Digital Social Responsibility towards Corporate Social Responsibility and Strategic Performance of Hi-Tech SMEs: Customer Engagement as a Mediator

Abstract

Digitalization has opened up new methods to promote socialization in all types of organizations, generally, and businesses specifically. Stakeholders now prefer those businesses which are inclined towards social norms and virtues. In the era of digitalization, digital social responsibility (DSR) has become the strategic decision for all kinds of business organizations. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to highlight the achievement of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and strategic performance (SP) through customer engagement with digital social responsibility (DSR). Customer engagement with DSR is also tested as a mediator between DSR and CSR performance, and DSR and SP. Data were collected from the owners/managers of hi-tech Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). For the purpose of data analysis, various statistical procedures were applied. Results proved that DSR plays an essential role in explaining customer engagement with DSR, SP and CSR performance. Customer engagement with DSR directly affects SP and CSR performance, and also acts as a mediator. This study contributes to both theory and practical management by investigating how DSR helps to achieve SP and CSR performance. This is a unique study of the mechanism to achieve SP and CSR performance through DSR and customer engagement with DSR.