Consumer reactions to corporate social responsibility: The role of CSR domains

Academic Article

Abstract

  • Based on the central premise that corporate social responsibility (CSR) actions are inherently moral acts, we draw upon moral foundations theory to investigate the extent to which consumers' moral foundations affect their pro-company behaviors based on CSR domains. In two studies, our results reveal that when consumers' moral foundations are congruent with CSR domains, positive pro-company behaviors increase. Moreover, this congruency effect is observed only in positive CSR actions but not in CSR lapses. Lastly, we introduce consumer-company identification as the underlying process driving the consumer-domain congruence effect on pro-company reactions. Theoretical contributions and practical implications for marketers are discussed.
  • Authors

  • Baskentli, Sara
  • Sen, Sankar
  • Du, Shuili
  • Bhattacharya, CB
  • Status

    Publication Date

  • February 2019
  • Has Subject Area

    Published In

    Digital Object Identifier (doi)

    Start Page

  • 502
  • End Page

  • 513
  • Volume

  • 95