Abstract
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) research has focused often on the business returns of corporate social initiatives but less on their possible social returns. We study an actual company–consumer partnership CSR initiative promoting ecologically correct and conscious consumption of bottled mineral water. We conduct a survey on adult consumers to test the hypotheses that consumer skepticism toward the company–consumer partnership CSR initiative and the moral emotion of elevation mediate the relationship between company CSR motives perceived by consumers and consumer behavioral responses following this CSR initiative. Favorable consumer behavioral responses, in turn, relate positively to consumer support of other green products. The results provide scholars and managers with means of improving their understanding and handling of company–consumer partnership CSR initiatives.
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Notes
We also included as a control variable the “knowledge of and expertise with green products” of respondents to take into consideration the possible influence of different levels of individual consciousness about the environment on the variables of our model. We measured this variable using the following 7-point items “I have a great deal of knowledge about green products” and “I have a great deal of experience about green products” (inter-item correlation = .90).
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Romani, S., Grappi, S. & Bagozzi, R.P. Corporate Socially Responsible Initiatives and Their Effects on Consumption of Green Products. J Bus Ethics 135, 253–264 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-014-2485-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-014-2485-0