Perception of Local Community on Corporate Social Responsibility of Brewery Firms in Ethiopia

The main objective of this study is to examine the perception of local communities towards corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives of Brewery firms in Ethiopia. For the study purpose, a cross-sectional research design and survey method was employed. Convenience sampling technique was used to select participants and collected primary data from a total of 595 local communities of major five brewery firms. The study involved some quantitative analyses with the use of statistical tools (descriptive and inferential). The finding of this study revealed that awareness level of local community about the firms CSR initiatives was somewhat good, however, still there were substantial portion of the host community had low level of awareness about CSR initiatives. The study also suggested that the local community with high level of awareness had higher positive perception toward CSR initiatives of firms. In this study CSR initiatives were categorized under the headings of sponsorship and donation, community development and helping the poor, employment opportunities, and environmental responsibility. The study concluded that the local community had positive perception to all categories of CSR initiatives of brewery firms as they rated above the average point (above 3.0). However, firms accorded a limited attention to community development and helping the poor. This study will contribute to the previous research on the practical aspects of CSR by highlighting the influence of demographic factors on perceptions of individuals, including gender, age, and level of education. Thus, this study concluded that gender and level of education influence the perception of local community toward the CSR initiatives of brewery firms but not age factor.