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Consumer Perceptions of the Antecedents and Consequences of Corporate Social Responsibility

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Abstract

Perceptions of a firm’s stance on corporate social responsibility (CSR) are influenced by its corporate marketing efforts including branding, reputation building, and communications. The current research examines CSR from the consumer’s perspective, focusing on antecedents and consequences of perceived CSR. The findings strongly support the fact that particular cues, namely perceived financial performance and perceived quality of ethics statements, influence perceived CSR which in turn impacts perceptions of corporate reputation, consumer trust, and loyalty. Both consumer trust and loyalty were also found to reduce the perceived risk that consumers experience in buying and using products. From these significant findings, we draw several conclusions and implications, including the importance of enhancing firm focus toward its ethical commitment and long-term reputation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Marketing, College of Business & Economics, Radford University, Box 6917, Radford, VA, 24142, USA

    Andrea J. S. Stanaland

  2. Division of Public and Promotional Communication, Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore

    May O. Lwin

  3. Department of Marketing, Mendoza College of Business, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, 46556, USA

    Patrick E. Murphy

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  1. Andrea J. S. Stanaland
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  2. May O. Lwin
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  3. Patrick E. Murphy
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Correspondence to Andrea J. S. Stanaland.

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Stanaland, A.J.S., Lwin, M.O. & Murphy, P.E. Consumer Perceptions of the Antecedents and Consequences of Corporate Social Responsibility. J Bus Ethics 102, 47–55 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-011-0904-z

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