Overview: The term “abstract” is a homophone which can mean one of two scholarly writing activities. One, is the abstract that you will write to introduce your dissertation. The other meaning is a shortened writing assignment whereby you write a condensed summary of an academic journal.  For this week, we will focus on writing a scholarly abstract of a quantitative journal. More information about writing an abstract can be found via the web resource “Writing Scholarly Abstracts.” Since the purpose of this abstract is to summarize, there should not be any direct copying and pasting from the original article. 

Directions: View the rubric to make sure you understand the expectations of this assignment.  Create a 1-2 page (more is fine) single-spaced Analysis of Research abstract published quantitative scholarly article related to your mock dissertation topic/research question from week 1. Additionally, this assignment functions just like assignment R.1 only it reviews a quantitative article instead of a qualitative one. Brevity and being concise are important as this analysis is intended to be a brief summation of the research.

Each abstract must therefore consist of the following in this order:

1. Bibliographic Citation – use the correctly formatted APA style citation for the work as the title of your abstract, displaying the full citation in bold font.
2. Author Qualifications – name and qualification of each author conducting the research
3. Research Concern – one paragraph summary of the reason for the overall research topic
4. Research Purpose Statement AND Research Questions or Hypotheses – specific focus of the research
5. Precedent Literature – key literature used in proposing the needed research (not the full bibliography or reference list)
6. Research Methodology – description of the population, sample, and data gathering techniques used in the research
7. Instrumentation – description of the tools used to gather data (surveys, tests, interviews, etc.)
8. Findings – summation of what the research discovered and the types of analysis that were used to describe the findings (tables, figures, and statistical measures)

What was done in week 1

The impact of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) on customer loyalty

What is the rationale for selecting this particular topic?

The rationale for selecting this subject matter stems from the growing significance of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as a fundamental aspect of contemporary business practices in the 21st century. There is an increasing expectation for companies to extend their objectives beyond just profit generation and actively contribute to the betterment of society and the preservation of the environment. This transition has furthermore resulted in a modification in consumer behavior, as several individuals now take into account a company's corporate social responsibility (CSR) endeavors when determining where to allocate their financial resources. Hence, gaining a comprehensive grasp of the correlation between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and consumer loyalty may provide significant insights for enterprises.

The research questions that will be addressed in this study are as follows:

What is the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities on consumer loyalty within the retail industry?

What are the primary corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives that have the greatest influence on consumer loyalty?

Is there a variation in the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities on consumer loyalty based on different age groups?

The present study aims to outline the design that will be used in conducting the research.

In order to address these study inquiries, I intend to use a mixed-methods methodology. Initially, a quantitative survey will be undertaken among a diverse range of retail shop consumers in order to assess their view of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities implemented by these retailers, as well as the impact of such efforts on their loyalty towards the stores. The survey will be formulated with the intention of gathering data that may be subjected to analysis in order to discern correlations and patterns. Furthermore, this study will include the use of qualitative interviews with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) managers within the retail industry. The purpose of these interviews is to get insights into the specific tactics implemented by these managers and their perspectives on the impact of these strategies on consumer loyalty.

References:

Carroll, A. B. (1999). Corporate social responsibility: Evolution of a definitional construct. Business & Society, 38(3), 268-295.

Kumar, V., & Pansari, A. (2016). Competitive advantage through engagement. Journal of Marketing Research, 53(4), 497-514.