Corporate social responsibility authenticity from the perspective of restaurant consumers

ABSTRACT

While authenticity and personal values are considered critical components in the brand development process, little research has investigated their roles in the corporate social responsibility (CSR) context. Therefore, this study formulated an empirical research model to maximize the effectiveness of restaurant companies’ CSR efforts by considering the significant roles of CSR authenticity and personal value relevance in establishing and maintaining strong brand loyalty from consumers’ perspectives on CSR. With the data collected in the United States, this study found that consumers’ perception of CSR activities increases their favorable perceptions, attitudes, and behavior toward a restaurant brand through the significant mediating role of CSR authenticity. However, this study also found that depending on the degree of personal value relevance, the significant paths would be different. Based on the empirical findings, this study suggests managerial implications for foodservice companies to effectively design and implement CSR initiatives.

摘要

可靠性和个人价值是品牌发展过程中的重要组成部分，于是我们对于它们在企业社会责任（CSR）中起到的作用展开了调查。此项研究制定了一套实证研究模型，从消费者对于CSR的认知程度，来观察CSR的可靠性和个人价值在建立和维系强大的品牌忠诚度中起到的重要作用，以此来帮助餐饮企业实现CSR方案有效实行的最大化。根据从美国收集到的数据，CSR的可靠性是非常重要的媒介，消费者在提高了对于CSR活动的接受度的同时，也提升了他们的好感，态度，以及对于餐厅品牌的消费行为。同时研究也发现，根据个人价值相关程度的差别，具体方案也是大相径庭的。根据理论实践依据，为了有效设计和执行CSR方案，此项研究为餐饮服务公司提供管理上的建议。

KEYWORDS:

• Halo effect
• corporate social responsibility
• CSR
• authenticity
• brand loyalty
• foodservice

关键词:

• 连锁反应，企业社会责任，CSR，可靠性，品牌忠诚度，餐饮服务

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).