FOREIGN TRADE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS AND INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS RESEARCH PROPOSAL Module Research Methodology for Economics and Business TOPIC THE IMPACT OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY PER.
FOREIGN TRADE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS AND INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS RESEARCH PROPOSAL Module: Research Methodology for Economics and Business TOPIC: THE IMPACT OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY PERCEPTION ON JOB SATISFACTION AND THE MODERATING ROLE OF JOB LEVELS AMONG SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES IN HANOI Instructor: Prof Pham Thi Cam Anh Class: KTEE206.CLC.1 Hanoi, October 2022 TABLE OF CONTENTS I Team members & contribution assessment II Research proposal stages outline III Research proposal stages modeling Abstract Introduction Research objective and research questions 3.1 Research objective 3.2 Research questions Theoretical framework 4.1 Theory and Hypotheses 4.2 Literature review 12 4.3 Research gap 13 Research methodology 14 5.1 Research type 14 5.2 Population and sample 14 5.3 Research method 14 5.4 Data analysis 15 Significance and expected contribution of the study 15 Research ethics 15 Validity and reliability 16 Potential limitations 17 10 Research project timeline 18 11 References 19 II Research proposal stages outline Part Content Abstract Introduction Research objective and research questions 3.1 Research objective 3.2 Research questions Theoretical framework 4.1 Theory 4.2 Literature review 4.3 Research gap Research method 5.1 Research data 5.2 Data collection 5.3 Sampling method 5.4 Data analysis Significance and expected contribution of the study Research ethics Validity and reliability Potential limitations 10 Research project timeline 11 References III Research proposal stages modeling Abstract This research aims to assess the impact of Corporate Social Responsibility Perception (CSRP) on job satisfaction (JS) through the mediating role of job levels This study will use quantitative method and survey data will be collected from 500 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) employees Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) will be used to analyze structural relationships This research is expected to help businesses foster their human resources and have a deeper understanding of their workforce to adjust their CSR strategies and take action to boost employee JS Keywords: job satisfaction; job level; corporate social responsibility; small and medium enterprises, Hanoi Introduction Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been growing in its importance in the development of any business Individuals are realizing the increasing emphasis on CSR and adopting it to the available structure Many previous researches have highlighted the importance of CSR and how perceived thoughts about it can influence different aspects: Qingyu Zhang and Sohail Ahmad (2022), Maja Żychlewicz (2016), Yiming Wu (2013), Servaes & Tamayo (2013); Menichini & Rosati (2014) On the knowing of CSR importance and its significant impacts, published research claimed to prove the relationship between CSR and many dependent factors, including JS: Greenberg (1990) argues that CSR is a prerequisite for attaining JS, etc Our study also aims to discover how the way CSR is perceived influences JS but with the moderating role of job levels The role of job levels are closely observed as it is an important factor that influences the perception but is often neglected That is, CSR is viewed differently as job levels change from non-managerial to managerial positions Using the theory of stakeholder (Thomas & Lee, 1995), which indicates that businesses need to create value for stakeholders, not just shareholders, we place our emphasis on exploring how CSR towards different stakeholders namely labor, customer and community have different levels of impact on JS We believe that a clear know-how of the topic can help business foster its human resources and better understand the employees - indispensable stakeholders of any organization Therefore, companies can alter their CSR policies or take steps to increase the level of JS among staff Our study is limited within the Ha Noi (HN) boundary The data collected are primary data and are analyzed with descriptive statistics The samples will be selected through convenience random sampling method from companies with a population of 500 employees Research objective and research questions 3.1 Research objective This research aims to study the impact of employee CSRP on JS, thereby recommending a number of management implications for raising employee satisfaction This is the key for businesses to achieve important goals such as: increasing productivity, work efficiency, revenue growth, maintaining and boosting profits, etc 3.2 Research questions - How does employee CSRP affect JS? - Perceived thoughts of CSR towards which types of subject have the most significance on JS? - How does the difference of job level affect the CSRP - JS link? Theoretical framework 4.1 Theory and Hypotheses 4.1.1 Corporate Social Responsibility Perception (CSRP) The concept of CSR began to take shape in the 1930s and evolved over the decades In 1953, the concept of CSR was first stated by Bowen Up to now, there have been many other studies that define CSR, as well as the application of CSR in practice CSR has been identified as a crucial topic in business as well as management, environmental, and psychological academic research CSR is frequently defined as corporate initiatives and practices that go above and beyond an organization's financial interests in order to have a positive impact on all stakeholders Companies should adopt ethical business practices to benefit society and the environment so that both men and women can advance in the workforce (Farid, 2019) It also refers to the firm's socially responsible business strategies and practices that produce outcomes at the macro- or organizational-level CSR is significant to internal stakeholders, especially those who work for organizations, according to empirical research In this way, CSR's impact on work-related outcomes like JS, organizational commitment, desire to leave the company, organizational identity, organizational citizenship behavior, and engagement at work is demonstrated The fact that employees can directly watch, participate in, criticize, react to, and implement CSR programs makes them stand out among the diverse internal and external stakeholders that are influenced by it Employees may respond to CSR initiatives differently, and their perception will determine their subsequent attitudes and behaviors (Mahmood, 2020) Therefore, it is crucial for managers to comprehend how staff members respond to CSR initiatives and what consequences these initiatives have on their results (Donia, 2019) CSR perceptions influence employee behaviors and attitudes such as organizational commitment, turnover intentions, burnout, organizational citizenship behaviors, JS, task performance, creativity, work engagement, organizational identification, and voicing behavior (Ilkhanizadeh, 2017) Although the connections between CSRPs and overall wellbeing, JS, and life happiness have been studied, there hasn't been much research on the specific impact of CSR perceptions on employees' career satisfaction 4.1.2 Approaching CSR according to stakeholder theory This study is based on the stakeholder theory concept (Thomas & Lee, 1995), which is frequently applied in CSR research In accordance with this theory, a stakeholder is any group or person that is in some way impacted by an enterprise's operations Stakeholders include people who participate in, have influence over, or gain from CSR-related activities Examples include owners/shareholders, clients, vendors, and staff Along with the groups mentioned above, other groups and people are also regarded as stakeholders, including the media, the general public, future generations, past generations (the founders of businesses), competitors, nongovernmental organizations, people and organizations that provide funding in addition to shareholders, such as creditors, governments, regulators, and policymakers In accordance with this theory, a company's main objective is still to make money, but it also needs to operate in accordance with the expectations of its stakeholders, including customers, partners, employees, government agencies, investors, suppliers, local authorities, etc According to the stakeholder theory, a company must consider its stakeholders as well as its shareholders when making decisions The interests of the parties should be balanced by businesses, and if there are conflicts of interest, businesses must find the best way to reconcile the interests of the parties Thomas & Lee (1995) studied the theoretical model of stakeholders in the business as follows: Source: Thomas & Lee (1995) Image 1: Theoretical model of stakeholders in a business This study will focus on CSR perception towards labor, customers, and community We believe that these objectives will have the most impact on employee perceptions 4.1.3 Job satisfaction As earlier established, the idea of JS takes into account both an employee's internal feelings and attitude toward their employer (Landis et al., 2015) Employee JS is high when they feel good about their work, the company they work for, and the duties and responsibilities of their position (Robbins & Judge, 2015) According to Robbins and Judge (2015), a number of variables may have an impact on how satisfied employees feel about their jobs The nature of the job, administration, pay, prospects for promotion, and relationships can be used to condense these aspects On the other hand, there are several elements that can have a detrimental impact on JS According to Barakat et al (2016), stress might make workers less content with their jobs This could even lead to a decrease in their performance The expected increase in efficiency, profit, and satisfaction can also lead to an improved work environment which again has an impact on employees' JS (Landis et al., 2015) Research has shown that JS and CSR activities can be positively associated with each other (Valentine & Fleischman, 2008) More recently, Mascarenhas et al (2020) have confirmed the positive relationship between JS and CSR practices According to Barakat et al (2016), a reason for the positive connection could be that CSR can have a positive influence on the company’s image and reputation, which then influences the employees Additionally, it is asserted that CSR initiatives are accompanied by values that, when implemented as decisions, policies, or actions, may increase a worker's sense of pride Additionally, this emotion may result in greater JS (Pérez et al., 2018) It should be noted that if employees are indeed aware of CSR activities taking place at the company, it will be good for their JS According to research, because employees might not understand CSR policies, their awareness may be more crucial than the policies themselves (Ellis, 2009) Employee well-being and JS won't be affected by CSR activities if they aren not made conscious to them by their employer Additionally, misinterpretation of such ideas might result in annoyance, which would lower JS (Ellis, 2009) JS theories have a strong overlap with theories explaining human motivation The most common and prominent theories in this area include: Maslow’s needs hierarchy theory; Herzberg’s motivator-hygiene theory; the Job Characteristics Model; and the dispositional approach As the importance of the issue is becoming more widely known, the question of how CSR might impact employees' wellbeing has arisen Different employees may react differently to CSR initiatives, and perceptions influence subsequent attitudes and behaviors CSR perceptions have an impact on employee attitudes and behaviors, such as organizational commitment, intentions to leave the company, burnout, organizational citizenship behaviors, JS, task performance, creativity, work engagement, and voicing behavior More research is required to comprehend the causes of one's JS because the career contexts at the workplace are changing This is especially true in the current environment, where achieving successful results depends on having a positive workplace experience 4.1.4 Relationship between CSRP and JS According to social identity theory, people develop a positive sense of selfidentity when they feel like they belong to and are connected to particular organizations (Van Dick, Crawshaw, Karpf, Schuh, & Zhang, 2020) This theory focuses on people who typically try to maintain a positive sense of who they are by placing people in social groups to which they aspire to belong These groups will give them traits that will set them apart from other groups (Tajfel & Turner, 2004) Additionally, it helps fulfill the needs for a high degree of adaptation, self-worth, and self-harmony Shahzadi, Qadeer, John, and Jia (2019) emphasized “the significance of social identity theory in organizations and concluded that people will consider it positively when they see that their organization is being perceived by others as valued or admired by the general public.” Employment, morale, productivity, and employee retention are just a few of the variables that have been linked to employee CSR benefits (Berger, Cunningham, & Drumwright, 2007) A company can create a long-lasting competitive advantage that will aid in retention when it is able to retain committed and highly skilled employees (Wright, Ferris, Hiller, & Kroll, 1995) According to Tuzzolino and Armandi's (1981) research, by meeting their staff's expectations for CSR initiatives, businesses can improve employee attitudes toward their jobs, encourage higher levels of productivity, and foster better interactions with customers For instance, according to Welford (2004), internal education, job training, and workplace non-discrimination policies are all highly valued by employees Furthermore, studies by Larson, Flaherty, Zablah, Brown, and Wiene (2008) demonstrated that CSR initiatives enhance employees' job satisfaction (JS), sense of company identity, and sales staff performance We argue that, based on the appraisal theory of emotion, CSR perceptions have a significant impact on feelings (like organizational pride), work behaviors (like organizational embeddedness), and psychological resources (like psychological capital), which in turn relate to outcomes related to employment (i.e., increased career satisfaction) Additionally, the workforce's internalized and symbolic moral identity serves to moderate the relationship between JS and CSR perceptions The rationale behind this choice of organizational pride is that it is a sentiment that staff members may feel as a result of membership in or affiliation with particular groups that are hedonistically favored by individuals Employees see well-received CSR initiatives as investments in the future of the workforce, the environment, society, customers, and products These expenditures convey to employees that their company cares about all facets of its operations, including the ethical, social, legal, and environmental ones One of the investments that they might see as being essential is the company's commitment to the personal development of its employees Participating in socially responsible activities gives employees more chances to enhance their skill sets and career prospects People who are growing personally are better able to acquire new skills and accomplish professional goals CSR can include providing opportunities for career advancement, claim (Ilkhanizadeh & Karatepe, 2017) Employees are more likely to stay with their employers for an extended period of time if they believe their employers provide growth and training opportunities in their CSR programs, which lowers turnover and improves perceptions of overall career success Successful CSR initiatives increase employees' sense of purpose, connection, and loyalty to the business as a whole Their work becomes more important to them Based on above arguments, we propose: Hypothesis (H1): Employees' perception of CSR towards labour has a positive impact on JS In order to build a positive reputation, brand image, and relationship with customers and suppliers, businesses are becoming more socially responsible CSR has developed into a significant strategic asset for many businesses due to the favorable public perception of having a socially responsible image According to CSR theory, stronger stakeholder relationships come as a result of increased stakeholder loyalty and satisfaction (Kim et al., 2010) Many other theories, including those by Donaldson and Preston (1995), Freeman (1984), and Jones (1995), highlighted the significance of managers tailoring their policies to suit customers, suppliers, and neighborhood organizations Companies that frequently interact with stakeholders and build those interactions on a foundation of trust and collaboration have an incentive to behave honorably and morally because doing so benefits the business As a result, current and potential employees are more aware of whether companies partake in such practices The likelihood that an employee will report high levels of job and life satisfaction, as well as greater levels of loyalty to the company and subsequently the career, increases with their attitude toward CSR practices to customers On the basis of the reasoning provided, we suggest: Hypothesis (H2): Employees' perception of CSR towards customer has a positive impact on JS Employee satisfaction with their jobs increases when they believe CSR programs are genuine and real in their efforts to improve society and the environment JS refers to an employee's assessment of their level of happiness at their current position, whereas career satisfaction is broader in scope and includes an individual's perception of the cumulative impact of experiences at various jobs as well as his or her progression over time through these jobs It makes sense to assume that since perceived CSR has a positive relationship with JS, it will also have a positive impact on an employee's career satisfaction Companies that practice CSR gain a positive public image and are able to create a positive organizational image that employees will find admirable, which raises their sense of pride in the company's policies Positive cues emerge and organizational pride grows when an employee believes that the company's CSR initiatives are aimed at improving social and environmental dynamics Employees feel more integrated into their jobs when they believe that an organization's CSR efforts are focused on improving society and the environment This is because there is a very good fit between the values and norms of the organization and the employees' personal values CSR values are compatible with the meaning and purpose of the work that employees As a result, employees are more likely to stay with a socially conscious company over the long term due to pride, identification, compatibility, and humanistic values because they perceive greater career opportunities there This is consistent with the social exchange theory (SET), which contends that working for a socially conscious organization fosters relationships of the highest caliber between workers and employers and encourages a sense of responding in accordance with the reciprocity norm, leading to positive job outcomes On the basis of the arguments above, we suggest: Hypothesis (H3): Employees' perception of CSR towards the community has a positive impact on JS 4.1.5 Moderating role of Job Levels in CSRP – JS link In a professional setting, expected and assumed behaviors and beliefs are implemented by both managers and non-managers, as long as the behaviors are acceptable to their roles The demands of the employees also take the various obligations and expected behaviors that come with their job levels into consideration, and it was discovered that CSR preferences changed in correspondence with job level Researchers discovered that though being aware of the scarcity in opportunities for personal growth, managers express a more positive attitude towards CSR than nonmanagers According to role theory (Ann Rev Social 1986), social roles are principal factors that people rely onto to adopt identities, express stereotypes and take expected actions According to Miles et al., when looking at the working environment, the level of positivity shown in the communication of supervisors is higher than that of 10 hourly workers Only hourly workers are predicted to encounter these trends, which allow for openness and criticism in the workplace This demonstrates the following: (1) a higher job level comes with working conditions (certain communication patterns included) that are related to JS; (2) employees at lower job levels have higher levels of JS when given the same working conditions as those at higher job levels; and (3) different job levels offer different starting points for developing job attitude and perception Job levels should have an impact on how managers and non-managers view their CSR activities and determine their motivation for the position Hypothesis (H4): The job level of the employee will positively moderate the relationship between the employee’s perception of CSR towards labor and their JS In other words, the CSRP-JS link is stronger for managerial-level employees than nonmanagerial employees Hypothesis (H5): The job level of the employee will positively moderate the relationship between the employee’s perception of CSR towards customers and their JS In other words, the CSRP- JS link is stronger for managerial-level employees than non-managerial employees Hypothesis (H6): The job level of the employee will positively moderate the relationship between the employee’s perception of CSR towards the community and their JS In other words, the CSRP- JS link is stronger for managerial-level employees than non-managerial employees Image 2: Research model 4.2 Literature review Martínez et al (2016) pointed out that by implementing CSR, the company can better the right thing and positively affect the main stakeholders 11 Gazzola Patrizia (2011) stated that CSR can generate both new business opportunities and increasing consumer confidence towards responsible choices by companies Ahmed Rashed; Beihang University (BUAA) (2021) follow the model of (Carroll, 1979) hierarchical to investigate four dimensions of corporate social responsibility (economic responsibility, moral responsibility, legal responsibility, and philanthropic responsibility) and their impact on purchase intention in the presence of the service quality as a mediator variable Consumers lack information about the practices of companies in general In companies with low customer’s perception, the relationship is insignificant and vice versa, which resonates with the opinion that perceiving CSR can add value to the company (Servaes & Tamayo, 2013; Menichini & Rosati, 2014) Also (Kolkailah et al, 2012) agree that there is a customer’s perception of the concept of corporate social responsibility and that companies tend to develop customers' trends differently because when it comes to purchasing, the criteria hosted by customers are evaluated and found The authors (Doaa Abd El Samea, Ahmed Rashed, 2021) conclude that in order to foster customer confidence, organizations emphasize service quality Moreover, they need to fully reveal information on social activities happening throughout the year and to also classify thoroughly the social costs entailed, presenting them in reports and financial statements until individuals assess the company's social role Yiming Wu (2013) indicated that although the implementation of CSR has made some progress in China, still, errors exist in enterprises’ perception of CSR Therefore, the perception and attitudes of employees from enterprises towards CSR and sustainable development in China is investigated by focusing on three aspects: enterprises’ understanding of CSR, the influence of enterprises’ stakeholders on their CSR and what enterprises should to assume CSR Observations indicate that there is a quite clear perception of CSR when the majority of participants recognized the importance of CSR for enterprises to survive Meanwhile, they also mentioned factors of CSR that they consider important: environmental protection, caring about people, sustainability Yiming Wu (2013) states that internal stakeholders - anyone regarded as determinant elements in the company, influence perception towards CSR and the way it is implemented significantly Some enterprises are increasing in their awareness of CSR and assuming CSR in their practices However, profits or economic interests are still the justification for enterprises’ social responsibility problems, which makes their attention to CSR insufficient Inyong Shin, Won-Moo Hur and Seongho Kang (2016) elaborate on the relationship between organizational social responsibility and job performance The authors reveal that CSR is crucial in explaining levels of job performance of organizational members as key internal stakeholders and that advantages of CSR 12 behaviors also exist inside an organization The perception of the efforts of companies to develop and implement CSR will encourage employees to be identified with their organization and be content with their job, therefore increasing productivity at work Also, the authors found that employees’ perceptions of CSR behaviors enhance the returns on such behaviors in a roundabout way Suggestions were made by Inyong Shin, Won-Moo Hur and Seongho Kang (2016) that the win-win relationship of companies and their staff through perception towards CSR are able to be acknowledged 4.3 Research gap After conducting literature review about the role of CSR, we observe that some gaps in the study remain unresolved Previous research mostly investigated data in nations which have developed economies such as China, UAE, USA In developing countries, especially Asian countries, a lot of employees not have any definition of their companies’ CSR Because of this reason, our research will focus on workers who work in SMEs in Hanoi, Vietnam, since Vietnam is an Asian developing country and Vietnamese workers have not known much about the impact of CSR on their work Based on the stakeholder theory (Thomas & Lee, 1995), this research will focus on employee perception of CSR towards three main objects which we believe to have the most influence on employees: labor, customer and community Beside analyzing the impact of CSRP on JS, this research has a new aspect, which is the moderating role of job level Previous research was merely considered as a direct link between CSR perceptions and employee attitudes without considering their job status At different positions, workers tend to have different points of view to CSRP It is claimed that if a company actively invests in CSR, their employees have a tendency to develop to a higher job level Research methodology 5.1 Research type In this research, we will use the quantitative research method only because it is one of the most widely used techniques to reach a large population and to identify and describe the variability in different situations (Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill 2009, 361 - 362.) Secondly, the collected data later on can be analyzed effectively through SmartPLS 3.0 program 5.2 Population and sample 5.2.1 Population The population of this research is employees of SMEs in Hanoi 5.2.2 Sample Our sample will be selected through a random-convenience random sampling The target will be to distribute 500 questionnaires to 500 SMEs employees (100 13 chosen at random from random SMEs in Hanoi) This method is used because (1) it is the most cost-efficient (2) it was most convenient for the researcher to hand out the questionnaire 5.3 Research method The data will be collected using survey questionnaires Besides general background questions and a job level question using nominal scale, there will be sections, each of which includes items: CSR towards labor, CSR towards customer, CSR towards the community, and JS The data will be collected through a Google Form survey, which will be spread electronically to participants who belong to the research population The CSR structure consists of four constructs: CSRP towards labor, CSRP towards customer, CSRP towards the community and JS Perception on CSR towards labor, CSR towards customer, and CSR towards the community will be measured by eight questions developed by Maignan (2001) JS construct will be measured by four questions developed by Paoline, Lambert, and Hogan (2015) Ordinal scale will be used The scale will use the attribute labels: “strongly disagree”, “somewhat disagree”, “neutral”, “somewhat agree”, and “strongly agree” Ratings of the items in each section will be based on a five-point Likert scale from (Strongly disagree) to (Strongly agree) Time horizon: We will apply cross-sectional data analysis The data collecting process will last for about weeks The datasets will record responses of SMEs employees on multiple variables relating to CSRP and its relationship with JS 5.4 Data analysis This study uses the PLS-SEM model to test the hypothesis Ha and Bui (2019) argue that PLS can contribute many benefits to behavioral analysis in behavioral research In addition, PLS is also a powerful multivariate technology that scrutinizes complex research problems including unobserved variables and the diverse interactions of different variables By considering all the strengths above, SmartPLS 3.0 software will be used to analyze the data in this study Significance and expected contribution of the study The results of this study are expected to have significant organizational ramifications First, this research project will help businesses consider how their CSR programs will be perceived by their target audience SMEs must take care that CSR initiatives are not carried out to satisfy regulatory requirements For businesses, effective CSR communication is essential because "transparency stimulates competitiveness" (Chen and Wongsurawat, 2011, p.56) 14 Second, when businesses disclose their CSR initiatives, it clears up any confusion or misperception that clients may have about their social involvement Additionally, social performance, or the evaluation of social actions carried out by businesses, is more significant than simple participation Finally, it is expected that the study results will help management realize improvement in employee perception of CSR results in more motivated and engaged employees Organizations that can retain knowledgeable and motivated employees can gain a competitive advantage in human resources within an organization's profitability The research will yield a validated model for assessing the impact of CSRP on JS Research ethics Increasing consideration is placed on ethics when a research is carried out Research ethics are also the mainstay of our research when we have our complete awareness of its indispensability in researching so as to build trust, to retain confidentiality and respect consent - Voluntary participation and consent: We are certain about our willingness to participate and collaborate with others in conducting this research We ask for and receive consent from participants with the consent form Our work is voluntary-based and the researchers respect agreement from involving subjects, while participants trust and voluntarily work with researchers - Informed consent: We reveal the purpose, benefits, risks behind the study and other helpful information for participants before they make their decisions to take part in the research, with a view to ensuring that they are comfortable working with us and respecting their rights Through a cover letter sent along with the survey, participants are given no barriers to learn deep-down about the research - Anonymity: No personal information is collected and included in the study Information such as name, personal ID, sex, email address, physical address, interests, phone numbers, photos and videos are left out - Potential for harm: We investigate and expect potential harms that may unexpectedly occur during the research, therefore making a backup plan to mitigate and tackle the problems Issues such as sensitive questions that may trigger participants’ feelings, legal risks, privacy concerns are all taken into account We disclose the potential risks for participants and provide them with resources to protect them against those risks - Results communication: We use a credible, honest, trustworthy and professional tone along the way to communicate our research results - Reference: We are certain to include all the sources that are referred to in our research to show our respect to the authors of previous studies 15 Validity and reliability Validity and reliability of a research determine its practical value in reality Validity is “the extent to which observations accurately record the behavior in which you are interested” (Sekaran & Bougie, 2016) Meanwhile, “reliability refers to the consistency of observations, usually whether two (or more) observers, or the same observer on separate occasions, observing the same event attain the same results” (Sekaran & Bougie, 2016) There are four threats to reliability The first one is subject or participant error (questionnaires completed at different times of the week may generate different results) The second threat is subject or participant bias (the respondent gives different answers to what they really think because of certain reasons) The third one is observer error (different researchers may have different ways to carry out the research) Finally, there is observer bias (different ways of interpreting the replies by the researchers) (Saunders, etal., 2009, 156-157) Threats to validity can be “history, maturation, (main) testing, instrumentation, selection, statistical regression, and mortality” (Sekaran & Bougie, 2016) The majority of the aforementioned risks are removed in this proposal, thus it is believed that the study is still credible and valid First, the responses will be kept anonymous and the researcher will also explain in advance the main purpose of the survey, and guarantee that the findings would only serve academic purposes in order to prevent dishonest answers Second, to avoid ambiguity in the responses, the questionnaire will be written in clear English and will include a brief explanation of CSR at the beginning Third, the respondents will be given as much time as possible to complete the questionnaire to carefully consider their answers Finally, the researcher will ensure that the findings are used strictly for academic purposes Potential limitations First, the generality of the crowd will be limited by the use of convenience sampling and non-probability sampling techniques The sample will not be representative of the whole area since random sampling is still unable to cover all of Hanoi Future research should therefore use probability sampling techniques to boost the representativeness of workers at SMEs in Hanoi in order to overcome this restriction Second, the study's focus is on SMEs in Hanoi rather than other particular locales or on a larger scale Those are ideas for additional research as well Finally, because different stakeholders have different viewpoints, they likewise have diverse perceptions of CSR That has not been put to the test through quantitative analysis and is merely at the level of subjective assessment Therefore, more research on CSR knowledge among various audiences is necessary, particularly for managers and business owners From there, we will have a greater perspective on the impact of Corporate Social Responsibility perception on JS 16 10 No Research project timeline Specific content Purpose Time Finding papers, magazines, documents and reading them as references Finding research gap 1st - 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Keywords: job satisfaction; job level; corporate social responsibility; small and medium enterprises, Hanoi Introduction Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been growing in its importance in the. .. proposal stages modeling Abstract This research aims to assess the impact of Corporate Social Responsibility Perception (CSRP) on job satisfaction (JS) through the mediating role of job levels This study... higher job levels; and (3) different job levels offer different starting points for developing job attitude and perception Job levels should have an impact on how managers and non-managers view their