Methodology

The primary method used to source the data and other information used in this

dissertation is the review of the literature. The rationale behind using this methodology emanates

from the fact that 6 different companies are involved in the research and all the data and

information required to infer whether CSR has been properly implemented is available online on

their websites, previous research conducted on the same topic, CSR analysis websites and in the

companies’ financial statements. The websites used are credible and this was made to ensure the

reliability of the data and information acquired from this kind of sources. Additionally, this

method was preferred to interviews on managers and other leaders in these organization due to

the prevailing covid -19 pandemic which has altered many business processes narrowing the

chances of getting in touch with these leaders and having them set aside time to cooperate with

this research activities. Also, for reliability reasons, financial statements and data found on other

sources are essential compared to statements from companies’ leaders because they can

exaggerate some of the activities, they have been conducting to boost the image of their

organization.

The online research was conducted using both my laptop and home computer which led

to me using two different browsers, Mozilla and google chrome. The searching process was

conducted based on the keywords which were essential to answering the research questions. All

the articles which were obtained were screened to ensure they were no older than 10 years to

ensure the validity of the data or the information used. The other type of exclusion criteria for the

articles is if it did not address some of the issues which could respond to the research question or

inform concerning the hypothesis of the dissertation. The articles which qualified for utilization

in this research were categorized based on the stakeholders they impacted and the company
which was being analyzed. However, there was no article which addressed any two of the

organization which are been assessed in this dissertation. To be specific, a total of 178 articles

were selected from the initial search conducted. The majority of these articles were accessed

from google scholars whereas some of them were from different business journals. This was

essential because it allowed quick access to information during analysis and reference materials

used in literature review and discussion. After the exclusion criteria, only 65 articles qualified to

be used as sources in this dissertation including websites that contained relevant data to address

the hypothesis used in this paper.

The financial statements are critical to this dissertation because they inform the

stakeholders concerning the activities of the company during the financial year and therefore the

data reflections the commitments made by the organization in all addressed areas. Therefore, it is

easy to tell how an organization is dedicated to implementing or incorporating CSR in the

organization. Nevertheless, only current financial statements were used and therefore no data

beyond 6 years of publishing was used in this research. The reason for using current data is

because CSR despite its huge presence in the UK economy is a new concept and therefore

companies adopted it in different paces. Moreover, there is no law or policy that obligate

companies to adopt and execute CSR activities which also contributed to current data being used

because for the last six years CSR in the UK has become a vital practice indulge as it enhances

the relationship between the company and other stakeholders. The gathered financial statements

were subject to analysis because not all the documented data was essential in this research. The

analysis aimed to investigate the amount spent on various CSR activities by the companies and

more significantly the improvement over time.

websites concerning the activities which are undertaken by these companies. Besides, not all the

articles were concerning CSR in these companies because some of the articles were supposed to

analyze the concept of CSR, and also stakeholder’s theory and corporate social responsibility

theory. These theories and concept of CSR are paramount to the research because they permit the

dissertation to introduce the audiences to the context of CSR and also highlight some of the

activities which are anticipated from the company by stakeholders. Therefore, the terms

associated with the above context were incorporated in the keywords and they were essential

because relevant sources which addressed these issues were found and were integral in

completing the literature review section. More so, some of these articles will be elemental in the

discussion section because they will enhance the observation made from the results obtained. For

clarity’s sake, these articles are among the 65 sources which were found fit to be used in this

dissertation.

Ethical considerations were considered during the selection of the sources to be used and

also the information which was shared in this dissertation. Therefore, data or argument that is

presented in this dissertation with the aim of either boosting or lowering the reputation of the

companies used here. Therefore, all the data which were used in this research are available in the

public domain and hence no private information has been disclosed concerning these

organizations. However, this does not imply that some of the arguments and conclusion which

will be made in this dissertation do not differ with other authors observations or commentaries.

All the sources in the exemption of websites that were used in this research were scholarly

articles which imply that the sources are credible and reliable. The other implications of using

scholarly articles are that the information is free to use since the authors have warranted that their
work can be used for reference. However, concerning confidentiality, any article which

contained private information such as a name of a participant was properly cited to ensure that

such private information was not mentioned in the dissertation. Moreover, since all the

information which was used from the websites mentioned above were in the public domain, there

was no necessity to contact the organizations or the hosts of the website to inquire for permission

to use the data and information presented.

As highlighted above, the data analysis method used was meant to highlight specific

events which took place in an organization and they represented a CSR action. Although CSR is

vital, the lack of the law to obligate companies to conduct themselves in a specific manner makes

it challenging for most organizations to follow a certain set of activities that are meant to serve as

CSR ventures. Therefore, while analyzing financial statements, the activities which were been be

checked were those practices such as expenditure to acquire new machinery or materials which

are meant to reduce emission or stop the exploitation of essential resources including animals

and earthly products. However, in some websites particular the company’s website there was

information concerning changes that have been accommodated in the company to promote CSR

and ensure the welfare of some stakeholders. The other analysis provided in this article was

obtained from a CSR website which analyzes the performance of a company concerning CSR

and ranks it across thousands of other global companies. The analysis is essential because it can

be used for comparative purposes based on the results obtained from the research. For instance,

companies that are ranked above 95% are supposed to have tremendous CSR activities.