The Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility Activities on the Consumer Purchasing Situation

Abstract

To explore the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities on the consumer purchasing situation, we arranged a scenario where participants (n = 451) purchased workout clothes. The results (r = 0.996, p = 0.000) show that (1) relative to other relevant marketing activities, CSR activity was not the most salient antecedent stimulus, (2) general CSR activities may have a lower impact on purchasing behavior than more specific CSR activities, (3) some CSR activities may have a negative impact on purchasing behavior, and (4) CSR activities may have a different impact on different segments. We propose that the impact of CSR can be understood as rule-governed behavior situated in the consumer’s situation. A functional understanding of the impact of CSR on the purchasing situation could help companies to develop more effective marketing campaigns and, in addition, maintain activities that benefit not only the company but also society as a whole.

KEYWORDS:

• augmentals
• consumer purchasing behavior
• corporate social responsibility
• motivating operations
• rule-governed behavior