The term corporate social responsibility is only familiar to 39% of the Slovak public. Almost a fifth of the people asked do not believe that there are any socially responsible companies conducting business in Slovakia.
For 80% of the respondents, the company’s profile in this area is also important when selecting a new employer. These are some of the results of a quantitative survey of the perception of corporate social responsibility by the Slovak public. In cooperation with Focus agency, the survey was performed by the Business Leaders Forum (BLF) association.
The survey traditionally asks questions testing the familiarity with the term corporate social responsibility. This year, the Slovak translation of the term was rephrased to “corporate responsibility” (CR), as BLF believes this wording better captures CR in Slovakia’s context. 39% of those we asked confirmed their familiarity with the term, while a solid half of respondents have never heard or read about CR so far. Compared to previous years, the familiarity with the term has stagnated, while the number of those who are unsure about whether they have ever encountered the term has slightly risen to 11%.
For the first time this year, the survey contained questions asking the Slovak public if, in making decisions, they also take into account aspects of CR. Nearly 80% of respondents stated that, when searching for a new job, they also bear in mind their potential employer’s profile in the area corresponding to CR. Similarly, a solid two thirds of respondents declared they considered information about a company’s responsible conduct of business important when deciding about the purchase of its products and services. In fact, survey results indicate that 10% of respondents have already in the past expressed disapproval of a company’s practices in the form of boycotting its products or services.
The most frequent spontaneously stated categories in the area of CR are honesty in business (comprising lack of deception and corruption, along with seriousness) – 19%, and care for / responsibility towards employees – 17%. These categories have also ranked highest when selecting the most important CSR activities from a predetermined list, where 3 picks were allowed. Honesty in business was chosen by 51%, and good working conditions by 46% of respondents. When combined, the general topic of care for employees and their continuing education received the largest proportion of votes.
40% of respondents were unable to explain what the term of CR might be associated with. Nearly two thirds (61%) of those we asked agree with the notion that there are companies in Slovakia that conduct their business in a responsible manner; however, 17% deny that this is the case, and 21% said they were unsure.
The data were collected from a representative sample of adult Slovak population, using the method of standardized face-to-face interviews conducted by trained interviewers.
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