility - an exploratory assessment from Oman

This paper reports the results of an exploratory investigation of consumers in Greater Moscat area of the Sultanate of Oman in regards to the important attributes that a socially responsible company should have in order to meet its social responsibility and corporate citizenship. An intercept survey of 153 participants (45% Omanis and 55% expatriates) revealed that a socially responsible company should have attributes such as safe products/services, appropriate treatment of employees, provision of reliable products/services, behave ethically, and committed to social responsibility. The 16 item attributes measured on 5-point Likert scale were represented by three components, namely community, organisation, and commitment and explained 62% of total variance. Whilst gender had no statistically significant difference on these three components, age, education, and nationality demographics showed statistically significant differences. Results were discussed with suggestions for further assessment of the larger sample of the Omani consumers located outside of the Greater Moscat area

Exploring Corporate Responsibility in Oman – Social Expectations and Practice

Purpose – This paper aims to explore social expectations and practice of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Oman. Design/methodology/approach – In total, 153 respondents (45 per cent Omanis and 55 per cent expatriates) shared their expectations which were compared with documentary evidence from core large and medium-sized enterprises' CSR practice in Oman. Findings – On average, CSR mean scores exhibited similarity for most respondent groups except for Omanis, young people, and those with high school or lower education who scored less, indicating a general lack of awareness of CSR. Society in Oman seems to expect corporations to provide “safe and reliable products/services”, “appropriately treat employees”, “behave ethically”, and be “committed to social responsibility”. Research limitations/implications – While there is limited generalizability of the findings of this exploratory study per se due to sample size limitations, a clear pattern emerges to facilitate more in-depth studies on CSR in Oman, and furthermore in other emerging market economies and transitional economies. Practical implications – The study demonstrates a need for additional research into CSR awareness, philosophy and practice in the small and medium enterprise sectors, and other industry sectors. Originality/value – The paper presents findings from an exploratory empirical study investigating social expectations of CSR in Oman, and highlights the practice of CSR in Oman. It also compares these findings and other studies' on the philosophy, nature and practice of CSR in emerging market and transitional economies