Article2012

Corporate social performance and consumer‐retailer emotional attachment

81 citations0/0 files storedEuropean Journal of Marketing

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Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting Consumer Behavior in Brand Consumption and Identification Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to examine the influence of corporate social performance (CSP) on the emotional attachment of consumers to firms. In contrast to past CSR studies, this research seeks to investigate the role of personality variables as moderating factors. Design/methodology/approach The study tested hypotheses through an experiment using scenarios, addressing corporate social responsibility activities, manipulating domains like environmental protection, treatment of employees, and charitable giving. Findings The results indicate that CSP influences consumer‐firm emotional attachment and that this attachment constitutes an unrecognized mediational pathway in the CSP‐loyalty link. The results identify the moderating and strengthening role of altruism, need‐for‐activity, and esteem‐enhancement on the CSP‐emotional attachment link. Finally, the study reveals that attributions are likely to moderate the influence of consumer altruism. Research limitations/implications Although the CSP record scenarios reflected real corporate social responsibility practices, future studies employing field experiments or consumer surveys exploring the effects of actual corporate social responsibility initiatives would be valuable to enhance the external validity of these results. Practical implications The study helps retailers towards improved and more targeted social responsibility investments. Specifically, retailers targeting consumer groups that are high in altruism, high in need for activity, and high in self‐enhancement motives are probably in a more advantageous position when investing in CSR initiatives as a way to build and further deepen emotional attachment, and indirectly consumer loyalty. Originality/value Building on the CSR and attachment literatures, the study investigates the extent to which CSP is capable of influencing customer loyalty through emotion‐laden processes. Furthermore, in contrast to previous CSR studies, this study is one of the first to directly investigate whether consumer differences influence consumer reactions to CSR. Specifically, this study finds that differences in consumers' personality traits may affect the effectiveness of CSR initiatives.

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References

2007G*Power 3: A flexible statistical power analysis program for the social, behavioral, and biomedical sciences 1988Structural equation modeling in practice: A review and recommended two-step approach.2007The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits 2001Corporate Social Responsibility: A Theory of the Firm Perspective 2001Does Doing Good Always Lead to Doing Better? Consumer Reactions to Corporate Social Responsibility 1997The Company and the Product: Corporate Associations and Consumer Product Responses 2007Putting the S back in corporate social responsibility: A multilevel theory of social change in organizations 2006Corporate Social Responsibility, Customer Satisfaction, and Market Value

Cited by

2017Corporate social responsibility and classical competitive strategies of maritime transport firms: A contingency-fit perspective 2015Retailer corporate social responsibility 2017Personal traits and customer responses to CSR perceptions in the banking sector 2018CSR ACTIVITIES AND CONSUMER LOYALTY: THE EFFECT OF THE TYPE OF PUBLICIZING MEDIUM 2023Corporate social responsibility authenticity as an antecedent to customer citizenship behavior: evidence from hospitality industry in Taiwan

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