Research Questions

During the past few years, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) operations and documenting within a country and all over the globe have been increasing in a steady manner and the incorporation of CSR is seen in every line kind of industries that are operational globally (Den Hond, de Bakker and Neergaard 2016). The CSR activities and documenting provide the companies with the advantage and opportunity to highlight the pressures and the concerns of the stakeholders and to explain that they are functioning in a sustainable and ethical manner. However, as there are several elements of CSR are presently voluntary, with a degree of guidance available on the topic, the quality, uptake and efficiency with which the operations are incorporated and the documents are prepared can differ in a significant manner among and within the sectors (Baumgartner and Rauter 2017).

While construction industry has been able to provide an extensive range of vital benefits to the development of human, it is even looked upon as an industry which is unsafe, can damage the environment and one that can negatively impact the society (Rauter, Jonker and Baumgartner 2017). These are all the effects which are noteworthy elements of CSR and gaining knowledge about then in a more precise manner would be helpful to this industry to mitigate their negative effects and provide more advantages and benefits to the development of the future. Fernandez-Feijoo, Romero and Ruiz (2014) recommend that both the industry and the research interest on CSR has been developing, and it is their book that assesses the several facets of this topic with distinct reference to the construction industry. This provides an indication of the issues that is faced by this industry but on this topic, very less researches have been undertaken and relatively very less have been published on this topic (Lund-Thomsen, Lindgreen and Vanhamme 2016).

The current research therefore looks to increase upon the very restricted information on this topic that is available in this aspect of CSR within the construction industry in order to have a better understanding of CSR on construction industry. This can be accomplished by making use of a distinct methodology in order to gather the data from several sources in order to create a better and extensive image of the operations and the performance of the organization along with recognising where probable developments can be made.

There exists a widespread level of literature articles that is restricted to the multinational organizations and specifically report on their environmental, social and ethical matters (Grougiou, Dedoulis and Leventis 2016). This may be real for industries that have received extensive amount of exposure in association to the ethical issues but the scenario is different for construction industry. There are very few instances of literature articles that is associated to the CSR subject and the construction industry. The most researches that have been done is associated sustainability and sustainable development on the construction industry and in certain time researches have been undertaken on the ethical and social issues related to the construction industry but very less researches has been related to the CSR activities in the construction industry.

Background

Jiang and Wong (2016) cited that there have been several surveys that have been undertaken on CSR reporting, which has looked to assess the patterns in disclosing the practices of the largest companies of the world, but out of the overall big industries there are only very few construction industries. This indicates that construction companies are not big players in the worldwide market. However, from an extensive point of view, the effect which the construction operations can have is huge; for instance, like the development of healthcare and housing construction or the negative environmental effects which can come out from the manufacturing of the construction related products.

Hence, the construction companies have the advantage to optimise their profits and benefits and to reduce the negative effects of their activities and it is vital that these advantages and the effects that are computed and thereafter administered in order to make developments on the same. CSR is one way of undertaking these activities and at the current time period, the less amount of literature that is available recommends that the construction industry is way behind the other industries with respect to the CSR activities. The impact of CSR on the development of the construction industries would be known if incorporation of the CSR activities and proper monitoring is done on the part of the management of the construction industries (Agudo?Valiente, Garcés?Ayerbe and Salvador?Figueras 2015).

The key scope for affecting a host of various areas doubled with the generally restricted availability of information related to CSR within the construction industry gives an effective justification for the current research that is being undertaken (Zhu, Liu and Lai 2016). An extensive review of the industry will give out certain basic idea and information that is associated to the activities, performance and documentation of CSR, which can be expanded upon with the assistance of the future researches.

The consultancies provide an extensive degree of services in the construction industry from the surveys that are pre-planned and the consultations that are regarding the designing of work, work of performance control and project management (Alonso?Almeida, Llach and Marimon 2014). There are certain consultants who are able to offer various kinds of services while on the other hand there are others who offer limited services. The construction of this research paper would therefore be influential in trying to create an understanding of the impact of Corporate Social Responsibility in the transformation and development of the construction industries.

Literature Review

The key aim of this research is to reassess the present scenario of CSR activities and documenting made by the construction companies globally, in order to have an effective understanding of the areas of CSR that are most precise for this industry and how the agenda of CSR is having an influence on the activities of the organizations within this industry. This knowledge will be helpful in creating the secondary aim of create probable suggestions in order to explain the CSR issues to the construction industry in a better way so that the construction industries can improve their business activities.

Objectives

The aims would be realised by attaining the objectives that have been given as follows;

• Assess the articles and the literatures that are available within the construction industry and the other industries in order to create a background on the topic and the primary data on how CSR is looked upon different industries
• Examine the CSR documenting process of the construction organization in order to recognise the patterns in documenting and the developments the CSR activities can make for the construction companies

The structure of the thesis consists of the framework or the model that would be followed by this paper in order to complete this paper and attain the desired results in an effective manner. The first chapter deals with the introduction where a background of the topic is provided along with the justification as to why this research is being undertaken. The research aims, objectives and the questions are the elements in accordance to which the research would move forward. The next section of the paper is the literature review where suggestions and advices given by other researchers on similar topic is addressed in order to have an understanding whether the research is going on the correct track. The methodology section addresses the kind of data that would be gathered and the process that would be used in order to analyse the collected data. The process of data analysis would be helpful in making use of the data and come up with the results that would be in the last section of this paper which is the conclusion section. The construction of all these sections would lead to an effective and true research paper in accordance to this topic.    

There has been the constant change in the nature of the industries and businesses which are evolving with the introduction of new technologies as well as influences from the outside. There is a huge role which the governments play in the strategies for the future. It is believed that, despite the fact that the government is the most noteworthy client of the industry shaping legislation, financial and general public policy framework with which the construction delivers, further proposal of the governments cannot be the only influences of the and drivers of newer and better policies and networks. The trial as well as the challenge of the business is the incorporation of the instrumental and persuasive strategies for the influence on its stakeholders. These stakeholders include the consumers, clients, employees and other shareholders as well. The aim is to maintain a certain level of support towards the practices of a sustainable nature.

Methodology

This particular idea has been adopted by several major organisations and gives importance to the idea of corporate social responsibility in different significant areas. These factors involve the foundation for the adjustments and also the new social requirements and business ethics. The aim of this chapter is to discuss the concept of corporate social responsibility with special application to the construction industry and the impact of the transformation on the industry.

The definition of the term corporate social responsibility has been the cause of much debate and delegation among businesses and governments alike and can be used to signify different meanings in case of different organisations and groups. It has been stated that in a global economy the business environment extends beyond the “bottom line” and the company has ethical responsibility to make a noteworthy contribution towards the sustainable development. It is considered by the European Commission, that CSR is a concept where the companies incorporate social and environmental policies, into their operational plans (Schwartz 2017). The World Business Council for Sustainable Development defines this particular procedure as “The continuing commitment by the businesses to behave ethically and also contribute to the economic development by the improvement the quality of life of the workforce and their families and the society at large.”

Corporate Social Responsibility is a business approach which contributes to the concept of sustainable development by delivering economic, social and environmental benefits for all the stakeholders involved in the process. CSR is a concept which has several definitions and practices (Cheng, Ioannou and Serafeim 2014). The way in which it is understood and implemented differs greatly. It varies from company to company and from country to country. It can therefore be concluded that CSR is a procedure by which the ambitions of the company are to create higher standards of living at the time of the preservation of the profitability of the organisation for people within and also independent of the organisation. In this connection it can be said that if society is treated in a proper and respectable manner, society is bound to revert the particular favour (Tai and Chuang 2014).

It needs to be kept in mind that within the concept of CSR there are numerous theories and classifications which can be defined as social and environmental practices. The major classification of the concept of CSR can be divided into four major theories namely economic, political ethical and altruistic. Other than these, several academic publications have categorised the CSR concept into instrumental, ethical, legal and philanthropic categorisations. Each particular characteristic has suitable and significant meanings and different procedures are also adopted by the proposing people to ensure that there is a proper understanding of all relevant classifications.

Data Analysis

The most important methodology to the instrumental stakeholder theory is involved with the assimilation and the exploitation of theories of CSR. This is because CSR is considered to be a strategic tool for the achievement of financial intentions and objectives for respective organisations. It also comprises of the understanding of bottom line of organisations which concentrates on the profitability of the associated stakeholders for the company (Aguinis and Glavas 2012). In addition to this several social and environmental conflicts between corporations and their numerous stakeholders are bound to be considered or ignored based on the particular situation. The acceptance of the CSR concept is crucial for the aim of the company not under instrumental nut normative terms (Harrison and Wicks 2013).

It is crucial for an organisation to understand and include the dominant views of the stakeholder along with the unique monetary prospects. This theory basically requires the primary reorganisation of the outlook and vision of the companies. It also requires having a focus on the actions which they are performing and also to provide profits for the shareholders. The main concept under the economic or instrumental stakeholder theory is the basic reorganisation of the outlook and viewpoint of the organisation and focussing on the main stakeholders as well as the noteworthy social duties of a particular firm.

The centre or crux of the political or legal theory is on the interactions and the connections between the corporate and societal responsibilities as well as the dominance of these responsibilities on the position of businesses in the surroundings based on the situation concerned.  The first contribution to understand the power in which a particular business has on the society is valid in the CSR debate. An influential business in the social structure needs to use its influence to act both ethically as well as responsibly for the creation of a social supremacy for both the stakeholders as well as the community at large (Campbell 2016).

There also have been discussions on the consequences of organisations exploiting their dominance on the society which is considered responsible for the actions related to the social order which was described to be the “iron law of responsibility.”

It can be stated in this particular connection that CSR is the pursuit of the organisation’s ambition for the purpose of legitimacy. There needs to be an ethical obligation of all the organisations in society of not exploiting the surroundings and society on which they have come to exert power. In case they do so they fail to receive the support of the society of which they are a part. A business which commands authority, has the chance to influence and also dominate the equilibrium of the particular market of which it is a part. It is believed by many researchers that an organisation has the ethical responsibility to implement the social practices within the company which further states that there is an obligatory social contract between the organisation and the civilization (Zhao et al. 2012).

Conclusion

This method is particularly considered with regard to the noble or motivated interest of the organisation. In case a firm does not have the resources and the ability to completely commit to their ambitions this particular technique is considered for those organisations. This particular theory helps observe the fact that companies are capable of influencing the way in which the organisations incorporate the societal requirements based on the dependency on the external bodies. It is desirable that the corporate management of a business is integrated with the social demands where there is a certain amalgamation of the business and the society as a whole. This provides a certain prestige to the organisation which is connected with social values and organisational prestige. The philanthropic theory is considered to be responsible but it can definitely be argued that in case it is not paramount the main objective always remains social and environmental improvements.

The concluding classification of the four theories includes the ethical philosophy towards the corporate social responsibility. The ethical practices are considered to be a moral liability and these implicate the unbiased processes including respecting the needs as well as the requirements of the society as a whole and not harming any section of the society. These moral practices can help in the achievement of much more than the legal obligations and limitations in case it is enforced properly and justifiably (Dubnick 2012).

Basically the concept of the ethical theory involves being morally bound mandatorily and progressing further than complying with the fiscal and legal requirements of a firm. This particular theory is perceived to be a type of a moral achievement for the organisation and the majority of economic growth and additional competitive benefits. This theory has also been subdivided into three particular sub- categories namely universal rights, sustainable development and the common good approach, each involving and resulting in social and corporate compliance for the organisation. This type of ethical practice is considered to be respectable and honourable in the business culture and also an investor or a part of the society at large. It can also be simplified as a social practice which is responsible for the promotion of social good and avoidance of the cause of damage to humanity.

Over the past few centuries, companies have directly involved ethical business practices in their strategies or traditions. There are certain companies which have been proactive in the early stages of social development with the different schemes for prosperity. The main theme of the concept of corporate social responsibility is that the social responsibilities are the forces which operate in every society which make the corporate act in a particular way. This is true regardless of the nature of society. The nature of the society be it capitalist or socialist does not matter in this particular context. The activities of a particular organisation impact on the external environment and therefore in such an organisation it should be accountable to a much greater range of audience than merely its shareholders.

The core perception of the business has some social responsibilities which have emerged for the past 300 years. The relationship between corporate social performance and the firm performance were extensively explored by several authors. The concept of CSR is not entirely modern but has been distinctively regenerated over the past few years as a topic of huge interest among several groups in the business. The concept is nothing but a contemporary expression of a concept existent in the society for centuries. Several decades ago the concept of CSR was a topic of considerable interest and became a dominant factor in the business society. After its emergence, CSR slowly became obsolete from company strategies only to resurface in the recent past. Centuries ago the concept of such ethical practices was founded on an instrumental approach where the corporations could meet their social and environmental commitments without the consumption of fiscal exhaustion and losing sight of the requirements of the shareholders. In the society at present, CSR has been consequently adapted as an ethical obligation of the organisation determined by the stakeholders and shareholders of the company.

  In the construction industry the CSR is the global responsibility of all the firms on an ethical and corporate level driven by difficult environmental reputation. The situation is also true in case of social reputation. The construction industry is one of the leading producers of wastes and defective and destructive materials and is responsible for the exertion of huge quantities of carbon dioxide each year. In the United kingdom it has been estimated that there have been around 70 million tonnes of construction demolition material. There has also been soil and other ground waste material which end up as 13 million tonnes of material which are delivered to the sites in the form of unused and dumped material (Murray and Dainty 2013).

The production of carbon dioxide is an active problem in the society today. The construction industry is responsible for 2.5% production of the UK’s emissions by the concrete production alone. There are several materials however which are being recycled and it is quite clear that there have been vast improvements in those particular areas. This information demonstrates the capability of the organisations to comprehend the situation which the construction industry is causing for the society. There has been much information which has demonstrated the ability of the organisations to prove their moral ambitions (Dhaliwal et al. 2011).  With the influence of the external schemes and initiatives, the indices of sustainability, socially responsible investment and management systems the industry has become a forceful partner of the CSR in the economy. The CSR concepts are absorbed in concerns relating to the way the construction business might affect the individuals and the environment of its operation. Governments have given importance to the initiatives to protect the environment. The governments have initiated the development and its importance as “Green Firms” will be given priority in the competition and the selection for all government contracts in the future. The concept of a “Green firm” is related to the CSR activities in connection to the environmental benign, the organisation community collaboration and utilization of sustainable products. There have been several discussions on the idea of environment and sustainability. This particular section aims to highlight the factors which have influenced the transition of the organisations towards a perspective which focuses on the concept of sustainability. There have been several factors which have impacted the organisations to reconsider and change their particular strategies. There has also been the incorporation of much more socially sustainable practices for the improvement of industrial power, enhancement of stakeholder values and the demonstration of a competitive edge. There needs to be a proper indication of the policies of the companies and their impact towards a better and much more sustainable environment.  

The construction sector has major reasons for the comprehension of the increasing pressure to engage with social as well as sustainable methods of work practices. According to the European Commission, CSR is actually a characteristic of the European social model which might be incorporated correctly and can protect the solidarity, cohesion and equal opportunities hostile to the present framework of intensifying global competition. The introduction to investment schemes and indices has a huge impact on the way in which the sustainable development programmes are shaping up.  Organisations which are proactive and competent are bound to understand the beneficial implications of these performance indicators and over a span of time are bound to strategize the company for the inclusion of advantageous and globally recognised schemes.

The Brundtland report has been extremely influential towards sustainable development. This report had been influential towards the concept of sustainable development. This report has inspired a sense of proper understanding of the term and concept of CSR and analytical accentuated the connection with poverty, environmental degradation and fiscal development. There have been a number of actions and strategies which are considered to be the main objectives behind a proper policy of sustainable development. It involves the following concepts:

• A review on the financial growth
• Changing the nature and the quality of growth
• Meeting the essential requirements for jobs, food, energy, water and sanitation
• Ensuring a sustainable level of population
• Re-orientation of technology and management of risk
• Merging of environment and economics in the procedure of decision making (Barnea and Rubin 2010)

Specifically with regard to the construction industry it can be said that there have been certain developments incorporated for environmental and sustainability success:

• World Green Building council
• Creating member state sustainable development strategies
• UK Green Building council
• ICE environment and sustainability committee
• Construction and excellence programme

In this regard it can be stated that there also can be the development of United Nations Global Impact Initiative which was launched almost two decades back. The development of such an initiative within an organisation shows that the company encourages and respects fundamental international standards namely the declaration on environment and development. This particular network also encourages the corporations to adapt social and sustainable policies in a global format to challenge the concept of sustainable development and also advance the concept of corporate responsibilities in the backdrop of the globalizing economy (Schultz, Castelló and Morsing 2013).  

The idea behind the global reporting initiative is basically the establishment of a framework of sustainability. This soon transformed into the Global reporting initiative. This scheme was then adopted and this resulted in global recognition. The initiative bases itself on a comprehensive number of guidelines and framework. The framework helps in setting the ideologies, guidelines and indicators in which the business can help in the quantification and reporting of the economic, environmental and social performance which have been demonstrated all over.  

The construction industry has a huge impact on sustainable development. It has huge effects on water resources, land use, greenhouse gas emissions, indirect effects of the environment; it affects transport systems, communities and also the amount of public health. Construction industry is a major facilitator and contributor to the overall economy. The construction sector impacts the three major pillars of sustainable development. This comprises of the environment, society and economy. According to several researchers the concept of sustainable construction is a sector activity which helps in addressing the sustainable development issues. There is a distinguishable effect of sustainable construction in developing countries where there is an effect on the sustainable development. The comprehensive overview of all environmental factors which result from the impacts of the construction industry are given as follows:

• Utilization of fossil fuels
• Atmospheric pollution
• Loss of soil and agricultural land
• Loss of forests and natural habitats
• Construction sector issues

The construction sector is basically considered to have a temporal character by a construction site and there is a fierce price competition as well a certain amount of labour intensity. The most crucial issues regarding the quality and the nature of jobs in the construction sector are the health and working conditions, several hours of work which are difficult and unfavourable, high rates of accident and work related illnesses. There is also a certain amount of flexibility, stability and security especially further the chain of development.  There are basically five different stakeholders who which play an important part in the shaping f the environmental and societal impacts of construction on one hand and the deciphering of cost structure on the other. The stakeholders include the property developer, the general contractor, the investor, the future user and owner.  The CSR factors give importance to the occupational health, security and safety and in addition to this also focus on the public procurement procedures, establishment of standards and the enhancement of existing norms and regulations. It also involves combating the influence of corruption.

The major aim of this dissertation is to outline the possible figures and the benefits of the evolving Corporate Social Responsibilities into the strategies, objectives and methodologies of the construction companies for future reference. The aim of this chapter is to distinguish the importance for the collection and establishment of effective and conversant information regarding the findings and the conclusion of the dissertation. Selecting the principle research methodology is for the achievement of a reliable judicious supposition for the outlined hypothesis for the purpose of academic investigation. The major aim of this section is to discuss the methods of research and the ways which have been considered for this particular research. The research methodology basically aims at the conduction of research studies for the research methodology and the types of research. The nature of the data which are to be collected, the way in which the data are to be collected, the limitations of the research and the scope for future research study is possible. It also mentions about the primary data the secondary data and the ways and situations in case of which they have to be utilized. The aim of the methodology section basically to understand that the effective design of research and its relation to the survey conducted.

The major function of a research design is to ensure that the evidence obtained from the study helps in the effective understanding of the research problem as ambiguously and as suitably as possible. In certain types of research it is crucial that the evidence is relevant or connected to the nature f the study and therefore it entails the specification of the nature and the type of evidence and the type of information to evaluate the results of a study with respect to a particular phenomenon. Depending on the type of research the length and he type of research designs vary considerably. There is the need to identify and judge the research problem and clearly justify its selection. There is also the need to review the recently published literature and this needs to be associated with the problem area. There needs to be clear and explicit information about the hypothesis and the reason the data are being collected (Creswell and Creswell 2017).

Research design is basically a master framework which assists in the guidance of the framework of a particular research. There are different criteria which are t kept in mind in order to help in the particular research. There is also evidence regarding the kind f data to be collected the nature of questions which are asked the control of the researchers, the actual behaviour of the people who are to be interviewed among other factors. The basic aim of a research design is to guide a person through the procedure of the collection of data, the nature, the analysis and interpretation of the data. There are three basic categories or types of research deign which are considered at the time of framing of the methodology for the topic of research which is to be considered. These comprise of the descriptive, explanatory and finally exploratory research design.

Explanatory research design is the conduction of research for the purpose of a problem which has not been well researched before. It is a type of research which demands the priorities, operational deficiencies and provides a better researched model. It is a type of research design which focuses on the explanation of the aspects of the study in a detailed manner. The researcher is basically intended to start with a general idea about the research and tools of research which would be dealt with in the future. It is basically meant to provide details where there is a small amount of information for a specific method of research. This type of research assists in finding the solution to the problem which was not studied in depth before. This type of research usually does not give much of conclusive evidence but helps in the overall understanding of the problem very efficiently. The research question can be studied with varying levels of depth.  It helps in the understanding of the researcher in the context of the study concerned.

The second type of research design is descriptive by nature. This is helpful for enhancing the knowledge on the topic concerned which is to be carried out by the researcher. Descriptive research is the explanation of the statement of affairs of the actual topic of the research. In this particular type of research the researcher has no control on the variables of research. Descriptive research is type of the nature of the research which helps in the explanation of the different factors of the research. The nature of the descriptive studies is related to the type of observational studies. They are not limited to the observational data collection method. The nature of studies is not limited however to the observational data collection method.

Exploratory research helps in the intention of the nature of the research questions and does not intend to offer final or any sort of conclusive solutions to the existent problems. Exploratory research design does not aim to provide the final and conclusive and answer to the research problems. The exploratory research design is flexible and adaptable to change but falls short in numerous instances. It is time saving in any cases and can determine the type of research which are worth pursuing.

The key aim of this research is to reassess the present scenario of CSR activities and documenting made by the construction companies globally, in order to have an effective understanding of the areas of CSR that are most precise for this industry and how the agenda of CSR is having an influence on the activities of the organizations within this industry. This knowledge will be helpful in creating the secondary aim of create probable suggestions in order to explain the CSR issues to the construction industry in a better way so that the construction industries can improve their business activities. This type of research in this connection is descriptive by nature.

In this particular study the type of research is descriptive by nature. It basically aims to understand the opinions of the people who can be managers of the construction companies and also the individuals who are related to the construction industry. The type of the research when it is descriptive helps in the enhancement of knowledge and its also dependent on the type of study which is conducted. The key aim of this research is to reassess the present scenario of CSR activities and documenting made by the construction companies globally, in order to have an effective understanding of the areas of CSR that are most precise for this industry and how the agenda of CSR is having an influence on the activities of the organizations within this industry. The interviews which will be conducted will be helpful in the analysis of the different operational tactics as well the impact of CSR procedures in relation to the construction industry.

The approaches of research to a particular study intend to show the most important construct on the basis of which the methodological framework is based. There are three major types of research approaches. These are deductive research approach, inductive research approach and abductive research approach. Discussion of the research approaches is a crucial part of any particular scientific study concerned and this helps in the area of the research (Acharya et al. 2013).

In case of the deductive research approach, there is the concern regarding the development of a hypothesis, designing a research strategy, which is based on the existent theory and finally the design of a research strategy in order to test the hypothesis. The deductive method of reasoning is basically aimed at the understanding of the theories in connection to the topic of the research in general. The deductive method of approach is explained by means of certain hypothesis, which can be derived from certain theoretical propositions. Deductive approach is concerned with the derivation of conclusions from certain premises or propositions.

In case of inductive research, there is no hypothesis formulation of any kind. It starts with the research questions and the aims and objectives require to be achieved at the time of the research procedure.

In case of abductive research approach the procedure of the research is mainly to designate the explanation to the incomplete research observations specified with regard to the particular study.

The research ethics basically involve factors which protect the human beings or participants and also involve queries regarding the complex ethical, social and political issues. Research ethics is specifically the understanding and the analysis of ethical issues which are raised when the people are involved with the participants of the research. There are certain major issues which come under the ethics of the research. The most important concern is the protection of confidentiality of the human participants This is required as the confidentiality of the people involved in the research and surveyed is required at all costs. The second most important aim is to ensure that the research is conducted to suit the needs of the people concerned and also the society as a whole. This is to be maintained at all levels as the research needs to be such that the society needs to be protected at all levels. This is also to be ensured that the people understand the aim of the research is basically for the greater good. The third objective is the examination of the issues which include the ethical considerations, the management of risk and also the procedure of informed consent. The research method is to be maintained at all times. The research ethics are extremely important for any particular study concerned. The ethics are very important and crucial to the purpose of the research.

The study population is basically the particular population which the researcher needs to target for the purpose of research. A crucial and a proper understanding is necessary for the research in order to make sure that the requirements of the study are to be met. The particular study focuses on the impact of the several factors of the corporate social responsibility on the construction industry and the connected sectors. The current research therefore looks to increase upon the very restricted information on this topic that is available in this aspect of CSR within the construction industry in order to have a better understanding of CSR on construction industry. This can be accomplished by making use of a distinct methodology in order to gather the data from several sources in order to create a better and extensive image of the operations and the performance of the organization along with recognising where probable developments can be made. Therefore it needs to be ensured that the particular people from whom the data are to be collected are genuine and true. The people need to understand that the data and the results need to be authentic. This is because of the reason that the incorrect information might hamper the results and tamper with the accuracy of the results. The study population in this particular research study involves the people who are either the managers of the construction companies or the individuals who are related to the construction industry sectors. A population of the people objects or items are to have the samples which are to be considered for the purpose of measurement. The total group of individuals about whom the information is gathered is the target population. In this particular connection the information collected is regarding the construction industry and the different aspects of the construction industry as a whole with regard to the concept of corporate social responsibility.

The sample population is basically a percentage of people who are asked to answer the prepared questionnaire. The sample population in the method of research is preferably a 10% sample of the people who are either managers or the stakeholders of the construction industry. It needs to be maintained that the source of data collected and the conclusions about the research are genuine. The sample needs to be an overall representative of the population so that the obtained results from the sample are a representative of the entire population. In this particular case the sample should be genuine and also a representative of the entire stakeholders of the construction industry which are to be considered in this particular case (Bornstein, Jager and Putnick 2013).

The different types of sampling techniques which are usually considered in important cases of research are simple random sampling, systematic sampling, stratified sampling, cluster sampling, t=quota sampling and mini-max sampling among others. Quota sampling can actually be considered to be the non-probability equivalent of stratified sampling. This type of sampling involves the selection of representative individuals which are to be chosen out of a specific subgroup. The researcher in this case can consider several instances of data collection and sampling but keeping the topic of the research in mind, the method of quota sampling is the best and most appropriate method of sampling (Bornstein, Jager and Putnick 2013).

Data sources are that used extensively in different researches are basically of twi broad types. These comprise primary and secondary data. Primary data comprise of empirical evidence which are collected by the researcher and are also obtained by the direct interview of the suitable people for the purpose of research. The collection of primary data can be time taking and economically unfeasible but the data are much more suitable and accurate for the purpose of study as there are very few chances of any sort of errors in the data. Primary data are real and genuine as the interviewers collect the data from the sample of respondents who are considered in this particular research. These data are reliable and genuine. In this particular case the results are genuine as the people who are either managers of construction companies or stakeholders of the construction industry are interviewed. Secondary data in comparison to the primary data do not require much more cost in the data but there is the chance or risk of working with much more erroneous and biased data (Morse 2010).

Primary data encompass an inventive source of data which is actually the one in which the data are collected firsthand by the researcher for a specific reason purpose or project. The primary data can be collected in different ways. The most common techniques are self-administered surveys, interviews, field observation and experiments. Primary data collection is genuinely expensive and time consuming compared to the collection of secondary data. In spite of this, the primary data collection is the only suitable method of data collection for certain specific types of research. Primary sources of data are original, the respondents are indisputable and the data collected are also authentic. The data in this case have been conducted by interviewing the respondents and the identified stakeholders in the particular process. The people who are interviewed are actual providers of the source of primary data.

The questionnaire is a major tool for the purpose of research which encompass  a series of questions which are utilized for the rationale of gathering information from the respondents. These can basically be considered as a written from of the interview. Questionnaires are a technique of getting large amounts of data which are composed from a large number of respondents. The answers which are gathered from the examples of questionnaires which are typically analysed or interpreted help the researchers to come up with solutions to the research which is being conducted. Such solutions are analysed or interpreted which are utilized by different fields in order to provide answers to the most pressing issues and solutions.

The negative aspects of questionnaires are basically the hiding of information by the respondents who are not interested to share the suitable information. This may tamper with the said records and cause the results of the research to be misinterpreted. In this meticulous research the questionnaire research is designed.

There are two major types of data analysis. These are qualitative and quantitative methods. Quantitative research is used to quantify a particular problem or is used to generate numerical data or data which can be transformed into usable statistics. It is used to quantify attitudes, opinions, behaviours and other defined variables and generalize the results from a sample population which is larger. It is used to collect measurable data to formulate the facts and uncover the patterns in research. Quantitative data collection methods are much more structured than the qualitative data collection methods. Quantitative data are numerical data which are reliable and dependent. The strengths of quantitative research lie in researching theories which are involved with the way the research is being conducted. It is also useful for the collection of data which help the conclusions to be made. The data analysis is a bit time consuming but genuine.

The limitation of quantitative research is that there is the miss out of phenomena occurring with respect to the specific situation and in this case the aim of the research. Knowledge might be too abstract, and this might be general for the direct application to specific local situations, contexts and individuals.

The qualitative method of research is primarily an exploratory research. It is basically used to gain a proper understanding of the underlying reasons, opinions and motivations. It also provides insights into the problems of the research and also helps in understanding the ideas for potential methods of quantitative research. The qualitative research methods are used to discover trends in the contemplation and opinions and also go deeper into the crisis. Qualitative data collection methods are several in number and they might vary dependent on the unstructured or semi-structured methods.  

In this particular research the quantitative and qualitative nature of the data are considered.

The limitations of the research are there. This usually requires a large part of the sample. In certain cases the respondents might not provide genuine sources of information. The time frame of the interview and the frame of mind of the respondents might impact the nature of the research. The procedure of collection of such data is expensive as well as time consuming. A lot of time is required to perform the analysis. It is also difficult in case the amount of data becomes difficult to perform. The requirements for the successful statistical confirmation of the results are very difficult in case of quantitative research. It is more or less okay to analyse but difficult to understand in the context of a particular phenomenon.  The data might not be robust enough for the explanation of complex issues. Quantitative research can be compared to scientific procedures. Not always the desired level of accuracy is achieved. Always the answers which are given by the respondents are not crucial. Therefore it is necessary for the respondents to exhibit a certain level of honesty at the time of answering the questionnaires.

The analysis of the data gathered for the purpose of investigating the laid down research questions and hence the objectives has two distinct parts. First, a quantitative approach had been adopted to understand the relevance of the various options of employee incentives to further the motive of corporate social responsibility (CSR). The survey questionnaire distributed among employees of various companies in the construction industry, collected their opinions regarding their experience and feelings about eight kinds of incentives that the companies engaged in the construction industry may offer them. The incentives about which opinions, categorized into five levels, namely, “Strongly disagree”, “disagree”, “neutral”, “agree”, Strongly agree”, increasing order of towards positive views are as follows: The questionnaire addresses the participants by asking whether they agree or disagree about whether the construction company provides healthcare for their employees along with health care assistance, whether the construction company offer subsidized or free lunch and refreshments to its employees, whether the construction company provide credit for housing, car and education purposes, whether the construction company provides bonus and rewards to its employees, whether the construction company has policies for training and development for its employees, whether the companies provide recreational facilities like gym and club membership to its employees, whether the  construction company has the right to freedom of association, collective bargaining and complaint procedure for its employees, whether the construction company has promotional policies and regulations for their women and minority employees and finally whether the company has policies for formal worker representation on in the process of decision making within the organization.

It is then assessed through quantifying their responses and then summarizing and through graphical representation the existing perceptions of the participating employees who responded to the survey questionnaire, which option is favoured more by the companies in the construction industry and which have been successful in evoking employee satisfaction and appreciation the most. The data on the employees participating in the survey study also took into account their age, educational background, years of experience, gender and their hierarchical designation within the corresponding construction companies they are currently employed. The responses have therefore also been categorized and compared among the groups that come about through such demographic attributes of the employees. The analysis has been done using Microsoft excel and the Analysis Tool pack that comes with it. Responses were collected from 106 employees. The results of the analysis of the data collected from them are hence discussed.

An employee is reasoned to be unaffected by the factor is he or she responds neutral to the question, otherwise he or she is taken to be concerned about it and hence it is considered that the factor has an influence in his or her work satisfaction as an employee of the company he or she works in.

The summarized percentage counts of responses for the factor, that whether construction companies provides healthcare or not is given in the following table It was observed that the participants were 3.416 times more likely to report being either positively or negatively affected and 5/3 times more dissatisfied or hold negative views than being satisfied or hold positive views.

Table 1: Construction companies provides healthcare for the employees along with health assistance

Source: Created by Author

Figure 1 :  Construction industry providing healthcare for the employees and also health assistance

The summarized percentage counts of responses for the factor, that whether construction companies offer subsidized or free lunch and refreshments to its employees or not is given in the following table It was observed that the participants were 2.8 times more likely to report being either positively or negatively affected and 3/2 times more dissatisfied or hold negative views than being satisfied or hold positive views.

Table 2 : The construction companies offer subsidized or free lunch and refreshments to its employees

Figure 2: The construction companies offer subsidized or free lunch and refreshments to its employees

The summarized percentage counts of responses for the factor, that whether construction companies provide credit for housing, car and education purposes to its employees or not is given in the following table It was observed that the participants were 3.4 times more likely to report being either positively or negatively affected and 9/5 times more dissatisfied or hold negative views than being satisfied or hold positive views.

Table 3: The construction organizations provide credit for housing, car and education purposes

Figure 3: provision of different purposes by the organisation

The summarized percentage counts of responses for the factor, that whether construction companies provide provides bonus and rewards to its employees or not is given in the following table It was observed that the participants were 3.8 times more likely to report being either positively or negatively affected and 8/7 times more dissatisfied or hold negative views than being satisfied or hold positive views.

Table 4

Figure 4

The summarized percentage counts of responses for the factor, that whether construction companies have policies for training and development for their employeesor not is given in the following table It was observed that the participants were 2.8 times more likely to report being either positively or negatively affected and 6/11 times more dissatisfied or hold negative views than being satisfied or hold positive views.

Table 5

Figure 5

The summarized percentage counts of responses for the factor, that whether construction companies provide recreational facilities like gym and club membership to their employees or not is given in the following table It was observed that the participants were 2.9 times more likely to report being either positively or negatively affected and 5/2 times more dissatisfied or hold negative views than being satisfied or hold positive views.

Table 6

Figure 6

The summarized percentage counts of responses for the factor, that whether construction companies give the right to freedom of association, collective bargaining and complaint procedure to their employees or not is given in the following table It was observed that the participants were 4 times more likely to report being either positively or negatively affected and 5/3 times more dissatisfied or hold negative views than being satisfied or hold positive views.

Table 7

Figure 7

The summarized percentage counts of responses for the factor, that whether construction companies have promotional policies and regulations for their women and minority employees or not is given in the following table It was observed that the participants were 4 times more likely to report being either positively or negatively affected and 9/7 times more dissatisfied or hold negative views than being satisfied or hold positive views.

Table 8

Figure8

The summarized percentage counts of responses for the factor, that whether construction companies have policies for formal worker representation on in the process of decision making within the organization or not is given in the following table It was observed that the participants were 3 times more likely to report being either positively or negatively affected and 9/7 times more dissatisfied or hold negative views than being satisfied or hold positive views.

Table 9

Figure9

Finally, it was seen that question 10 that is, the factor of the construction companies having policies for training and development for their employees was the incentive most positively rated by the employees of the construction companies with 39.623% voting positively or strongly positively, followed by question 9 that is, bonus and rewards with 36.75%.

Table 10

Figure10

Additionally this factor of the construction companies having policies for training and development for their employees is also the incentive that have maximum likelihood of an employee being satisfied over unsatisfied. However it was the factors promotional policies and regulations for their women and minority employees and the right to freedom of association, collective bargaining and complaint procedure for their employees which was found to be most likely to invoke employee interest however both of these showed that it was more likely that an employee is unsatisfied in this aspect.

Focussing on the factor regarding regulations for employees who are women or belong to a minority group, it was seen that for women employees the effect likelihood of being satisfied is same as that of being unsatisfied. The consensus thus is found to be equally split and at least it is not more likely for a female employee to feel unsatisfied. The result is found to be same for policies for formal worker representation on in the process of decision making within the organization as far as women employee’s perspectives are concerned.

The top concerns for male employees were found to be regarding bonus and rewards policy, healthcare aid policy and freedom of association, collective bargaining and complaint procedure. The participants were not found to be more likely to be satisfied in these regard however. Among junior level staff, regulations of employees who are women or from minority group are found to have largest impact and his raises question whether most people of this level come from these two groups. The second most significant factor found to have impact is healthcare policy. The satisfaction is found to be lagging in both of these aspects among the participants from this level however the satisfaction in terms of bonus and rewards policy was reported to be satisfactory by them.

The sentiment regarding bonus and rewards policy was found to be reflected the same for those in middle level and freedom of association, collective bargaining and complaint procedure was also reflected upon as satisfactory by this group which was in fact reported as having most impact upon them as well. Bonus and rewards policy found to have most impact on management level employees and it was found that they were 3 times less likely to be satisfied with the existing policies. The second factor having significant impact was policies for formal worker representation on in the process of decision making within the organization and the management level was 6/5 times less likely to feel satisfied with the existing system. Bonus and rewards was found to be having most impact on employees who have been working for more than 8 years and the group is found to be 3/2 times less satisfied in this aspect, and health care policies was seen to be 2 times less likely to evoke satisfaction. Employees who have worked for between 5 to 8 years however reported that they are 9/7 times less likely to be satisfied with the bonus and rewards scheme.

Conclusion

In this particular research the data collected and understood for the purpose of investigation has two distinct parts. It also helps in the understanding of the quantitative and qualitative approaches to the research. It also needs to be understood that the motives of the employees should be clear with respect to the corporate social responsibility. The research aims to cover several areas of employee research. There is a quantification of research. There has been the categorisation of the responses. Factors like the healthcare provisions for the members of the companies and the healthcare assistance have been studied. The credit provided by the construction organisations for housing, car and education purposes have to be considered. The construction companies and the provision of rewards to the employees have to be considered. The policies of the companies for the training and development of the employees have also been determined. The percentage costs of responses need to constitute the factors for the promotional policies and regulations.

The promotional policies for the regulations for their women and minority employees have also been discussed. The report also discusses the policies for the former worker representation or in the decision making within the particular organisation. The companies have the policies for the former worker representation in the process of decision making within the organisation. The percentage of positive and negative responses have also been analysed with respect to the particular study.

There might be the improper representation of the target population. It might also hinder the researcher from the achievement of desired goals and objectives. Despite the application of appropriate sampling plan representation of the subjects is dependent on the probability distribution of the data observed. There might be miscalculation of data in certain cases. The construction industry has several sectors which need to be analysed but in this particular research all the sectors have not been able to be analysed. There have been insufficient resources for the data collection and there also have been such a sample size. It often happens that the data analysis is not being able to control the environment. Since the quantitative research method involves the structured questionnaire with open ended questions, it leads to limited outcomes outlined in the research proposal. Therefore it happens that the results cannot always represent the actual occurring in the overall generalized form.

There might be better options for research which might help in the all round understanding of all the impact of corporate social responsibility in the construction industry. There might also be certain factors which might impact the construction industry which can be studied in case all the impacting factors are taken into consideration. Research can be conducted with different factors in consideration.

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