| Abstract [eng] |
Number of pages 64, Number of tables – 22, Number of pictures – 7, Number of sources of literature – 41. The objective of the thesis is to create a theoretical model for an evaluation of the possibilities for companies to express social initiatives, as well as presenting its application in the evaluation of the social initiatives of a specific company; namely, UAB DSP Plius. Tasks of the thesis: To theoretically examine the concept of social initiatives; to examine the concept of social initiatives in the context of social business and social responsibility; to model a theoretical model of the possibilities for the expression of social initiatives; to present the methodology of the empirical research on the expression of social initiatives by UAB DSP Plius; to apply the theoretical model to DSP Plius; and to present a summary pf the conclusions on the possibilities of expressing social initiatives. Methods used in the thesis: A systematic, summary analysis of the scientific literature was used in preparing the theoretical part of the thesis. A questionnaire and a structured interview were used to prepare the analytical part of the thesis. An analysis of the scientific literature shows that a social initiative is directly viewed as the initiation and sustaining of interactions with other groups. Upon examining the scientific literature, it was also revealed that a social initiative includes both the aspect of social business, in which the aim is social benefits for the society rather than a continuous growth in shareholder profits, as well as the aspect of social responsibility. After summarising the scientific literature, a theoretical model for evaluating the possibilities of expressing social initiatives was developed, which includes the following issues: consideration of the employment of people with disabilities; promotion of environmentally-friendly products; other environmental issues; communication with the public about the social initiatives; and communication with the employees and customers about the social initiatives (employee involvement). The application of the business enterprise social initiative expression model shows that the company communicated about initiatives to which the society may contribute, such as sustainability, employment of people with disabilities, etc., but there was less communication about older employees and mothers with many children. Research conducted and results obtained: The empirical research showed that the positive aspects of social initiatives for companies, according to customer and expert evaluations, are the good reputation of that company and the loyalty of its employees/customers/partners. The empirical research showed that, according to both experts and the respondents to the questionnaire, the implementation of social initiatives is not the main factor why customers choose to buy a company’s goods and services. After conducting the research, it was found that: UAB DSP Plius pays a lot of attention to the employment and publicity of people with disabilities, which improves the company’s reputation as an employer; the company promotes the use of environmentally-friendly products, which improves the overall image of the company both in the society as a whole and among its customers, partners and suppliers; the company communicates about initiatives to which the society can contribute – such as sustainability initiatives and the employment of people with disabilities. A conclusion can be made from the research that a social initiative is directly viewed as the initiation and sustaining of interactions with other groups. The research focused on the expression of the social initiatives of UAB DSP Plius revealed that the head of the company is constantly seeking to expand the company’s activities related to social initiatives – the company hires employees with disabilities, and tries to provide a free parking spaces for the disabled employees next to the company’s office. |
