The impact of diverse corporate social responsibility practices on consumer product evaluations

Pages701-715
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-01-2017-1390
Published date17 September 2018
Date17 September 2018
AuthorXiaoye Chen,Rong Huang
Subject MatterMarketing,Product management,Brand management/equity
The impact of diverse corporate social
responsibility practices on consumer
product evaluations
Xiaoye Chen
School of Business and Entrepreneurship, North Central College, Naperville, Illinois, USA, and
Rong Huang
Economics and Business Department, Saint Anselm College, Manchester, New Hampshire, USA
Abstract
Purpose This paper aims to investigate whether corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts that are oriented toward shared value creation
generate any perceptual advantages in terms of consumer product attributes evaluations compared with other types of CSR. The study also unc overs
consumerspathways that channel the impacts of corporate associations on corporate and product evaluations and purchase intention.
Design/methodology/approach This study uses a between-subjects experimental design. In all, 274 undergraduate studen ts from a North
American university participated in the 2 (low versus high corporate ability levels) 4 (CSR types) study. The data were analyzed using the
methodologies of path analysis and multiple group analysis in the context of structural equation modeling procedure.
Findings The ndings show that in the context of shared-value CSR, CSR image (i.e. consumer judgments on the moral aspect of the company)
can spill over to product attributes evaluations, including perceptions of product innovativenessand product social responsibility,which , in
turn, translate to purchase willingness. Meanwhile, perceived corporate trustworthiness mediates the effects of CSR image and corporate ability
(CA) image on the overall corporate evaluation, which subsequently inuences consumer product evaluation and purchase intention.
Research limitations/implications The research provides direct evidence showing that companies have the potential to improve their corporate
brand and, in turn, their product evaluations by putting a stronger emphasis on the social responsibility com ponents of their image and placing this
at the core of their strategic agenda. Importantly, a contribution to the literature by identifying differential effects of CA image versus CSR image on
consumer perception of product innovativeness within different CSR categories is made. The limitations of the research are discussed, which include
the usage of a ctitious company and brand and a convenience sample.
Practical implications The study offers guidance to managers in regard to their choice of different CSR practices to fulll their companys
product-related strategic goals.
Originality/value The present study takes a critical stance to show that previous experimental work investigating the impact of CSR image on
product evaluations relied predominantly on bipolar manipulations of CSR practices (bad versus good) rather than bri nging many shades of CSR into
consideration. By incorporating a wide array of CSR formats, especially value-creating CSR, current research generates potential implications based
on differential effects of various CSR focuses, which have not been captured by previous studies.
Keywords Corporate social responsibility, CA image, CSR image, Product evaluation, Shared-value CSR, Traditional CSR
Paper type Research paper
With growing challenges to traditional brand differentiation
efforts such as productdesign, price and advertising (Aaker and
Mills, 2005;Marin and Ruiz, 2007), rms today are
increasingly relying on corporate socialresponsibility (CSR) as
an alternative brandingtool. In this arena, CSR has been found
to be an effective positioning strategy for rms to dene
themselves to consumers, deliver corporate value and build
attractive corporate and brand identities (Brammer and
Millington,2006).
Popular CSR programs display many formats in the
marketplace, such as corporate philanthropy, employee
volunteer programs, sponsorship of causes, cause-related
marketing,corporate sustainability and corporate charity funds.
Given the multitude of choices, a natural question arises as to
whether all theCSR formats work equally well to servestrategic
goals of rms. Specically,when it comes to building a stronger
product brand one of the most important marketing goals of
rms (Aaker and Joachimsthaler, 2000)what CSR format(s)
will prove to be most effective? Extant studies, however, have
not shedenough light on this importantquestion.
Over the past decade or so, more proactive CSR formats
have emerged that go beyond the merepursuit of social capital
and short-term nancial return. These relatively new forms of
CSR prioritize meeting consumer needs that are in
convergence with societal well-being (Armstrong and Kotler,
2005;Porter and Kramer, 2011), and they offer explicit and
implicit values to their various stakeholders, including their
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on
Emerald Insight at: www.emeraldinsight.com/1061-0421.htm
Journal of Product & Brand Management
27/6 (2018) 701715
© Emerald Publishing Limited [ISSN 1061-0421]
[DOI 10.1108/JPBM-01-2017-1390]
This research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of
China, project number: NSFC 71472115 & NSFC 71572103.
701

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