Corporate Social Responsibility perception versus human values: a structural equation modeling approach

ABSTRACT

In the business world, increasing importance is being given to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Consumer perception of CSR is determinant on the success of CSR practices and this perception is directly influenced by individual value structures. Despite research efforts and the continued preoccupation of CSR role in business and Society, few studies to date have analyzed jointly CSR perception and the value structure. As a result, the paper brings new knowledge of the relationship between basic human values and CSR's perception under a particular social initiative carried out by a company. To reach our purpose a Hierarchical Component Model which includes the variable gender to control for heterogeneity is adopted. The model focuses on not only by analyzing the effects of human values on CSR but also analyzes the influence of values by gender on CSR perception. This approach to study the relationship of CSR versus values considering the Schwartz's higher-order values and the moderating role of gender constitutes a new perspective. The main results of this study reveal the influence of values on CSR, the strength of those relationships and the importance of analyzing the moderator effect to control for heterogeneity.

KEYWORDS:

• Human values
• Schwartz’s theory
• Corporate Social Responsibility
• higher education
• PLS
• moderator effect

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.