Domestic consumers want corporations to improve the quality of their products rather than generate higher returns for investors, according to a recent government survey.

A survey aimed at gauging people's views on the role of businesses in society was conducted by the Cabinet Office from Aug. 30 to Sept. 11, gaining 2,242 respondents.

According to the results, 54 percent of the respondents feel corporations are lagging behind expectations when it comes to their social responsibilities.

The biggest reason for this -- specified by 963 respondents -- is that they are seen to be falling short in terms of their efforts to improve product and service quality.

Next in line was their perceived failure to take adequate environmental conservation measures. This was cited by 845 respondents.

Only 137 respondents said companies fall short in terms of their efforts to generate higher returns for investors.

"The results somewhat reflect the fact that the ratio of stocks to total financial assets held by Japanese investors is relatively small," a Cabinet Office representative said.

Asked to identify which groups corporations should prioritize, 1,947 respondents said customers, 1,586 said employees and 296 said stockholders.

These findings also seem to reflect respondents' frustration over the recent increase in corporate redundancies, the official said.