Assessment of the Corporate Social Responsibility in the Health Sector. A Case of Awake Purified Drinking Water’s ‘One4life’ Initiative.

Abstract

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been a very topical issue in public relations literature for decades. However, the examination of CSR programmes targeted at the health sector has been deficient in existing literature. It is against this backdrop that this study sought to examine the influence of Corporate Social Responsibility in the health sector, by narrowing its lens on the One4Life project initiated by Awake Natural Drinking Water, a subsidiary of Kasepreko. The study was guided by three objectives which included understanding the nature of the project, reasons for the initiative, and the effect of the initiative on the brand and beneficiaries. Using the qualitative approach, the study adopted the use of semi-structured interviews where doctors from the National Cardiothoracic Centre in Korle-Bu, executives from the brand Awake and some of the beneficiaries were conveniently sampled for the study. The findings of the study validated the underlying rationale for the initiative which was to save lives. The aftermath is the perception of the brand as one that is sensitive to the health concerns of its consumers. The findings demonstrated the importance of the CSR programme to the health sector and more significantly the gains for the brand involved. Based on this finding, the study recommended that more studies be undertaken to examine other projects that are targeted towards the health sector, as well as a comparative analysis between these projects.