The profit maximization objective of business organizations have created
business environments where managers are expected to solely achieve this objective
regardless of the influence their business has on the society they operate in. Corporate
social responsibility encompasses the business organization’s economic, legal, ethical
and philanthropic expectations placed on the organization by the society. While many
scholars and managers view CSR as a waste of a business’ resources, advocating that
the sole aim of an organization is to maximize profit, and that managers are not well
trained to perform CSR activities, other scholars and managers have deeply studied
and promoted the benefits of CSR, one of which is the ability of CSR activities to
serve as a strategic tool for gaining competitive advantage, especially in small
businesses in Nigeria that face steep competition from established international
organizations that benefit from economies of scale and are able to provide the same
goods and services to consumers at a cheaper price and sometimes better quality. This
study adopts a case study methodology in analyzing the strategic benefits derived by
house of TARA, a small businesses operating in the beauty and make-up industry in
Nigeria as a result of the CSR activities initiated and implemented by its management
team.House of Tara has grown from a door to door makeup business to a major player
in the beauty and makeup industry in Nigeria and other West African countries. Based
on this study, it is concluded that CSR does have a strategic role in gaining
competitive advantage such as consumer (external) and employees’ (internal) loyalt
