Vietnamese favor socially responsible firms: survey

From WIRE REPORTS

            A new study by market research firm Nielsen finds that 80
percent of Vietnamese consumers prefer to do business with companies seen to
implement programs that give back to society.

            Respondents ranked “ensuring environmental
sustainability” as the most important good cause, according to Nielsen’s Global
Corporate Citizenship Survey. They also prioritized “combatting HIV/AIDS,
malaria and other diseases” and “providing relief following natural disasters”
among socially responsible actions they expected businesses to take.

            The survey of more than 28,000 Internet respondents in 56
countries showed that 46 percent of global consumers are willing to pay extra
for products and services from socially responsible companies.

            “It’s clear that corporate social responsibility efforts
resonate with a specific group of consumers,” said Nic Covey, vice president of
Nielsen Cares, Nielsen’s global corporate social responsibility program.

            “Marketers need to know who those consumers are in order
to maximize the social and business return of their cause marketing efforts,”
Covey said.

            Nielsen said consumers in Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Africa
and Latin America are more willing to pay extra for products and services from
socially responsible companies than consumers in North America and Europe.

            According to the survey, the highest concentration of
socially conscious consumers is in the Philippines, where 68 percent of
respondents said they were willing to pay extra for products of socially
responsible companies.