Employee Sensitivity towards Social Responsibility:A Study on Similarity between Manufacturing and ITES Sector

The central theme of the current study is to compare and contrast the opinions of employees on corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives of their companies. The paper attempts to identify the similarities/dissimilarities in views of employees working in manufacturing and ITES (Information Technology Enabled Services) companies based in Pune. The underlying question being; Is CSR viewed differently in manufacturing and ITES industry. The current study explores the viewpoint of managers and executives working in particular sector. Divergent/convergent sentiments between the two industries are analyzed. A scale developed by Turker (2006) was administered to measure CSR. Also, to measure the importance of social responsibility for employees; a subscale of perceived role of ethics and social responsibility (PRESOR) modified by Etheredge (1999) was used to collect the survey data. The sample consisted of 600 managers/executives/administrators; 300 each from manufacturing and ITES firms based in Pune. The results indicated that the employees' of both manufacturing&ITES firms had a decent level of understanding about CSR, although employees of manufacturing firms tend to exhibit a higher level of sensitivity towards CSR. However, no significant difference is identified amongst the two groups. Results of the exploratory research draw attention to the necessity of social responsibility enabling ethical behaviors amongst managers across industry. Building consciousness towards CSR in managers and developing a holistic approach is crucial. The research has vital inferences for manufacturing and ITES firms, especially as it relates to the viewpoints of managers' towards CSR. Some explanations as well as limited generalizations and implications are developed.