Corporate social responsibility and employee satisfaction, a study of vietnamese firms in HCMC

CSR to society and CSR to employee life are found to be two most important factors,other factors are sequenced as CSR to environment and generation, CSR to employeedevelopment opportunit

MASTER OF BUSINESS (Honours)

Ho Chi Minh City – Year 2012

ID: 104214046

MASTER OF BUSINESS (Honours)

SUPERVISOR: Assoc Prof LE NGUYEN HAU

Ho Chi Minh City – Year 2012

Employee Satisafction: A study of Vietnamese Firms in HCMC” is the result of myown research and has not been submitted for a higher degree to any university orinstitution other than University of Economics HCMC.

I also certify that the thesis has been written by me Any help and assistance that I havereceived in my research work and the preparation of the thesis have been appropriatelyacknowledged

In addition, the thesis was approved by ISB - University of Economics HCMC

Signed

Date: December 2012

VietNam and all the professors who have been helping me a lot to equip me theintellectual knowledge, the most favorable environment conditions during the studyand implementation of this thesis.

With respect and deep gratitude, I would like to express my great gratitude to Assoc.Prof Le Nguyen Hau – my supervisor, for his instruction, enthusiastic helping,intensive support, caring and oriented advises on my writing

Secondly, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the organizations,individuals and businesses which have collaborated to share information, give me a lot

of resources, responses and useful material for the subject of my study, especially forthe fulfilling of research questionnaires Without these help, I could not believe that mystudy would come to an end as today

Lastly, I would like to send my deep gratitude to my family, friends, colleagues whohave encouraged and supported me very much during the learning process, work andcompletion of this thesis

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

December 30th 2012

Le Thanh Truc

iii

from practitioners and scholars alike in recent years The growing awareness of thisissue has raised the questions about how responsible behavior of firms would impactemployees’ well-being Because employees are primary stakeholders who directlycontribute to the success of the company, understanding employee reactions to CSRmay help answer lingering questions about the potential effects of CSR on firms as well

as illuminate some of the processes responsible for them

Based on the survey of 391 employees and managers in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC),measures of internal and external social responsibility are found to be positivelyassociated with job satisfaction There are 7 factors effect positively employees’ jobsatisfaction: CSR to environment and generation, CSR to society, CSR to customer,CSR to employee life, CSR to government, CSR to employee development opportunityand CSR to competition

CSR to society and CSR to employee life are found to be two most important factors,other factors are sequenced as CSR to environment and generation, CSR to employeedevelopment opportunity, CSR to customer, CSR to competition, CSR to government.The analysis results also show that CSR factors which impact on employee satisfactionand CSR factors which impact on manager satisfaction (middle and low levelmanagers) have the same trend

Based on the statistical result, managerial implications have been dicussed andrecommendations are provided to improve CSR activities in firms in Ho Chi MinhCity

iv

List of tables

List of figures

Chapter 1 Introduction 1

1.1 Overview 1

1.2 Problem statement 4

1.3 Research Scope 5

1.4 Research Process 5

1.5 Research Structure 6

Chapter 2 Literature Review 7

2.1 The concept of Corporate Social Responsibility 7

2.2 Corporate Social Responsibility Theories 8

2.2.1 Stakeholder theory 8

2.2.2 Caroll’s CSR conceptualization - Carroll’s CSR Pyramid 9

2.3 Previous research about Corporate Social Responsibility and Employees’ satisfaction 10

2.4 Research Model 12

v

3.4 Measurement Scales 22

3.4.1 Measurement Construct 2

2 3.4.2 Statistic Methods 2

7

7 3.4.4 Assessment of Scale Reliabiliy 2

8 3.4.5 Assessment of Scales’ Unidimensionality, Discriminant Validity and Convergent

alidity 2

9 3.4.6 Multi Regression Analysis 2

9

Chapter 4 Data Analysis 30

4.1 Sample Descriptive Statistic 304.2 Assessment and Refinement of Measurement Scales 31

vi

4.2.2.1 The Independent Factors 34

4.2.2.2 The dependent Factor 42

4.2.3 Revised Conceptual Model 4

4 4.3 Hypotheses Testing 46

4.3.1 Regression analysis and Hypotheses testing 4

6 4.3.2 Hypotheses testing 4

9 4.3.3 Moderators: Regression analysis with employees’ view and managers’ view 5

2 4.3.3.1 Regression analysis with employees’ view 52

4.3.3.2 Regression analysis with managers’ view 54

4.4 Research findings 56

Chapter 5 Conlude and Recommendation 59

5.1 Overview 59

5.2 Summary of findings 60

5.3 Managerial implications 61

5.4 Limitation and further research 63

References

Appendix 1: Questionnaire (English Version)

vii

Appendix 4: Charts of testing Hypotheses Appendix 5: Charts of testing Moderators

viii

Table 4.2 Reliability testing results 32

Table 4.3 KMO and Bartlett’s Test 35

Table 4.4 Total Variance Explained 36

Table 4.5 Rotated Component matrix 37

Table 4.6 Cronbach’s Alpha for new factors 40

Table 4.7 KMO and Bartlett's Test for employees’ satisfaction 42

Table 4.8 Total Variance Explained 43

Table 4.9 Component Matrix 43

Table 4.10 Results of hypotheses testing 47

Table 4.11 Hypotheses summary 51

Table 4.12 Results of hypotheses testing with employees’ view 52

Table 4.13 Results of hypotheses testing with managers’ view 54

Table 4.14 Descriptive Statistics 57

ix

Fifure 2.2 The proposal research model 15 Figure 3.1 The research process 17

x

Our earth will be quickly destroyed soon by ourselves So is it reasonable to continue tomaximize profits at any cost? Will we accept to have a short life left on earth? Or is ittime we all get the same serious look about developing world responsibly andsustainably? The question has made a major concern from 1953 to date in the process

of business development and the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)also was originated

Currently, CSR has become a real movement and growth in worldwide For the currentEuro-American countries, consumers are interested in not only the quality of endproduct but also the way that production method which are friendly with environment,community, human healthy or not For example, there have been many movements toboycott products such as fringe food, carbonated soft drinks, fur products, etc Withsocial pressure, the enterprise has made CSR initiative as one of the essential andserious activities, even drafting for their own CSR strategy For example, a series ofprograms have been implemented such as saving energy, reducing carbon emissions inthe production and using recycled materials, solar energy, improving water sources,building schools, building epidemic diseases research center in developing countries,

improving the working environment of employees and helping surrounding communities.Companies are known as CSR leaders: TNT, Google, Intel, Unilever, Coca-Cola, GE,Nokia , HSBC, Levi Strauss, Bayer, Dupont, Toyota, Sony, Samsung, etc.

With the ongoing effort to implement CSR, corporations in the world today haveachieved a lot of success from the increasing employee satisfaction, reducing operatingcosts to enhance the prestige image in public Therefore, the implementation of theCSR is as a key strategy for sustainable development of enterprises

CSR in Vietnam

The state of CSR in Vietnam is intimately linked to doi moi (renovation) and the effects

of globalization In December 1986, Vietnam’s Community Party adopted a oriented socialist economy under state guidance.’ Since then, the Vietnamese state andsociety have undergone dramatic transformations Vietnam has been transformed from

‘market-a st‘market-ate-led economy to ‘market-a more m‘market-arket-oriented one There were ch‘market-allenges to st‘market-ate-owned enterprises, including foreign investment and donor pressure Joining the WorldTrade Organization (WTO) continued to drive the shift from state to marketorientation With this shift, CSR, an initiative of the market, comes to the fore CSRplays a major role in the environmental and social sustainability of the country The

state-forces of doi moi and globalization brought the pressure of international codes of

compliance to Vietnamese firms Not only did citizens become more aware of theimportance of social responsibility, but the legal code of the country now had greaterneed to adapt to meet and enforce international standards Although Vietnam did notadopt an explicit CSR policy, the government began to address some CSR-relatedissues within the sustainability strategy called Vietnam Agenda 21 This document,officially signed by the prime minister in 2004, provides a strategy for sustainabledevelopment in Vietnam It puts people at the center of development, but says thatenvironmental protection is inseparable from benefits for people It aims at a balance

between the interests of present and future generations so that actions taken now do notimperil the well-being of the future The strategy calls for training, workshops and mediaoutreach to improve understanding of sustainable development and the managementcapability to achieve it Agenda 21 allocates budget for these activities and calls for efforts

to strengthen international cooperation on sustainable development

In Asia, the trend of interest in CSR is increasing but the development of CSR is still relativelylow In particular, Vietnam is one country that CSR concerns have been risen fast

CSR was first introduced into our country through the activities of multinationalcompanies investing in Vietnam The contents of CSR performance in these companiesare basic and effective: "I love Vietnam" - Honda Vietnam, educational programs forpersonal hygiene for children in the mountainous provinces of Unilever; computertraining program TOPIC64 of Microsoft, Qualcomm and HP; supported programssurgery of congenital heart defects and supporting victims of Can Tho bridge collapse

by VinaCapital, Samsung; vision rehabilitation program for poor children by WesternUnion's, etc

For domestic enterprises, the initial concern for CSR in the export enterprises such asgarment and footwear (focusing on the treatment of workers and applying the goodwork) The Vietnam Business Links Initiative, a multi-stakeholder initiative, developed

a local code of conduct for the footwear sector in the late 1990s The Initiative nowprovides annual CSR Awards for the footwear, garment and textile industries, andrecently initiated an award for CSR in the marine products industry In addition, largecorporations in Vietnam also implement CSR initiative and build a good image withthe public such as Mai Linh, Duy Loi, ACB, Sacombank, Kinh Do, etc However, theseactivities lack of depth

Most small and medium enterprises in Vietnam is still relatively inactive in CSR issuessuch as soy sauce 3MCPD, melamine-tainted milk, petrol station fraud or causingserious environmental pollution, etc So clearly, the perception about CSR is incorrectand not enough that makes the Vietnamese enterprises losing competitive advantages

on their playground and ruin the business environment from indirectly to directly What

is the reason? Do not managers of the enterprises have fully aware of the importance ofCSR for sustainable development? Or they do not know where they start and how theyimplement CSR? Therefore, CSR perception is very important and sensitive

1.2 Problem Statement

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Vietnam is understood by many ways Notall CSR activities and campaigns of Vietnamese organizations are successful So, howpeople perceive about CSR is more important than how they operate Employees aremore and more conscious of the widening obligations of firms towards the society Thismeans that they nowadays perceive CSR as one of the important issues to beconsidered by the employees

The study by Claydon and Doyle (1996) emphasizes the importance of employeepower in organizational angagement Similarly, in the study by Greenwood (2007)employees as representatives of the internal side of the organization are identified asthe most salient stakeholders among all others and thus can be expected to have thebiggest power in terms of stakeholder engagement Therefore, managers andemployees’ perception about CSR is very important in companies beacause it decidesthe employees’ attitude and employees’ behavior at work

Until now, some studies investigate the relationship between employees’ perceptionabout CSR and different aspects of job satisfaction all over the world However, there

is not any study which find out the relationship between employees’ CSR perceptiontheir job satisfaction in Vietnam.

The main objective of this research is to observe the relationship between employees’CSR perception and employees’ satisfaction of Vietnamese firms in Ho Chi Minh City(HCMC)

Thus, this research is to answer two questions:

 Is there any relation between between employees’ CSR perception and

employees’ satisfaction of Vietnamese firms in HCMC?

 How employees’ CSR perception affects on their satisfaction at work?

1.3 Research Scope

This research mainly focus on identifying the key CSR factors influencing employees’satisfation of Vietnamese firms The target interviewees are employees and managers(middle and low level managers)

Quntitative research will be applied to the companies or enterprises in Ho Chi MinhCity (HCMC) only HCMC is a central commercial city in Vietnam, where attractsmost of important and developing industries in Vietnam

1.4 Research Process

Chapter 1 Introduction to introduce the research background, the research problem.

Raising the problems, the objectives, scope and the process of the research were

defined in order to solve Then, Chapter 2 Literature review to present the theorical

concepts and conceptual framework being the base for the research Hypothesesaccording to the conceptual framework selected for this research were discussed and

developed for testing After that, Chapter 3 Research Methodology to present in more

detail research approach, research design, development of the measurement scales, the

questionnaire and the data analysis approach And Chapter 4 Data Analysis to present

the resut of research and statistic analysis and discussion It also concludes on the

theoretical and managerial implications of the research findings Finally, Chapter 5 Conclusion and Recommendations to propose the conclusions on the research,

limitations and recommendations (if any)

Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter presents the theorical concepts and conceptual framework being the basefor the research Hypotheses according to the conceptual framework selected for thisresearch are discussed and developed for testing

2.1 The concept of Corporate Social Responsibility

The basic concept of CSR is that corporations have responsibilities to go beyond thetraditional business objective of maximizing short-term profits and protect and nurturesociety and the environment However, implementation CSR is controversial becausethere is no consistent definition of CSR and no accepted way to measure it Numerousstudies attempt to define “corporate responsibility” from various perspectives, withdescriptions ranging from “corporate philanthropy” to “business ethics”

The definition of CSR does not come in the form of a single conclusive definition eventhough in theory and practice, there were many detailed discussion with regard to theconcept of CSR In genral, CSR refers to making business decision associated withethical values, compliance with legal requirements, and respect for people,communities and environment Jones (1980) argues that CSR is the perception thatcorporations have an obligation to groups in sciety other than stockolders and beyondthat prescribed by law and union contract Another definition is from Kotler and Lee(2005), who defined CSR as “a commitment to improve community well-being throughdiscretionary business practices and contributions of corporate resources”

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) (2002) definesCSR as “the commitment of the company to contribute to the sustained economicdevelopment by working with employees, their families, the local community, and theentire society in order to improve life quality” Wood (1991) defines CSR as “abusiness organization’s configuration of principles of social responsibility, processes of

social reponsiveness, and policies, programs, and observable outcomes as they relate tothe firm’s societal relationship”.

Adding on to the definition from the social perspectives, Baker (2003) maintained thatCSR concerns the way companies manage their business processes which positivelyaffect society aligned to the business World Bank (2002) describes CSR as thebusinesses’ obligations to provide renewable economic development throughcooperation with employees, their families, the local community and society in amanner that enhances their livelihood and consequently leads to beneficial businessand development

In this study, CSR concept from Turker (2009) is adopted Turker (2009) defined CSR as below

“CSR as corporate behaviors, which aim to affect stakeholders positively

and go beyond its economic interest”.

2.2 Corporate Social Responsibility Theories

2.2.1 Stakeholder theory

Many scholars point to stakeholder theory as an influencing factor in corporatedecisions and motivation to invest in CSR Stakeholder theory says an organization’ssurvival and success correlates strongly with its ability to align its objectives with that

of its various stakeholders By satisfying stakeholder demands, corporations developtrust and loyalty among those stakeholders More and more corporations promotesocially responsible actions and policies to effectively respond to stakeholder demands

Stakeholders consist of shareholders and investors, employees, customers, suppliers,governmental organizations, trade associations, environmental groups, and members ofthe community where a company operates.

2.2.2 Caroll’s CSR conceptualization - Carroll’s CSR Pyramid

Carroll (1979) first delineated the now-familiar four categories of CSR in a paper oncorporate social performance, depicting them as ordered layers which he labelledeconomic, legal, ethical and discretionary responsibilities Carroll (1979) explainedthat the four classes “are simply to remind us that motives or actions can be categorized

as primarily one or another of these four kinds” The order and relative weighting was

“to suggest what might be termed their fundamental role in the evolution ofimportance” In its first conception, therefore, the framework took a retrospectivedevelopmental perspective, based on the claim that “the history of business suggests anearly emphasis on the economic and then legal aspects and a later concern for theethical and discretionary aspects”

In 1991, Carroll (1991) first presented his CSR model as a pyramid, as shown in Figure2.1 He once again uses his original historical explanation for the relative weighting,saying: “To be sure, all these kinds of responsibilities have always existed to someextent, but it has only been in recent years that ethical and philanthropic functions havetaken a significant place” He also introduces dependence as a rationale, “beginningwith the basic building block notion that economic performance undergirds all else”.Finally, he suggests that, although the components are not mutually exclusive, it “helpsthe manager to see that the different types of obligations are in a constant tension withone another”

Figure 2.1 The Pyramid of Corporate Social Responsibility (Carroll, 1991)

Carroll (1999) appeared to briefly retract his dubious equating of philanthropy withcorporate citizenship and to abandon his pyramid concept by reconceiving his model as

“the four faces of corporate citizenship”, but soon returned to his original construct.Most recently, Carroll reproduced his 1991 CSR pyramid once again, but this timeattempted to incorporate the notion of stakeholders, in terms of which economicresponsibility contains the admonition to “do what is required by global capitalism”,legal responsibility holds that companies “do what is required by global stakeholders”,ethical responsibility means to “do what is expected by global stakeholders”, andphilanthropic responsibility means to “do what is desired by global stakeholders”(author’s original emphasis)

2.3 Previous research about Corporate Social Responsibility and Employees’ job satisfaction

Albdour & Altarawneh (2012) investigate the impact of internal CSR perception onemployees’ engagement Specially, this study examines the impact of five CSR factorsnamely: training and education, human rights, health and safety, work life balance andworkplace diversity on the two dimensions of employees’ job engagement andorganizational engagement All CSR factors above make positive impact onemployees’ job engagement and organizational engagement.

CSRhealth and safety

to customer, CSR to government and CSR to society and other stakeholders

The study by Aharon Tziner, Yaki Bar, Lior Oren and Gal Kadosh (2011) examines theconnections between employees’ CSR perception and employee dimensions of jobsatisfaction and organizational justice The results show that employees’ CSRperception is positive related to both job satisfaction and organizational justice In thisresearch, the authors use Turker’s CSR scale to measure employees’ CSR perception.And the model as below

2.4 Research Model

H1: There is a positive impact of CSR to employees on Employees’ satisfaction

Employees’ perceptions of CSR are likely have a positive effect on organizational trustand job satisfaction because CSR activities elavate employees’ self-image and morale

by helping align personal identities with those of the corporation (Lee et al., inpress)

In the theoretical literature, social identity theory suggests that employees and otherstakeholders are more likely to have positive perceptions of an organization when theyfeel connected to its objectives (Peterson, 2004) To this end, CSR strategies canpositively enhance the perceptions that employees have their own organization (Brownand Dacin, 1997), and stakeholders tend to trust company that recognize and resolvesocial problems in an ethical manner (Hosmer, 1995) Further, Vlachos et al (2010)identified a positive relationship between salespersons’ perceptions of their company’sCSR and job satisfaction In the hospitality literature, one recent study found thatmultiple dimensions of CSR have significant, positive effects on employees’ jobsatisfaction (Lee et al., in press)

H2: There is a positive impact of CSR to customers on Employees’ satisfaction

Carroll (1999) states that economic viability is something business does for society aswell and describe the economic component as a responsibility to produce goods andservies that customers want and do right thing what customers expect

The relationship between job satisfaction and customer orientation has been explored inseveral studies (e.g., Donavanet al., 2004; Hoffman and Ingram, 1992; Pettijohn et al.,2007) Results indicated that higher levels of customer orientation encourageemployees to have higher degrees of job satisfaction This finding is grounded in thetheoretical literature: social exchange theory proposes that individuals engage in

reciprocal behaviors and support those from whom they benefit, and Hoffman andIngram (1992) apply this to the workplace in finding that customer orientation behaviorpositively correlates with job satisfaction In addition, it seems customer orientation isassociated with job satisfaction (Motowidlo, 1984).

H3: There is a positive impact of CSR to government on Employees’ satisfaction

Based on study by Tziner, Bar, Oren and Kadosh (2011), a significant positiverelationships were found between CSR to government and employees’ job satisfaction.Especially, the research of Choong-Ki, Hak-Jun, Hye-Mi, Seoki, Bernhard (2012) alsofound a significant and positive effect from legal CSR dimension on employees’ jobsatisfaction

According to Sim (2003), “social responsibility” and “legality” are not one and thesame thing CSR is often seen as acts that go beyond what is prescribed by the law Thedefinitions of McGuire (1963) and Davis (1973) state that legal obligations is one ofimportant compnent of CSR

H4: There is a positive impact of CSR to society, environment, generations and

NGOs on Employees’ satisfaction

Philanthropic responsibility means to “do what is desired by global stakeholders”(Caroll, 2004) And according to Choong-Ki, Hak-Jun, Hye-Mi, Seoki, Bernhard(2012), philanthropic CSR make a positive impact on organizational trust and jobsatisfaction

Besides, a significant positive relationship were found between CSR to social, otherstakeholders and employees’ job satisfaction (Tziner, Bar, Oren and Kadosh, 2011).Despite the fact that CSR is one of the most prominent concepts in the literature, it stilldifficult to give a precise and commonly accepted definition According to Bowen

(1953), one of the first scholars to define the concep CSR “to pursue policies, makedecisions, or to follow lines of action which are desirable in terms of the objectives andvalues of our society” Accoring to Carroll (1991), there is a natural fot between theidea of CSR and an organization’s stakeholders In a broader understanding, which can

be attributed to the famous definition of Freeman (1984), stakeholders are “thosegroups or individuals who can affect or are affected by the achievement of theorganization’s objecives or are those actors with a direct or indirect interest in thecompany” Therefore, CSR to society and other stakeholder is a important factor in thescale

Moderated variable: Position

Previous studies show that managers’ and employees’ concern about CSR are nottotally the same Managers believe that CSR activities will make benefit and reputationfor enterprises and they focus much on external CSR activities (Jeremy Galbreath,2009)

Findings of Leonidas, Mary, Theofilos, Amalia (2012) indicate that most companieshave an internal management function that executed CSR programs which were mostlyoriented towards society, environment and employees Moreover, managers believethat CSR activities offer a number of benefits Interestingly, managers who believe thatCSR activities should be communicated and evaluated externally by a national agencytend to hold a strong positive attitude for the institutionalization of CSR

Employees’ concern should be higher regarding internal CSR, whereas managers shouldconsider both dimensions as equally important (Brammer et al, 2005) According toTamm, Eamets, Motsmees (2010), managers’ and employees’ assessments of externalCSR are closer to each other than their assessments of internal CSR

Research Model

(Employees and Managers)

H2 CSR to customer

job satisfaction

H3 CSR to government

H4 CSR to society and other stakeholders

Fifure 2.2 The proposal research model

H1: There is a positive impact of CSR to employees on Employees’ satisfaction

H2: There is a positive impact of CSR to customers on Employees’ satisfaction

H3: There is a positive impact of CSR to government on Employees’ satisfactionH4: There is a positive impact of CSR to society, environment, generations and NGOs

on Employees’ satisfaction

Chapter 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Chapter 2 presents the literature review on CSR and proposed the conceptual model,hypotheses for the factors influence employees’ satisfaction of Vietnamese firms inHCMC This chapter discusses about the research methods with four parts: Researchprocess, Measurement Scale, Data collection and Data analysis methods

3.1 Research process

After identifying the research problems and the research objectives, the literature review ofCSR and CSR scales were conducted to look through all the relevant concept of factorsinfluence CSR and employees’ satisfaction; proposed a conceptual model with thehypotheses for CSR and employees’ satisfaction of Vietnamese firms in HCMC

Based on the literature review of CSR, employees’ satisfaction, the pilot research of theconceptual model has been developed with four main factors of CSR which aresupposed to be influenced employees’ satisfaction of Vietnamese firms in HCMC Thedraft questionnaire was built from the consolidation and citing from previous studies ofthe same literature topic Both qualitative and quantitative methods are conducted inorder to consolidate for the quality of this research There are two phases in researchdesign step in this study: pilot survey and main survey Afterward, the measurementscales and pilot questionnaires on CSR and employees’ satisfaction were prepared inqualitative research

A qualitative research with preliminary questionnaire was conducted with pilotenterviews with some key interviewees who are employees and managers (middle andlow level managers) in Vietnameses firms by in-depth interview After that, the samplesize is determined

In the main survey, the qualitative study was conduct to this research by face-to-faceinterview method Questionnaires were sent to 440 interviewees who are employeesand managers coming from different organizations in HCMC And the main methodwhich is used to interview in this survey is direct survey and online survey Data wascollected in two weeks.

After interviewed, there are 410 questionnaire were sent back but only 391questionnaires in collected samples coulb be used for analyzing because of the missingproblems in the answers After checking the correction and quality, the data wereimported to SPSS software in order to analyze

The validation of questionnaires and the reliability of measurement scale of thisresearch were also tested by using Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Cronbachalpha reliability methods while the Standard Multiple Regression was applied forhypotheses testing The research steps were showing in the following figure

The research steps of this research consist of seven steps:

Step 1: Initial research model and the draft questionnaire

Based on the literature review, the conceptual model and preliminary hypotheses onCSR and employees’ satisfaction were developed While the draft questionnaire whichhas based on the various measurement scales in the previous and extent researches wasalso designed

Step 2: Questionnaire refinement by qualitative pilot research

In the first round of this step, the qualitative research with preliminary questionnairewas conducted with pilot interviews by in-depth inetrview method This round wasexecuted with three employees and two middle level managers of some Vietnamesefirms who are friends of author in order to assess the sufficiency of the measurementscales, the conceptual model and the questionnaire Then, the sample size wasidentified

Step 3: Quantitative pilot research for the clarity of questionnaire testing

A quantitative pilot research was carried out in this step by face-to-face interviewmethod in order to test how the interviewees understood not only about the content ofquestionnaires but also about the measurement scales of this research This round wasundertaken with 14 interviewees who also employees and managers in Vietnamesecompanies in HCMC The feedbacs from interviewees in this step were very important

to the questionnaire refinement process and ensure the understanding of most pilotintervieweesabout this survey The questionnaire which was refined was also the finalversion to be released in the main survey

Step 4: Data collection

The direct survey with attached questionnaires was sent to 360 interviewees with hardcopy Besides, online survey was also sent with 180 questionnaires There are 410questionnaires replied and only 391 questonnaires were used for data analysis step.

Step 5: The validity of scales testing with Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) method

After collecting data from main survey, the Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) methodwas applied to explore the inter relationship between the variables

The correlation matrix for evidence of coefficient should be greater than 0.3

Barlett’s test was smaller 0.05 (p<0.05)

The KMO index was greater than 0.6 (the range from 0 to 1)

Consequently, the hypotheses model was modified

Step 6: Cronbach Alpha Analysis

Cronbach Alpha Analysis method was applied to assess the reliabiity of measurementscales by testing the consistent of the internal variables in the same factors The scalewas considered as the reliable scale when the Cronbach Alpha coefficient was greaterthan 0.7

Step 7: Standard Multiple Regression

The Standard Multiple Regression was used for the hypotheses testing

3.2 Data Collection

3.2.1 The primary data

The primary data was collected by face-to-face interviews method by traditional surveywith hard copies and by the online survey (which was sent by emails to the interviewees).The interviewees are employees and managers of Vietnamese firms in HCMC.

3.2.2 The Secondary data

The extant literature, international business journals, articles, books, and professionalnewspapers are useful sources of relevant information contributing tho the research.The internet information from the business or expertise websites are also the valuablesources for collecting related information to this research

3.3 Field Work Organization

n ≥ 100 and n ≥ 5k (where k is equal to the number of variables)

Therefore, in this study the minimum sample size for this research is

n = 5 x 51 = 255 (k=51 is the number of variables)

Otherwise, Tabachnick & Fidell (2001) illustrated the minimum sample size which isrequired for the multiple regressions should be:

n ≥ 50 + 8m (where m is equal to the number of independent factors)

There are four independent factors in thi study And the minimum sample size isrequired for the multiple regressions:

n ≥ 50 + (8 x 4) = 82

Consequently, the minimum size for this research is 82

Finally, the sample size is used for this research was 391 While the sent backquestionnaires are 410, there were 440 questionnaires sent out to the interviewees

3.3.2 Qualitative research

Before having the final questionnaire, the preliminary questionnaire as pilot methodwas sent to some key employees and managers of some Vietnamese companies by in-depth interview method in order to check the content of the measurement and find outthe mistakes of questionnaire After that, the quantitative research in pilot researchperiod is also conducted with randomly-selected 14 interviewees who are targetedinterviewees as mentioned come from Vietnamese companies located in HCMC byface-to-face interviews for final test before launching the final survey

The information is collected in in-depth interview in order to identify the influence ofthe independent factors (CSR to employee, CSR to society and other stakeholders,CSR to Government and CSR to customer) on employees’ satisfaction of Vietnamesefirms in HCMC

All the comments from the interviewees gathered in pilot study is to revise themeasurement scales and questionnaires The misunderstanding mistakes or duplicatedissues (between the variables) were also mentioned by the interviewees to ensure thatthe questionnaire could be understood more clearly and easily

3.4 Measurement scales

3.4.1 Measurement construct

All the factors from the model in this research are original from many previous studieswith citing Based on the literature review briefing, the most appropriate measurementscale is a multivariate scale applied for this study

They are four independent factors adapted to fit the characteristic and culture ofVietnamese: CSR to employee, CSR to Government and CSR to customer, CSR tosociety and other stakeholders In order to executed the quantitative study in thisresearch, the Five-point Likert scale was used in the questionnaire for survey

CE01 Our company provides a wide range of indirect benefits Adapted from

to improve the quality of employees’ lives Duygu Turker,

CE02 The employees in our company receive a reasonable 2009

salary to maintain an acceptable quality of life

CE03 Our company policies provide a safe and healthy

working environment to all its employees

CE04 Our company supports employees who want to acquire

additional education

CE05 There are sufficient numbers of opportunities to develop

my skills in my current job

CE06 Our company policies encourage the employees to

develop their skills and careers

CE07 Company usually make change for employees take care Newly

CE08 Company does right guarantee policies for employees Newly

developed

CE09 Our company implements flexible policies to provide a Adapted from

good work & life balance for its employees Duygu Turker,

2009CE10 The management of our company is primarily concerned

with employees’ needs and wants

CE11 The managerial decisions related with the employees are

usually fair

CE12 I believe that our company provides equal opportunities

to all its employees

CSR to customer

CC01 One of the main principles of our company is to provide Adapted from

high-qualityproducts to its customers Duygu Turker,

2009CC02 Our prducts comply with the national and international

standard

CC03 The guarantee extension of our products is the most

advantageous choice in the market

CC04 Our company provides full and accurate information

about its product to customers

CC05 Our company respects consumers’ right beyond the legal

CG01 Our company always pays its taxes on a regular Adapted from

CG02 Our company complies with legal regulations 2009

completely and promtly

CG03 Our company tries to help the government in solving

social problems

CG04 Our company acts legally on all matter

CSR to society and other stakeholders

CS01 Our company implements special programs to minimize Adapted from

its negative impact on the natural environment Duygu Turker,

2009CS02 Our company participates in activities which aim to

protect and improve the quality of the natural

environment

CS03 Our company has the necessary equipment to reduce its

negative environmental impact

CS04 Our company make a well-planned investments to avoid

environmental degradation

CS05 Our company targets sustainable growth which considers Adapted from

2009CS06 Our company make the investments to create a better life

for future generations

CS07 Our company make the investments to create

employment opportunities for future generations

CS08 Our company emphasizes the importance of its social

responsibilities to the society

CS09 Our company contributes to schools, hospitals, and parks

according to the needs of the society

CS10 Our company contributes campaigns and projects that

promote the well-being of the society

CS11 Our company endeavors to create employment

opportunities

CS12 Our company conducts research and development

projects to improve the well-being of the society in thefuture

CS13 Our company makes sufficient monetary contributions to

charities

CS14 Our company encourages its employees to participate in

voluntarily activities

CS15 Our company supports nongovernmental organizations

working in problematic areas

CS16 Our company’s main principle is honesty in every

business deeling

CS17 Our company cooperates with its competitors in social

responsibility projects

CS18 Our company competes with its rivals in an ethical

ES04 You satisfy with CSR to society policies in this company

ES05 In general, You feel satisfied when working here

3.4.2 Statistic Methods

In order to compare and test the collected data from the questionnaires, a numerousstatistic methods had initially been used in this research like standard deviation,frequency, distribution and variance And the SPSS version 20.0 sofware (StatisticalPackage for Social Science) would be used for data analysis

3.4.3 Descriptive Statistic

The descriptive statistics is conducted in order to provide the general information ofinterviewee evaluation in regards gender, working experience and enterprise

ownership The criteria were positively affected to the researcher for identifying thedegree of awareness of employees and managers about CSR on their satisfaction inVietnamese organizations via values of minimum, maximum, mean, standarddeviation, frequency and percentage calculated from the collected data The LikertScale with the degree of agreement from strongly disagree to strongly agree was usedraking from 1 – 5.

3.4.4 Assessment of Scale Reliability

The Assessment of Scale Reliability is a measurement of the internal consistency of theconstructed items in this research in order to evalue the reliability of each variable inmeasurement scales Otherwise, the observed varaibles describe the common construct.The constructs with high reliability are those in which the items are highly inter-correlated It states that they are all measured with the same construct (Hair et al,1998)

Reliability analysis is used for Cronbach’s alpha coefficient and item total correlation.The reliability coefficient of Cronbach’s alpha also illustrates how relation of the items

in a set which are significantly correlated from one to another

 A common value of Cronbach’s alpha for acceptable reliability is 0.7

 Although this value is not an absolute standard but it can decrease to 0.6 in exploratory research (Hair et al, 1998)

 When the Cronbach’s alpha is closer to 1, the internal consistency reliability is higher (Sekaran, 2003)

 Any variables which have the value of Corrected Item – Total Correlation below0.4 or Alpha if Item Deleted over the Cronbach’s alpha would be considered to

be excluded for improvement of the reliability level of the construct (Hair et al,1998)

3.4.5 Assessment of Scales’ Unidimensionality, Discriminant Validity and Convergent Validity

After evaluating the scale reliability, the Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) method isalso applied to test the uni-dimenionality, discriminant validity and convergent validity

in order to identify the number of underlying factors

 Uni-dimensionality considers the strong realtion of all the items in a scale (Hair

et al, 1998)

 Discriminant validity is started as the items in one single construct hangtogether and the items are negatively associated with the opposite construct(Neuman, 1999)

 Convergent validity assesses the degree in which two measurements of the sameconcept are correlated (Hair et al, 1998)

3.4.6 Multi Regression Analysis

The main task of statistic analysis is applied in the multiple linear regressions in order

to study the correlation and measure the prediction level of 4 independent varaiables on

1 dependent varaible The multiple regressions alnalysis is applied to test theconceptual model and its hypotheses

According to Pallant (2005), the summaries of Multi Regression Analysis are:

 The appropriate sample size is: n > 50 + 8m (where m is number of independentvariables)

 No multicollinearity

 No outliers are used in this case, no significant impact of outlier

 Normality and linearity should be existed