Corporate Social Responsibility, Client Satisfaction and Competitive Advantage in Retail Banking Institutions in Kenya

Abstract

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) plays a very important role in organizational development. Studies have shown that institutions that embrace this concept reap many benefits including customer loyalty, positive attitudes towards brands, client trust, positive publicity and better financial performance. Increased spending on CSR initiatives is expected to increase customer satisfaction and build competitive advantage. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the role of CSR initiatives in building customer satisfaction and competitive advantage. It specifically focuses on customer-centric, corporate philanthropy and employee-centered activities of CSR and their contribution to customer satisfaction and competitive advantage. The paper draws largely from various academic literature by examining the early reflections of various scholars on CSR and linking them to more contemporary theoretical and empirical reviews. We recommend that retail banking institutions in Kenya should be involved more in CSR initiatives so as to gain customer satisfaction and build competitive advantage in the ever changing business environment