Is there a 'direct' way forward? An exploratory study of Corporate Social Responsibility in the specialty coffee industry

Abstract

Purpose: This study aims to examine the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility in order to develop empirical knowledge about the ways companies understand, incorporate and report on their societal activities. Design/methodology/approach: This dissertation adopted a qualitative approach in the form of semi-structured interviews. Four interviews were conducted with both representatives of coffee institutes from El Salvador and Cost Rica and managers from specialty coffee companies. Findings: The findings have highlighted the ambiguity of the CSR concept. In the line with previous research, the data gathered in this project suggests that sustainable certifications should not be thought of as a part of CSR. Most importantly, however, the study has underlined the importance of the two-way communication in the CSR implementation process. Research limitations: Due to the small scale of the researched phenomenon and the size of the specialty coffee industry in United Kingdom, this study was relatively limited in its scope. The researcher was also limited by time and budget.