Corporate social responsibility as effective promotional tool for the Malaysian halal certified companies in an era of Covid-19

• Main Authors: Jaiyeoba, Haruna Babatunde, Shahoriyer, Hossain
• Format: Conference or Workshop Item
• Language: English; English
• Published: 2020
• Subjects: HV40 Social service. Social work. Charity organization and practice; HX519 Communism/socialism in relation to special topics
• Online Access: http://irep.iium.edu.my/84547/1/Abstract%20Acceptance_007%20Haruna.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/84547/10/84547%20CORPORATE%20SOCIAL%20RESPONSIBILITY%20AS%20EFFECTIVE%20PROMOTIONAL.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/84547/
• Institution: Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia

For several years, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has served as the key vehicle for social accountability to stakeholders and to measure companies’ broader impacts to the environment. Starting from being a nice to do, the emergence of Covid-19 pandemic has brought CSR to the forefront of businesses, forcing them to rapidly shift from profit maximisation to business preservation. Thus, CSR is now seen as effective promotional tool for companies, particularly for the halal certified companies. In line with the above arguments, this paper intends to ascertain whether CSR can serve as effective promotional tool for the Malaysian halal certified companies in an era of Covid-19 pandemic. To achieve the stated aim, survey questionnaire was developed and used to collect data from 295 participants who are familiar with the concept of CSR and halal in Malaysia. The data collected were analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings suggest that the commitment to halal best practices, zakat and charitable donations, environmental responsibility, employee welfare, and responsible dealings are the important CSR activities that will promote halal certified companies in this era of Covid-19. Based on the study’s findings, both practical and theoretical implications were discussed, and recommendations were offered.