May 13th, 2015, Antonia Stockwell
New YouGov findings reveal that around three-quarters of residents in the UAE are more likely to purchase from companies that actively contribute to the community.
The research, commissioned by social enterprise Consult and Coach for a Cause (C3), aimed to uncover how much Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs are influencing UAE residents’ consumer behaviour, and explore the impact that these programs have among employees. The results show that 72% of the UAE residents surveyed are more likely to buy products from enterprises that support social and environmental causes.
The findings also illustrate the effect CSR initiatives have on employee retention. A total of 67% of employed UAE residents interviewed say they are more likely to continue working for companies that allow them to volunteer more during working hours.
Commenting on the results, C3 Co-Founder and CEO, Medea Nocentini, declared being "grateful to YouGov for having proved with statistically significant data what CSR practitioners and social entrepreneurs have assumed and sensed in their daily activities: positive contributions to the community make business sense. At C3 we believe that measuring impact of community-driven initiatives on society as well as on business organizations’ bottom line is paramount to drive business responsibility of both corporations and entrepreneurs."
For YouGov’s UAE Managing Director, Kailash Nagdev, companies can benefit from this research. "We are delighted to have conducted this study to help shed more light on perceptions of social enterprise in the UAE. The findings illustrate there is huge scope for businesses to support worthwhile causes in the region, and in turn that company giving will help drive company success", he said.
Since promoting social entrepreneurship and guiding emerging social entrepreneurs is C3's purpose, YouGov also interviewed residents about the causes they care most about, including which causes emirates residents would like to volunteer for and donate to.
The full study results will be presented by C3 and YouGov at the 12th annual CSR Summit, on May 20. The summit is being organised by world-renowned knowledge provider, Informa and will take place at The Address Hotel, Dubai Marina.
Research for this study was conducted using YouGov's fast-paced Omnibus online research service amongst 993 residents in the UAE between 2 and 10 February 2015. Data is broadly representative of the online population in the UAE.