“Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a concept that many companies both in the developed and developing world are embracing to show concern for the less privileged in society. Various companies have also used cause related marketing (CRM) programs to support worthy causes. However, despite the numerous calls for companies to behave ethically towards their stakeholders, many companies are noted to exploit or take advantage of the vulnerability of consumers. Consumers in Africa especially still remain at the mercy of some irresponsible and unscrupulous corporations. The study was conducted between August and October 2007, in two towns-Nairobi (urban) and Nakuru (peri-urban) to ensure representation of the different socio-economic groups and lifestyles. Both qualitative and quantitative researches were used to collect data from a sample of 528 respondents. Data was then analyzed using the SPSS package in which statistical measures were used to give meaning to the quantitative data, while content analysis was used to give meaning to the qualitative data. From the study, the key findings were that majority of respondents seemed aware about what CSR is all about and the related activities; however, CSR and CRM activities did not seem to heavily influence the purchase decision of customers instead, quality and price of the product were the dominant factors influencing consumer purchase behavior. There was no significant difference in behavior of the consumers based on the demographic factors of age, income or gender.”
