British Journal <strong>of</strong> Economics, Finance and Management Sciences 76March, Vol. 4 (2)Islamic responsibility is placed as <strong>the</strong> fourth important dimension perceived by <strong>the</strong> respondents.Though previous studies found that religiosity influenced individuals‟ <strong>perception</strong> <strong>towards</strong> CSR, this studyprovides a contrasting finding. Such result could be attributed to physiological factor where majority <strong>of</strong>stakeholders in Kelantan are Muslims and <strong>the</strong> ruling government in this state is an Islamic political party.Hence Muslim stakeholders in Kelantan believe that Muslims are deemed to practice Islamic religious valuesin <strong>the</strong>ir life as well as <strong>the</strong> non-Muslims businessmen fulfilling for <strong>the</strong> needs <strong>of</strong> majority Muslim <strong>consumers</strong>.As a result, <strong>the</strong>re is less concern on this dimension <strong>of</strong> Islamic value <strong>of</strong> companies.Kelantanese Muslim <strong>consumers</strong> perceived ethical dimension to be <strong>the</strong> least important responsibility tobe considered by companies. Implication <strong>of</strong> this finding is that <strong>consumers</strong> believe that as long as companiescomply with <strong>the</strong> rules and regulations, <strong>the</strong>y are considered to be ethical and hence <strong>consumers</strong> are leastconcerned on this matter. This result is in contrast to Carroll‟s model (1979, 1991) that places philanthropicresponsibility at <strong>the</strong> top <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> pyramid. Previous studies (Edmondson & Carroll, 1999; Ibrahim & Angelidis,1995; Ibrahim et al., 2003; Pinkston & Carroll, 1996; Smith et al., 2001) found that although ethics was notconsidered to be <strong>the</strong> most important goals <strong>of</strong> companies, stakeholders view that being ethical is important forcompanies to maintain <strong>the</strong>ir good reputation.Overall, result <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> survey found that Muslim stakeholders‟ perceived CSR dimensions differently,indicating that none <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>se dimensions have <strong>the</strong> same level <strong>of</strong> importance as proposed in Carroll‟s model <strong>of</strong>CSR and Islamic value is also perceived as not so important as compared to legal responsibility <strong>of</strong> CSR.DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONThe focus <strong>of</strong> this study is Muslim <strong>consumers</strong>‟ <strong>perception</strong> <strong>towards</strong> <strong>corporate</strong> <strong>social</strong> responsibility inMalaysia. Understanding <strong>of</strong> such <strong>perception</strong> could assist companies in determining whe<strong>the</strong>r Muslimstakeholders recognize <strong>the</strong> importance <strong>of</strong> CSR so that companies could make strategic plan and takeappropriate actions to ensure <strong>the</strong>ir long term sustainability by meeting customers‟ expectations and demands.Malaysia is a multi-racial country with Malays (being Muslims) as <strong>the</strong> majority (60% <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>population). A survey was conducted in Kelantan where 95 percent <strong>of</strong> its 1,634,200 5 population comprise <strong>of</strong><strong>the</strong> Malay society (<strong>the</strong> Kelantan Tourism Information Center ,2009). Therefore, this study could assistcompanies in obtaining information in identifying whe<strong>the</strong>r religious belief could influence Muslim<strong>consumers</strong> support <strong>towards</strong> <strong>social</strong>ly responsible companies. If <strong>consumers</strong>‟ <strong>perception</strong> <strong>towards</strong> religious valueis high, companies need to ensure that this value is taken into consideration in <strong>the</strong>ir business operation. Thisstudy, however, found that religious dimension was not highly perceived as most important. Muslim<strong>consumers</strong> in Kelantan perceived legal responsibility as <strong>the</strong> most important CSR dimensions. The <strong>consumers</strong>were more concerned about companies conforming to rules and regulation as good citizen and not aboutwhe<strong>the</strong>r companies achieve high levels <strong>of</strong> economic performance or upholding religious or ethical values.The finding <strong>of</strong> this study highlights that <strong>consumers</strong> also expect companies to be actively involved inphilanthropic activities. This is in line with <strong>the</strong> government‟s active role in encouraging companies tocontribute to <strong>the</strong> society. Therefore in order to show support in improving <strong>the</strong> society‟s quality <strong>of</strong> life,companies need to establish clear policy and strategies on how <strong>the</strong>y could help to do this.Since this study focuses only on Muslim <strong>consumers</strong> in Kelantan, generalization <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> findings couldnot be made. Therefore, <strong>the</strong>re is a need for fur<strong>the</strong>r research in this area and for better understanding <strong>of</strong><strong>consumers</strong>‟ behavior <strong>towards</strong> <strong>corporate</strong> <strong>social</strong> responsibilities.5Source: http://www.statistics.gov.my© 2011 British Journals ISSN 2048-125X
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