Corporate Social Responsibility in the Banking Industry in Kuwait

As a result of globalization, the concept of Corporate Social responsibility (CSR) has become on the agendas of organizations over the past decade. The organizations in Kuwait are no exception; they have been striving to address and execute the best practices of CSR. The banking sector in Kuwait, which plays a pivotal role in the economy, represents an area of strong interest for anyone wanting to research the depiction of CSR in Kuwait since it was the first sector that introduced corporate social responsibility and is considered a pioneer in that field. However, no studies were found that have examined CSR policies in practice in Kuwait or in the banking sector in particular. This thesis therefore focuses on obtaining a better understanding of how corporate social responsibility works in practice in the Kuwaiti banks from the perspective of three groups: the decision makers of CSR in the Kuwaiti banks, the employees of the banks, and the banks’ customers. The researcher used a qualitative approach in which data were collected using interviews and document analysis. The collected data were interpreted and analysed and thereafter drawn the conclusion that banks are very clear in defining their CSR objectives which are aligned with their overall corporate strategy. However, there were commonalities and differences in how stakeholders understand and perceive CSR. The study also revealed that both the 2008 financial crisis and Islam influenced the way CSR is exercised in the banks, and moderately, influenced the employees and customers.

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of Bradford

Year dc:date.issued

2014

Author dc:creator

• Alrumaihi, Hanin A.A.R.O.

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• Cornelius, Nelarine
• Harding, Nancy H.
• Niemann, Eva

• Corporate social responsibility; Western banking; Islamic banking; Stakeholder perceptions; Marketing communications; Kuwait; Banks

Statement dc:rights

• <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width:0" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-nd/3.0/88x31.png" /></a><br />The University of Bradford theses are licenced under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Licence</a>.

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/10454/14866

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:bradscholars.brad.ac.uk:10454/14866