Social benefits of corporate community involvement and socially beneficial consumption: three studies of externalities in macromarketing

Abstract

The health sector has been one of the main areas of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), especially for companies who are operating in high-risk developing countries. One of the main issues is the Human Immunodeficiency (HIV)/ Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) epidemic in many developing countries. HIV and AIDS may have devastating effects on businesses and societies. It damages businesses by reducing productivity, adding costs, diverting productive resources, and depleting skill. However, through various CSR, corporations may take decisive early action to prevent HIV and make an impact, before the epidemic becomes generalized in the community and more difficult and costly to control. Nevertheless, a recent joint project of the Aspen Institute, Boston University, and the Marketing Science Institute suggests that academics and practitioners do not pay enough attention to understand the multitude of stakeholders in society who affect and are affected by various companies social initiatives which produce externalities. The challenges, consequences and externalities of these exchanges between companies as producers, consumers, and society are rarely examined. Therefore, we aim to address these phenomena through three separate studies. The first paper aimed to understand the drivers and challenges faced by companies in general in measuring the social impact of their CCI initiative(s). In addition, the main study will be complemented by descriptive analysis examining how social impact measurements are being adopted by leading Australian companies. The second paper aimed to analyse positioning and preference toward various HIV/AIDS prevention products and services. The result of this study will assist NFPs, government agencies and companies to get insight into recipients’ perception of products or services delivered through various social programs. The third paper aimed to understand user segments and establish heterogeneous demand for the primary goods and services that yield external benefits; to establish whether there is an overlap between user segments and external beneficiary segments; and to examine the structure of potential community support for matching institutions in a developing country. In conclusion, the first paper involves analyses derived from the perspective of corporations in Australia, while the second and third papers are analyses derived from the perspective of users or recipients in a developing country.