THE INFLUENCE OF CSR, INNOVATION AND SUPPLY CHAIN PARTNERSHIP ON FIRM COMPETITIVENESS
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is crucial for competitive advantage and survival of firms globally. In the pursuit of excellence, many firms have embarked on CSR programs, considering that it is not a financial burden but a strategic roadmap to increase and maintain their brand reputation, to overcome competitive pressures successfully and to efficiently and effectively lower operating cost with profit maximisation through innovation and supply chain partnership. However, in the process of becoming good players of CSR to society, innovative dimension for sustainability as well as an organisation's supply chain partnership may be essential determinants to enhance good firm business processes and performance activities. In other words, to realise CSR, firms should have a strong environmental measure and well integrated supply chain practices closely related to their business objectives and structures. The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to examine the influence of CSR on innovation, supply chain partnership and firm competitiveness on firms around Vanderbijlpark, South Africa. Through a quantitative method using smart PLS, this study tested the relationships among the four variables, which are CSR, innovation, supply chain partnership and firm competitiveness. The results showed that there is a positive relationship between the four proposed hypotheses. H1: There is a positive relationship between CSR and innovation; H2: There is a positive relationship between CSR and supply chain partnership; H3: There is a positive relationship between innovation and firm competitiveness; H4: There is a positive relationship between supply chain partnership and firm competitiveness. The proposed study is expected to have practical and theoretical implications to policy makers and managers. In addition, it will provide added insights and new knowledge to the existing body of literature hitherto not studied extensively in South African firms.