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Corporate Social Responsibility and Brand Advocacy in Business-to-Business Market: The Mediated Moderating Effect of Attribution

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Abstract

This paper examines how industrial buyers’ attributions of their suppliers’ actions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) are related to both the brand advocacy and brand equity. Using a sample of 173 questionnaires gathered in Taiwan, we find that CSR perceptions of industrial buyers are more strongly and positively related to brand advocacy and brand equity when industrial buyers interpret CSR activities of their suppliers as driven more by intrinsic motives and less by extrinsic motives. Furthermore, brand advocacy mediates the interactive effects of CSR and CSR attribution on industrial brand equity.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Business Administration, Tunghai University, Taichung, Taiwan, ROC

    Da-Chang Pai

  2. Department of Business Administration, National Yunlin University of Science & Technology, 123, University Rd., Sec. 3, Touliu, 640, Yunlin, Taiwan, ROC

    Chi-Shiun Lai

  3. Department of Marketing Management, Shu-Te University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, ROC

    Chih-Jen Chiu

  4. Department of Accounting Information, Da-Yeh University, Changhua, Taiwan, ROC

    Chin-Fang Yang

Authors
  1. Da-Chang Pai
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  2. Chi-Shiun Lai
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  3. Chih-Jen Chiu
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  4. Chin-Fang Yang
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Chi-Shiun Lai.

Appendix

Appendix

Corporate Social Responsibility (Based on Maignan et al. 1999)

  1. (1)

    Our major supplier is very concerned with local community.

  2. (2)

    Our major supplier is very concerned with environment protection.

  3. (3)

    Our major supplier is very concerned with buyers’ benefits.

  4. (4)

    Our major supplier is very concerned with the rights of female and disabled employees.

  5. (5)

    Our major supplier actively participates in social initiatives.

Corporate Social Responsibility Attributions (Based on Du et al. 2007)

Intrinsic Attributions/Extrinsic Attributions

  1. (1)

    Our major supplier actively participates in CSR activities because it is genuinely concerned about being socially responsible.

  2. (2)

    Our major supplier actively participates in CSR activities because it feels competitive pressures to engage in such activities.

Brand Advocacy (Based on Bhattacharya and Sen 2003; Aaker 1996; Zeithaml et al. 1996; Klein and Dawar 2004; Peloza 2006)

  1. (1)

    I would like to try new products introduced under major supplier brand name.

  2. (2)

    I talk favorably about major supplier brand’s product/service to friends and family.

  3. (3)

    If the maker of major supplier brand’s product/service did something I didn’t like, I would be willing to give it another chance.

Brand Equity (Based on Davis et al. 2008)

  1. (1)

    We are willing to pay more in order to do business with the major supplier.

  2. (2)

    The major supplier brand’s product/service is superior to that of the other competitor.

  3. (3)

    The brand name of the major supplier gives them an advantage over other competitor.

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Pai, DC., Lai, CS., Chiu, CJ. et al. Corporate Social Responsibility and Brand Advocacy in Business-to-Business Market: The Mediated Moderating Effect of Attribution. J Bus Ethics 126, 685–696 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-013-1979-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-013-1979-5

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