Residents’ Attitudes and Social Innovation Management in the Example of a Municipal Property Manager

Abstract

Corporate responsibility is an effective management strategy which, through conducting social dialogue at the local level, contributes to increasing the competitiveness of enterprises at a global level and simultaneously shaping favourable conditions for social and economic development. A review of the literature on the subject provided the theoretical motivation to undertake an emirical study of the implemented social innovations by the property manager and their reception by resource residents. The main aim of this study was to diagnose the attitudes of residents towards the implementation of social innovations by the municipal property manager. The research presented in the above article has been conducted in the first and second quarter of 2021 among residents of the Department of Housing “TBS” (ZGM TBS) in Częstochowa, Silesian voivoideship, Poland. The research was conducted using the survey method. The measurement instrument was a prepared questionnaire. The survey was completed by 362 respondents (n = 362). To confirm the hypotheses, an analysis using the Mann–Whitney U test and the Anov Kruskal–Wallis test were performed. In order to demonstrate the statistical significance of the assumptions made, the conducted tests were also supported by the p-value test. The research results undertaken made it possible to identify social innovations implemented by the municipal manager, both those which are expected by residents and those which tenants consider superfluous.

1. Introduction

The CSR concept originated in the United States, but at the beginning of the 21st century, its widest implementation is seen in European Union countries [1].

In many places around the world, long-term programs/initiatives are emerging that involve business leaders, NGOs, and state authority representatives [2] participating in solving social problems [3]. Corporate responsibility is an effective management strategy which, through conducting social dialogue at the local level, contributes to increasing the competitiveness of enterprises at a global level and simultaneously shaping favourable conditions for social and economic development [4].

Poland’s housing policy, as in every EU country, is part of the state’s social policy. It involves supporting construction and housing demand and aims to level the playing field in access to housing. It is assumed that housing is a very expensive commodity but necessary for a decent life, so the state should be responsible for its availability, especially since it brings a reduction in social pathologies and housing development stimulates the economy, generates income and is a source of jobs.

The housing economy consists of two elements—the construction of housing and the maintenance of the existing stock. In Poland, the main burden of responsibility for helping to meet the needs of the housing needs rests with the municipal government [5].

ZGM TBS is an entity managing a municipal resource; therefore, it should be part of the mission of the Częstochowa municipality, which is to meet the housing needs of residents and ensure the city’s sustainable social and spatial development. The Department of Housing “TBS” should be treated as an independent, incorporated business entity. ZGM TBS is a municipal company that operates on a non-profit basis. The company builds and manages rental housing not for profit, but to meet the housing needs of the population of a municipality [6].

It can therefore be concluded that actions aimed at restructuring the debt of tenants, counteracting the social exclusion of debtors and building social bonds in the scope of tenants’ participation in the management of the resource are dictated not only by a pure economic account, but by the municipality’s obligation to ensure social and economic development of all of the city’s residents [7]. In order to identify the expectations of stakeholders, the company undertakes cooperation with organizations operating in the municipality. The cooperation of ZGM TBS with the Częstochowa City Hall, as well as with the Częstochowa Municipal Police Station, the Municipal Social Assistance Center, the Adullam Foundation, the Foundation for Development, and researchers from the Częstochowa University of Technology, Faculty of Management, allowed the verification of the practiced solutions. Cooperation and research with the above-mentioned centres indicated the need to improve the management of public services to improve the quality of life and safety of city residents. In order to help people with various difficulties, e.g., difficulties in paying rents in city resources, Housing Management Company “TBS” in Częstochowa, under the patronage of the mayor of the city, implemented practical debt relief programs, i.e., Soft Debt Collection Program—“Work for rent”, the competition “Reliable tenant”—promoting people who pay their rent or the jointly developed Ordinance No. 2008.2017 of the Mayor of the City of Częstochowa of 8 September 2017 on facilitating the repayment of debt from the use of residential premises included in the housing stock of the municipality to people who are in a difficult financial situation [8].

In order to detail the research problems and confirm or reject the accepted hypotheses, the dependent and independent variables were specified in the dependent variables. It was assumed that the participation of residents in the management of municipal resources is the independent variable, while the reception of the implemented innovations by residents is the dependent variable. It was assumed that increasing the participation of residents in undertaking social activities by the manager translates into a higher level of acceptance of the introduced solutions. A review of the subject literature revealed theoretical gaps in the area of CSR. The lack of studies on social activities undertaken by municipal property managers motivated the authors to undertake an empirical study in this area. The authors hope that the considerations presented in this study will expand the knowledge of municipal property managers’ CSR activities and their reception by resource residents. Accordingly, the main aim of this study was to diagnose the attitudes of residents towards the implementation of social innovations by ZGM TBS, which is, according to Polish law, the municipal property manager. The main hypothesis was also put forward—MH: Involving residents and local communities in the activities of the municipal property manager as part of the corporate social responsibility strategy has a positive impact on the effects of pro-social activities and the creation of social innovations.

The research presented in the above article has been conducted in the first and second quarter of 2021 among residents and employees of ZGM TBS in Częstochowa, the Silesian voivodship, Poland. The research was conducted using the survey method. The measurement instrument was a prepared questionnaire.

The structure of the article distinguishes the following parts:

• Introduction;
• Literature review;
• Materials and methodology;
• Results;
• Discussion;
• References.

The article was prepared based on a study of the literature in the field of management, organization, planning, national and European documents on this subject matter, and the analysis of conducted research and existing data.

2. Literature Review

Currently, in many countries around the world there is a decrease in social consent to activities of enterprises, which may pose a threat to the well-being of residents, and the pressure of public opinion, sometimes expressed in the form of violent protests, is becoming more and more effective [9]. It was stakeholders/customers who became interested in how a company whose products they buy or services they use treats its employees, suppliers, customers, whether it has a detrimental impact on the environment or whether it participates in corrupt practices [10,11]. Companies that do not take this social pressure seriously reduce their chances of long-term development [12]. Relationships with stakeholders, which should be managed responsibly, are particularly important [13].

Therefore, integral elements of the management strategies of modern organizations include innovative pro-social activities, understood as a space of corporate social responsibility [14]. There are claims in the literature that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a type of business self-regulation that aims to commit an organization to the sustainable management of the social, environmental, and economic consequences of its activities in accordance with societal expectations [1,15]. However, it is worth noting that CSR is not completely self-regulation. An organization’s CSR activities are influenced by the environment, the social systems in which the organization operates. Thus, organizations balance between the value associated with conforming to social norms and expectations and the value associated with promoting the uniqueness of the organization [16].

In practice, these activities relate to strategies, programmes, and policies undertaken by organisations aimed at positively impacting the surrounding reality [14]. In this respect, based on the principle of social volunteering, including environmental, rather than required or enforced by law [17], it should be noted that organizations do not inherently strive to have a positive impact on their surroundings. Organizations are inherently tuned to economic gain. Engaging in CSR, among other things, serves to build a positive image of the company but also CSR tools enable to improve its performance, including financial. The introduction of CSR principles by companies can positively affect the financial performance of the company by increasing consumer confidence (information about the integrity of the company) and employee support (information about better employee–employer relations [18]. It should be stressed that there is no single “correct” way for companies to practice pro-social innovation; many corporate initiatives aim to make a positive contribution to society, the economy, or the environment. The literature on a similar research area focuses primarily on the promotion of corporate social responsibility by municipalities and presents the profits for the municipality brought by business cooperation with the society [19]. The subject of business responsibility is also discussed from the perspective of strategic manager–employee communication in SMEs [20].

The literature on CSR strategy is primarily based on enterprises and the perspective of the process of shaping managerial awareness, how managers think about CSR, and what importance they assign to this strategy in the company [21]. Articles in the field of CSR also illustrate SME owners’ perception of the relationship between the enterprise and the local community [22]. They highlight the importance of reciprocity, as it is suggested that CSR in relation to locality is established as a response to interpretations of mutual support of the local community between owners–managers and the local community [23,24].

The implementation of CSR tools and the results obtained through them are considered to be dependent on satisfying the direct interests of corporate stakeholders in order to achieve better results [25]. Highlighting the potential of the social entrepreneurship of companies [26] with a particular emphasis on the role of entrepreneurs, networks, systems, institutions and cross-sectoral partnerships, often overlooking the importance of the company’s environment [27].

On the other hand, social innovation is juxtaposed as interdependent on corporate social responsibility [28] and knowledge transfer management within the enterprise [29,30]. The article diagnoses theoretically to what extent, if at all, CSR contributes to an organization’s social competitiveness [31]. Social innovations are identified in the reference literature in relation to general, burning social issues, such as poor education, poverty, hunger, illness, or social injustice [32,33] and the methods, ideas, and processes of satisfying them [34,35]. They are considered in the context of problems that affect a large number of populations.

The literature on CSR that is published in Poland mainly deals with general issues concerning corporate social responsibility, e.g., banks, small and medium-sized enterprises, etc. These publications not only cite CSR theory but also show practical solutions in companies that have a proven track record in this area [36]. There is a lack of publications dealing with the management of social housing and in this field of implementation of the assumptions of social responsibility. The Polish Agency for Enterprise Development has specified the tools necessary for implementing CSR by putting them into nine sets, i.e., activities for the benefit of the local community, pro-environmental activities, social campaigns to raise social awareness, programs for employees to support development and improve employees’ qualifications, publications presenting the way to manage the company and implement the company’s strategy taking into account socially responsible activities, the introduction of transparent and effective management systems, i.e., Quality Management System,, employee volunteering—dedicating a certain number of working hours of company employees to pro-social initiatives—applying the principles of corporate social responsibility at every stage of supply, and product labelling (informing the consumer about the environmental aspects of the product) [37]. Therefore, it can be concluded that the theory of CSR, is popular and wide in Poland. Companies declare corporate social responsibility; however, there are few publications on specific practical solutions implemented by organizations. Each case should be diagnosed separately [38]. Although there are many studies on CSR, there is a lack of analysis in the area of individual stakeholders’ perceptions of municipal resource management in terms of social responsibility. In the context of diagnosing and meeting the social needs of tenants of municipal resources, the reference literature most often encounters capital-intensive legal solutions on the part of the administrator, i.e., creating new municipal resources, increasing the residential area, renovations or verifying lease agreements [39]. The need to increase the share of apartments for rent in the housing stock is emphasized [40], and there is also a greater emphasis on cooperation with market entities and non-governmental organizations, whose role should be to support the implementation of part of the tasks in the field of housing policy or their takeover [41], which implies the development of new models of cooperation in this field [42,43]. Another problem in the implementation of housing policy assumptions is the availability of financing sources for new investments [44]. Cooperation with beneficiaries presented in the articles is based on meeting the basic social requirements of each democratic country [45,46]. In addition to ensuring appropriate housing conditions, the tasks of municipal administrators under consideration include: providing care for residents by qualified therapeutic personnel, teaching and/or restoring skills related to household management, and regulating the social and legal situation of beneficiaries in cooperation with other institutions [47,48]. Not less important are issues related to improving the quality of family relations, developing interests and skills, improving social contacts, or professional activation [8]. Including reliable environmental and social information in the realisation of an organization’s objectives is a very important issue. It allows companies to build transparent and trusting relationships with stakeholders, and thus increase competitiveness in a volatile market. The literature shows the perception by many stakeholders of CSR in connection with the impacts of the mining industry, for example [48]. It also examines stakeholders’ perceptions of CSR disclosures by exploiting big data about the interactions between firms and stakeholders in social media. This area examines how stakeholders respond to conversations in posts [49]. The role of NGOs in CSR by examining the perceptions of various stakeholders and perceptions of themselves. Some discrepancies were found between perceptions of others and self-perceptions [50].

The paper potentially extends the literature by suggesting opportunities for social interventions with positive outcomes. In this article, we make the key case for best practices in stakeholder inclusion and propose a management systems approach designed to maximize the benefits of actively including stakeholders in corporate strategy.

The literature gives examples of how stakeholder engagement has an impact on the organization and management in a company who extends their influence to the company. Research emphasizes that companies, like governments and other institutions, must listen, process, and respond positively to the values and beliefs of their stakeholders—primarily customers, employees, and investors [51]. Neglecting this duty will reduce competitiveness and increase the risk of company failure. The key antecedents of employee involvement, within the framework of CSR theory, in corporate decision-making processes are also identified [52]. Employee involvement has a wide range of benefits for all intersecting parties, as well as the organization itself. The positive results of patient and public participation in the co-creation of healthcare are also presented [53]. The results of the study confirm that CSR theory emphasizes that stakeholders are key players in any organization, and the lack of trust between different stakeholder groups is an obstacle to social inclusion, to building a company’s image, and to gaining competitiveness [54,55].

Few organizations mention actual intersector involvement in their strategies, so the article’s authors believe that aspects of public inclusion in organizational management should receive more attention, as well as the adoption of models and frameworks that allow stakeholders to influence decision making, design, planning, and co-creation of the enterprise.

The result of the literature overview allowed us to find a research gap in the current state of knowledge arising from empirical research. The issue is important because the topic of social responsibility and the participation of residents in the management of a municipal resource is a current one. According to our research, there are no studies in Poland describing/tools for involving stakeholders in the management of an organization. There is also a lack of commercialization of practical solutions to support the management of corporate social responsibility for public housing managers. The aforementioned issues are discussed generally in the context of the whole country. Social needs are also analysed from the perspective of general social problems. Therefore, the motives for tackling this topic were:

-

A relatively small number of studies on the Polish and foreign publishing market concerning pro-social activities of the municipal housing managers;

-

Lack of a set of practical CSR solutions in the context of social housing management;

-

Lack of scientific and research publications analysing the implementation of social innovations by the municipal housing managers.

3. Materials and Methods

3.1. Research Background

The housing stock of Częstochowa (Czestochowa is both a city and a municipality) consists of residential premises located in buildings owned and co-owned by the Municipality, in buildings of homeowners’ associations, and in buildings with an unregulated legal status—under autonomous possession. The Municipality’s housing offer is supplemented by premises built in the TBS (Social Housing Association) formula, owned by ZGM [56].

The municipal housing stock of the Częstochowa Municipality consists of 7767 municipal premises, including 7491 residential premises, 319 social rental premises, and 29 temporary premises; 519 municipal flats are located in buildings managed by administrators other than Zakład Gospodarki Mieszkaniowej. The TBS housing stock consists of 540 premises [57].

The management of a housing community is closely linked to social responsibility. In accordance with the tasks set before ZGM TBS in Częstochowa by the Municipality and the City’s Mayor, the Company tries to use all circumstances that give opportunities for improving and rationalizing the management of the municipality’s housing stock.

The aim of ZGM TBS is the comprehensive and responsible management of municipal property of Częstochowa. These are activities aimed at satisfying the current and future housing needs of tenants, owners of premises, as well as the local community [7].

The Company assumes a systematic increase in housing resources, at the same time striving to improve the quality of life of the local community by combating housing poverty and social exclusion and increasing the level of security of residents of the Company’s resources [7]. In 2021, ZGM TBS made public that the assumptions of CSR are mandatory for every action implemented by the company [7]. The strategy highlights the importance of relations with stakeholders. Consciously identifying and acting in accordance with the priorities of each individual stakeholder group translates into undertaking specific actions by ZGM TBS in Częstochowa in relation to them. The top and most important stakeholders of ZGM TBS are undoubtedly tenants, employees, and entrepreneurs renting premises for business activity [6]. The Company’s activities are focused on building relationships with stakeholders. Building strong relationships with the Company’s stakeholders becomes a key area of organizational work. As a result, the Company is able anticipate potential issues and more effectively manage stakeholder expectations.

The company’s main actions are aimed at providing housing for the needy, permanently relieving tenants of debt, stabilising the housing situation (recovery of property), preventing the phenomenon of domestic violence, and implementing innovative environmentally friendly solutions in the management of municipal real estate [6]. The Company’s mobilisation in the field of business responsibility is an important part of the activities undertaken in the field of social engagement. All ZGM TBS Sp. z o.o.’s relations with stakeholders are based on the principles of responsibility and dialogue, and in the established relations, the Company’s employees focus on empathy, transparency, mutual respect, and professionalism. Building strong relationships with the Company’s stakeholders becomes a key area of organizational work. As a result, the Company can anticipate potential issues and more effectively manage stakeholder expectations [7,58].

The housing company TBS in Częstochowa has been an organisation for many years and is strongly involved in various initiatives in the field of social responsibility. In most of the activities undertaken, the Company tries to involve residents, as well as organizations operating in the local market. It oraganises competitions, picnics, conferences, meetings with tenants and representatives of local government and law, educational campaigns, training courses, and fields days (e.g., “Together against violence”, “Stop cyberbullying”, “Reliable tenant”, “Safe Częstochowa”, and many others). With the residents in mind, ZGM TBS is constantly improving its Internet services, creating a number of applications to facilitate the handling of formal matters from “home”, i.e., paying rent or communicating with an employee. Thus, it does not abandon the traditional forms, with a view to the elderly, who are not able to take advantage of digital improvements. This makes it easier to learn the needs of inhabitants and simultaneously establish closer relations with them [8,59].

The “Reliable tenant” competition began the promotion of tenants who systematically pay their rent, which resulted in a significant decrease in the number of people in arrears with their fees. Tenants who pay rent regularly are invited to a festive gala every year, accompanied by a raffle of prizes and performances by famous artists. The gala enhances the unity and identity of the residents and the feeling of a higher social status. The competition has been organized since 2017, and an average of 70 people take part in the competition’s finale each year [59].

The “Together against violence” campaign was particularly important for society. The campaign launched in 2020 in favour of people experiencing domestic violence. Its purpose is to increase the effectiveness of domestic violence prevention by involving local government entities performing other main objectives, e.g., municipal manager of the premises, among others, by creating algorithms for dealing with this phenomenon [45,57]. ZGM TBS has been implementing social innovations both in the field of social responsibility. However, it now wants to plan and practically apply further improvements already broken down into three areas of:

• Local responsibility;
• Ecological responsibility;
• Employer responsibility.

In order to achieve this objective, a two-way process of social inclusion was launched, i.e., allowing beneficiaries to form feedback and opinions. A free newspaper is sold that contains information about the activities carried out by ZGM TBS. Information is also transmitted in the form of posters, websites, emails, and social campaigns. Each communication shall contain information on the opportunity to make comments and suggestions. Consultation and cooperation with local councils is planned at each stage of the activity. They take place quarterly, on average, in direct meetings. The employees of ZGM TBS take part in training activities to improve their qualifications and create equal opportunities for 45+ employees and people with disabilities. ZGM TBS also collaborates with scientists from the Technical University of Czestochowa to research the needs of residents and develop new ideas.

The research object in the present work is ZGM TBS. The research focus is on the attitudes of residents towards social innovation. The temporal scope of the study covered the first and second quarters of 2021.

The data sources were taken as:

-

Reference literature;

-

Existing data;

-

TBS-ZGM data;

-

Survey data.

3.2. Statistical Analysis Methods

The main objective of the survey was to diagnose residents’ attitudes toward the implemented social innovations by the municipal property manager. Based on the literature study, which emphasizes that the inclusion of local communities in the decision-making process of enterprises positively affects stakeholders as well as the organization itself, it was assumed that the participation of residents of communal resources in the creation and implementation of social innovations by the Department of Housing Management, Social Housing Association ZGM TBS, could facilitate decision making and the achievement of the company’s intended goals. The results of the activities undertaken by ZGM TBS in Częstochowa also influenced the development of the research concept and the research hypothesis.

Considerations around the issues of the above partial objectives enabled the adoption of the main hypothesis:

MH: The inclusion of residents and local communities in the activities of municipal property managers has a positive impact on the effects of pro-social activities and the development of social innovations.

The specific hypotheses are as follows:

Hypotheses 1 (H1).

Positive reception of social innovation by residents is a determining factor for the manager’s actions in the field of social responsibility.

Hypotheses 2 (H2).

Social programs implemented by ZGM TBS affect the quality of life of residents.

The survey was considered to be the primary research method in this work. The research tool was a structured questionnaire prepared by the article’s authors. The prepared study took the form of a questionnaire, consisting of a research part and the respondents’ particulars. The developed survey questionnaire included the main research problems relating to various aspects of quality of life in the municipal resource. The project’s preparatory stage involved the development of survey forms so that the respondents’ opinions could be used to verify the hypotheses. Under the principle of openness of the respondents’ data, the questionnaire was filled in anonymously and contained a set of three types of closed questions: questions with unambiguous answers, “yes, no, I do not know” questions. They are characterized by a defined number of responses with no open-ended response options. Closed questions had a single choice, while disjunctive questions and conjunctive questions allow you to choose more than one of the answers given to them. The questions were worded unambiguously so that everyone could understand them. The questionnaire was arranged in such a way that each question concerned only one specific thing. Specialized terms, industry slang, and words derived from a foreign language were not used. Considering the nature of the respondent population, the conducted survey was considered a consumer opinion survey.

Simple, one-dimensional, balanced scales were used to represent the measured values, which reflected the values given to the assessed features by the respondents.

Depending on the question, a forced scale was used, in which the respondent indicated a strictly defined category on the scale, and unforced, where there was no possibility to express an opinion. The respondents’ task was to address the given response possibilities, according to the specific degree to which they agreed with them. The intensity of the respondent’s attitude was measured using a bipolar, five-degree ordinal scale, described both verbally and numerically. The responses were given numerical values (e.g., from 1 to 5), while maintaining the principle that the assigned values grow according to the nature and direction of the defined feature. The Likert Scale was used, in which 5 stands for definitely important; 4—important; 3—irrelevant; 2—definitely irrelevant; and 1—I have no opinion.

The number of surveys obtained allows us to conclude that the sample representativeness requirements were met. Based on the results of the literature overview, 18 basic substantive issues related to social responsibility in relation to the activities of ZGM TBS were established (all the activities concerning the social responsibility of ZGM TBS are discussed in detail in the chapter Results). The survey addressed the following issues:

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The needs of residents for CSR activities;

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The perception of CSR activities by residents;

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The importance of individual elements of CSR activities to residents.

To confirm the adopted hypotheses, an analysis was conducted using the semi-parametric Mann–Whitney U test and a non-parametric alternative to the one-way variance analysis made possible thanks to the Anov Kruskal–Wallis test, omitting the answer “I have no opinion”. These tests made it possible to rank the results of the dependent variable because the samples originated from one population. The measure of the central trend for these statistical methods is not an average, as in the case of t tests, but a median. The tests are used to verify the hypotheses concerning the insignificance of differences between the medians of the examined variable in two populations (assuming that the distributions of the variable are close to each other). The applied tests were also supported by a p-value test. The data obtained as a result of the survey were subjected to a significance analysis, where p is the test probability. The significance level is 0.05. If we obtain p < 0.05, we will show that “the result is statistically significant”. Otherwise, it is not “significant”. MS Excel was used to process the obtained results, which enabled their graphical and statistical presentation.

3.3. Structure of the Study Group

The completed surveys allowed us to recognize the significance and acceptance of social innovations implemented by the Company.

The study participants were residents and employees of the ZGM TBS Sp. z o.o. housing cooperative in Częstochowa, Silesian Voivodship, who also live in the company’s resources. These surveys can be described as surveys of incidental, random communities because the respondents were not selected according to a purposeful scheme or they only had to be residents of ZGM TBS. In total, 400 completed surveys were received, of which 90.5% (n = 362) were completed correctly. It is noted that the employees taking part in the survey were not representative of the entire staff of ZGM TBS, so it was not seen as reasonable to interpret the answers given in separate statistical analyses. It was also not possible to prevent employee-residents from participating in an anonymous survey. The surveys were available to the public at stakeholder service areas. The surveys can be described as random surveys of a selected population, since the respondents were not selected according to a purposive scheme or they only had to be residents of ZGM TBS municipal resources. The question from the survey metric on place of employment indicated that eight ZGM TBS employees completed the survey, which accounted for 2.21% of all correctly completed surveys. The questionnaire was divided into the main part and the data sheet. This study included among others such variables as:

-

Gender of respondents (

Table 1. Gender of the respondents.

	Gender of the Respondents
gender	female	173	47.8%
	male	189	52.2%
Total		362	100.0%

n = 362.

):

In total, 173 women and 189 men participated in the study, comprising 47.8% and 52.2% of the respondents, respectively. As can be seen from the above list, more men than women participated in the study.

-

Their age (

Table 2. Age of the respondents.

				F	M	F	M
age	Below 18	4	1.10%	2	2	1.20%	1.10%
	18–25	19	5.30%	14	5	8.10%	2.70%
	26–35	52	14.40%	31	21	17.90%	11.20%
	36–45	100	27.70%	54	46	31.20%	24.50%
	46–55	98	27.10%	42	56	24.30%	29.80%
	56–65	66	18.30%	23	43	13.30%	22.90%
	Over 65	22	6.10%	7	15	4.00%	8.00%
	ND	1		0	1
Total		362	100.00%	173	189	100.00%	100.00%

n = 362; F—female; M—male; ND—no data.

):

In the conducted survey, the most numerous group was people aged between 36 and 45 (27.7%), as well as people aged 46–55 (27.1%). Among the respondents, only four were under the age of 18 (1.1%), and 19 (5.3%) were between the ages of 18 and 25. These two groups were the least numerous among the respondents. One person did not answer the age question.

-

Education (

Table 3. Education of the respondents.

				F	M	F	M
education	primary	21	5.80%	9	12	5.20%	6.40%
	vocational	51	14.20%	16	35	9.30%	18.60%
	secondary	136	37.80%	63	73	36.60%	38.80%
	higher	152	42.20%	84	68	48.80%	36.20%
	ND	2		1	1

n = 362; F—female; M—male; ND—no data.

):

The largest number of respondents were people with higher education (152 people, 42.2%), among whom women constituted the majority of 48.8% compared to 36.2% of men. Primary education was indicated by only 21 people (5.8%). Two people did not answer this question.

-

Primary sources of income (

Table 4. Sources of income.

				F	M	F	M
what is your primary source of income?	Employment contract (full-time or part-time)	201	55.90%	103	98	59.50%	51.90%
	agriculture	3	0.80%	2	1	1.20%	0.50%
	student	12	3.30%	7	5	4.00%	2.60%
	self-employed/own business	48	13.30%	17	31	9.80%	16.40%
	contract work	30	8.30%	15	15	8.70%	7.90%
	retiree/pensioner	33	9.10%	13	20	7.50%	10.60%
	casual work	17	4.70%	7	10	4.00%	5.30%
	unemployed	9	2.50%	5	4	2.90%	2.10%
	other	9	2.50%	4	5	2.30%	2.60%
Total		362	100.00%	173	189	100.00%	100.00%

n = 362; F—female; M—male.

):

The most frequently indicated primary income source was an employment contract, constituting 55.5% of all responses (201 people). In total, 98 men and 103 women indicated this response. Moreover, 13.3% of the respondents run their own business, 8.3% perform contract work, 33 people (9.1%) live on a pension, while 17 people (4.7%) live on casual work. The study involved 12 students (3.3%) and 3 people living on agriculture (0.8%). There were nine respondents without employment, constituting 2.5% of the respondents.

-

Length of use of the premises owned by ZGM TBS (

Table 5. Period of using the residential premises belonging to the resources of ZGM TBS.

				F	M	F	M
How long have you been using the residential premises comprising the resources managed by ZGM TBS Częstochowa?	period of use of the premises up to 5 years	62	17.10%	36	26	20.80%	13.80%
	period of use of the premises 6–10 years	66	18.20%	31	35	17.90%	18.50%
	period of use of the premises 11–20 years	64	17.70%	27	37	15.60%	19.60%
	period of use of the premises over 20 years	81	22.40%	30	51	17.30%	27.00%
	period of use of the premises, I am not a resident	61	16.90%	30	31	17.30%	16.40%
	period of use of the premises, I am an employee	95	26.20%	56	39	32.40%	20.60%
Total		362	100.00%	173	189	100.00%	100.00%

n = 362; F—female; M—male.

):

Among the respondents, the largest group was people using a residential premises belonging to resources managed by ZGM TBS Sp. z o.o. in Częstochowa for over 20 years; they constituted 22.4% of the respondents (81 people, including 30 women and 51 men). Moreover, 16.9% of the respondents were entrepreneurs renting commercial premises from the ZGM TBS resources, and 26.2% were employees of the company.

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Satisfaction with the apartment used (

Table 6. Degree of satisfaction with the ZGM TBS premises used.

				F	M	F	M
Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with this apartment?	Not applicable	67	18.50%	39	28	22.50%	14.80%
	1—very dissatisfied	5	1.40%	1	4	0.60%	2.10%
	2—dissatisfied	19	5.20%	11	8	6.40%	4.20%
	3—hard to say	79	21.80%	32	47	18.50%	24.90%
	4—satisfied	152	42.00%	65	87	37.60%	46.00%
	5—very satisfied	40	11.00%	25	15	14.50%	7.90%
Total		362	100.00%	173	189	100.00%	100.00%

n = 362; F—female; M—male; ND—no data.

):

When asked whether the respondent is satisfied with the apartment, most respondents answered that they are satisfied (152 people—42.0%), and a group of 40 people (11.0%) are very satisfied. Only 24 people expressed dissatisfaction with the occupied apartment (5 people—1.4%—very dissatisfied; 19 people—5.2%—dissatisfied).

4. Results

For the purposes of this study, issues related to the acceptance level of respondents of innovative pro-social activities carried out by ZGM TBS were interpreted, primarily the development of social dialogue and reading of social needs, which should lead to the specification of determinants shaping the administrator’s social responsibility and the synthesis of residents’ attitudes towards social innovations and the development of a model of cooperation with residents and local communities (academic, local government, non-government organizations), leading to the discovery of new, local social innovations (the actions taken by ZGM TBS are detailed in the survey and described and interpreted later in this section).

The answers obtained in the survey and the applied statistical methods will allow to examine to what extent the housing stock of ZGM TBS meets the conditions of corporate social responsibility and whether the participation of residents and local communities in the management of the company positively affects the shaping and implementation of social innovations.

According to the analysis results, as many as 289 (83.5%) of the respondents emphasized that, in undertaking social innovation activities, it is important for the Property Manager of ZGM TBS sp. z o.o. to be guided by values, i.e., respect, trust, empathy, commitment, and striving for excellence (Figure 1), as this translates into the value of the initiatives taken.

A significant question in the conducted survey was to determine whether, in the opinion of the residents, it is important to cooperate with the Company’s primary stakeholders, i.e., tenants, apartment owners, lessees, the academic community, social organizations, employees of the municipality, and employees of the Company, in terms of understanding their expectations and needs by the ZGM TBS Property Manager (

Table 7. The importance of cooperation with ZGM TBS stakeholders.

	Cooperation with ZGM TBS Stakeholders
engaging in cooperation tenants	I have no opinion	10	2.8%	2	8	1.2%	4.2%
	definitely irrelevant	3	0.8%	1	2	0.6%	1.1%
	insignificant	33	9.1%	13	20	7.5%	10.6%
	significant	181	50.0%	84	97	48.6%	51.3%
	definitely significant	135	37.3%	73	62	42.2%	32.8%
Total		362	100.0%	173	189	100.0%	100.0%
engaging in cooperation Owners of premises	I have no opinion	14	3.9%	3	11	1.7%	5.8%
	definitely irrelevant	4	1.1%	3	1	1.7%	0.5%
	insignificant	22	6.1%	9	13	5.2%	6.9%
	significant	178	49.2%	74	104	42.8%	55.0%
	definitely significant	144	39.8%	84	60	48.6%	31.7%
Total		362	100.0%	173	189	100.0%	100.0%
engaging in cooperation Lessees of premises	I have no opinion	20	5.5%	8	12	4.6%	6.3%
	definitely irrelevant	3	0.8%	2	1	1.2%	0.5%
	insignificant	40	11.0%	16	24	9.2%	12.7%
	significant	191	52.8%	85	106	49.1%	56.1%
	definitely significant	108	29.8%	62	46	35.8%	24.3%
Total		362	100.0%	173	189	100.0%	100.0%
engaging in cooperation Academic community	I have no opinion	47	13.0%	21	26	12.2%	13.8%
	definitely irrelevant	18	5.0%	6	12	3.5%	6.3%
	insignificant	117	32.4%	54	63	31.4%	33.3%
	significant	131	36.3%	63	68	36.6%	36.0%
	definitely significant	48	13.3%	28	20	16.3%	10.6%
	ND	1		1	0
Total		362	100.0%	173	189	100.0%	100.0%
engaging in cooperation Social organizations	I have no opinion	36	10.0%	13	23	7.6%	12.2%
	definitely irrelevant	10	2.8%	6	4	3.5%	2.1%
	insignificant	86	23.8%	36	50	20.9%	26.5%
	significant	164	45.4%	77	87	44.8%	46.0%
	definitely significant	65	18.0%	40	25	23.3%	13.2%
	ND	1		1	0
Total		362	100.0%	173	189	100.0%	100.0%
engaging in cooperation Municipality employees	I have no opinion	27	7.5%	8	19	4.6%	10.1%
	definitely irrelevant	7	1.9%	3	4	1.7%	2.1%
	insignificant	63	17.4%	28	35	16.2%	18.5%
	significant	178	49.2%	81	97	46.8%	51.3%
	definitely significant	87	24.0%	53	34	30.6%	18.0%
Total		362	100.0%	173	189	100.0%	100.0%
engaging in cooperation Company employees	I have no opinion	20	5.5%	6	14	3.5%	7.4%
	definitely irrelevant	5	1.4%	2	3	1.2%	1.6%
	insignificant	42	11.6%	19	23	11.0%	12.2%
	significant	171	47.2%	71	100	41.0%	52.9%
	definitely significant	124	34.3%	75	49	43.4%	25.9%
Total		362	100.0%	173	189	100.0%	100.0%

n = 362.

).

The study showed that for the respondents, the cooperation of ZGM TBS with the mentioned stakeholder groups is significant or definitely significant. A small percentage of respondents showed that undertaking cooperation is definitely irrelevant or insignificant.

In turn, the conducted Anov Kruskal–Wallis test and the significance level test, where p < 0.05, showed the following statistical relevance: cooperation with tenants (p = 0.0194), lessees of premises (p = 0.0029), and the academic community (p = 0.0319) affect the analysed factor, i.e., the inclusion of local communities in the activities of the municipal property manager affects the results of prosocial activities and the development of social innovations. The analysis also showed that the choice of a given factor depended on the values, i.e., the respondents’ education, age, and gender (

Table 8. Statistical significance and metrics.

	Gender	Education	Age
undertaking cooperation, tenants	0.974296	0.018839	0.046336
undertaking cooperation Owners of premises	0.0699	7.65 × 10−5	0.642486
undertaking cooperation Lessees of premises	0.007022	5.55 × 10−5	0.479202
undertaking cooperation Academic community	0.02826	0.00034	0.157636
undertaking cooperation Social organizations	0.101395	0.333272	0.133787
undertaking cooperation Municipal employees	0.052936	0.001324	0.568307
undertaking cooperation Company employees	0.027134	0.00017	0.279759

All n = 362.

).

The respondents considered it reasonable for ZGM TBS to strive to improve the local community’s quality of life by combating poverty and social exclusion (Figure 2).

The statistical data obtained from the studies were analysed using the Mann–Whitney U test, with the exception of the answer ‘I do not know’. The obtained p-values (p < 0.05) showed that the Company’s socially responsible activity is statistically significant, including its pursuit of improving the local community’s quality of life (p = 0.03285). The Anov Kruskal–Wallis test showed that the obtained result depended on the value of the metric, that is, on the gender (p = 0.00466) and education (0.000338) of the respondents.

In the next part of the questionnaire, the respondents were asked in what sphere of social life they would like to see actions towards the local responsibility of ZGM TBS (Figure 3).

The respondents assessed the following social activities undertaken by ZGM TBS in terms of importance:

• Organizing social campaigns to help solve social issues, e.g., a spot covering the prevention of domestic violence, safety of children, women (177 respondents (49.2%) stated that organizing the campaign was important, 121 (33.6%) that it was very important);
• Organizing meetings strengthening the resident community (198 respondents marked the answer important (54.7%) and 90 (24.9%) very important);
• Involving residents in managing the municipal resource (183 people stated that involving residents in managing the municipal resource is important (50.8%), 75 (20.8%) state it is very important);
• Effectively informing residents about events related to Częstochowa (telephone applications). As many as 195 respondents (54.2%) and 80 (22.2%) indicated that effective information is either important or very important;
• Organizing internships and training courses for various resident groups (important for 175 people (48.6%) and very important for 60 (16.7%) people);
• Raising the residents’ ecological awareness; (194 (53.6%)—important, 105 (29.0%)- very important);
• Supporting culture and art, e.g., museums, neighbourhood libraries, etc. (supporting culture and art is important for 193 respondents (53.8%) and very important for 68 (18.9%));
• Supporting sports, e.g., sponsoring Polish athletes and clubs (187 people (51.8%)—important; 52 people (14.4%)—very important);
• Activities related to healthcare through promoting attitudes conducive to health care (promoting attitudes conducive to healthcare is important to 185 respondents (51.5%) and very important to 93 (25.9%));
• The use of local resources to create, for example, support centres, business incubators, and consultancy (190 (52.5%) of the respondents indicated the activity is important, and 76 (21.0%) marked the definitely important response);
• Implementation of programmes affecting the improvement of tenants’ safety (important—208 (57.5%); very important—107 (29.6%));
• Improving the quality of spaces between buildings managed by ZGM TBS (208 (57.6%) of respondents considered it important, 98 (27.1%) considered it very important);
• Supporting employee volunteering for the benefit of the local community (181 (50.1%)—important; 69 (19.1%)—very important);
• Assistance to indebted persons (debt relief programs, i.e., work for rent) (for 185 respondents (51.1%)—important; for 117 (32.3%)—very important);
• Promotion of people paying rent (Reliable Tenant competition) (176 (48.6%)—important; 98 (27.1%)—very important);
• Help for the elderly: as many as 195 (54.0%) indicated the importance of actions aimed at helping the elderly, and 116 (32.1%) considered them to be very important;
• Assistance to people with disabilities (186 (51.5%)—important; 133 (36.8%)—very important);
• Helping families raising children (children’s clubs, day clubs, playgrounds) (191 (52.8%)—important; 109 (30.1%)—very important).

In all the aforementioned areas, a significant majority of respondents perceive the actions taken to be important or very important.

The majority of respondents consider activities in the area of improving the quality of space between buildings managed by ZGM TBS to be the most important, followed by organizing meetings to strengthen the community of residents; effectively informing residents about events related to Częstochowa; supporting culture and art; and helping the elderly and families raising children. Respondents showed that raising awareness of environmental issues is also important

Conducting the analysis using the Anov Kruskal–Wallis test allowed us to demonstrate the statistical significance of activities in the areas of local responsibility of ZGM TBS. The test confirmed that organizing social campaigns (p = 0.003389); engaging residents in municipal resource management (p = 0.008349); informing residents about events taking place in the city and the Company (p = 0.039676); supporting culture and art (p = 0.009981) and sports (p = 0.001042); healthcare-related activities by promoting attitudes conducive to health (p = 0.004489); using local resources to create, for example, support centres, business incubators, and counselling (p = 0.001042); and supporting employee volunteering for the local community (p = 0.00299) are statistically significantly true, i.e., representative of the analysed population. On the other hand, organizing internships and training courses exhibit a significant trend towards statistical significance (p = 0.05634872). Other activities show a slight tendency towards significance. The significance of the result of supporting culture and art was dependent on the metric of the respondents’ education (p = 0.030150643).

5. Discussion

The subject matter addressed in this study is the result of an overview of literature focused on other aspects of municipal resource management. As previously mentioned, the academic works present the discussed topic in a general perspective, referring to the overall social issues. Therefore, the authors attempted to present the impact of innovative social activities conducted by ZGM TBS on a specific social group—the residents of municipal housing.

The results of the research, presented in the article, are necessary in relation to existing theoretical knowledge because they show the possibilities of practical applications of socially responsible actions in the example of a municipal resource manager. Analysis of the results of a survey of ZGM TBS residents showed that the socially responsible activity of the Company is statistically significant, including efforts to improve the life of the local community. Respondents see the validity of the implementation of social innovations by ZGM TBS to improve the quality of life of residents of the municipal resource. The research confirmed that for respondents, ZGM TBS’ cooperation with the above-mentioned stakeholder groups is important and the involvement of residents in the management of the resource is statistically significant, i.e., true. The empirical study conducted in the paper confirmed the statistically presented hypotheses.

Based on the presented considerations, both theoretical and empirical, it is possible to identify those areas in the process of implementing social innovation that require special attention. The conducted research shows that the process of managing social innovation in ZGM TBS is a necessary element of maintaining the quality of services to improve the lives of residents. The conducted research, on the basis of theoretical-empirical analysis, particularly emphasizes the importance of ZGM TBS stakeholders as a source of the innovation process. Synthesising the contribution of this work to the development of knowledge on CSR, it should be pointed out that its essential scientific values are:

-

On the theoretical level: it supplements knowledge not only about the attitudes of residents, but also about the management of social innovation in the example of ZGM;

-

On an empirical level: identification of residents’ attitudes towards social innovations by ZGM TBS;

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On a practical level: through the dissemination of the results of the study to support the management of municipal resources in conscious and effective planning and implementation of social innovations, as well as the identification of areas of social relevance from the perspective of residents.

A huge role in the implementation of social innovations is played by cooperation or dialogue with the Company’s environment and stakeholders, which thus translates into meeting the local community’s needs. In addition, the housing manager has adequate resources and the possibility of effective management, which, as a result, raises the level of supply of social innovations manifested, for example, by organizing social campaigns, involving residents in the management of municipal resources, informing residents of events taking place in the city and the Company, supporting culture, arts, and sport; activities related to healthcare through promoting attitudes conducive to health; using local resources to create, for example, support centres, business incubators, and counselling; and supporting employee volunteering for the local community. The aforementioned activities contribute to improving the municipal housing residents’ quality of life. The obtained statistical significance result confirmed the assumptions of this study. On the other hand, organizing internships and training courses exhibits a significant trend towards statistical significance (p = 0.05634872). Other activities, i.e., helping the elderly, people with disabilities, helping families with children, organizing meetings strengthening the resident community, and helping indebted people, show a slight tendency towards significance. In this case, assuming the analysed sample, the weight of the factor deviates from the standard level of significance. Therefore, it is recommended to verify the actions taken by ZGM TBS and focus on developing social innovations that are really important and expected by residents of the municipal resource. The discussed issue is important because the issue of social responsibility and participation of residents in managing municipal resources is a current topic. The aim of future research is to develop a model of cooperation with residents and local communities (academics, tenants, as well as non-government and local government organizations), leading to the discovery of new, local social innovations, as it is assumed based on the previous analysis that the cooperation model may lead to an increase in the quantity and quality of implemented social innovations. Testing the developed model in practice is also part of the assumption.

Taking a synthetic approaching the article’s contribution to the development of knowledge on the issue of stakeholder participation in CSR activities of organizations, it should be noted that its main scientific values are:

-

On the theoretical level:

• Expansion of knowledge of pro-social activities of municipal property managers;

-

On the empirical level:

• Evaluation of the reception of implemented social innovations by residents of the municipal resource affecting the improvement in their quality of life;
• Verification of the relationship between implemented innovations and their acceptance by residents;

-

On a practical level:

Support of municipal property managers in conscious and effective planning and implementation of innovative CSR services.

The article demonstrates that the organization of inclusive activities led to positive attitudes among participants towards most of the social campaigns undertaken by ZGM TBS. The result and main contribution to the CSR literature is the demonstration that the involvement of residents through the dynamic interaction of CSR as an intervention creates positive results and can result in a perceived sustainable state of resident involvement in the management of the municipal resource. The main limitations of this study are its conceptual nature, hence the need to develop a model for involving residents in the decision-making process of ZGM TBS and to conduct a study to show the actual participation in the pro-social activities undertaken by the municipal manager. In conclusion, it should be emphasized that the CSR concept provides tools for companies to achieve greater efficiency and improve their image, so it should be given much attention. CSR is part of the trends set by modern times and contemporary social systems. Therefore, it is necessary to monitor and disseminate the use of CSR techniques by business entities in order to improve activities that improve the quality of life for all of us.