CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY'S PATHWAYS TOWARDS CUSTOMER LOYALTY IN ROMANIAN RETAIL: A PLS-SEM MEDIATION ANALYSIS

Abstract

For the time being, many companies around the world attach great importance to corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices and policies. This trend that manifests itself worldwide, is also characteristic for Romania, many companies being regularly active in the CSR field. The motivation of these companies to get involved in social or ecological activities is not only related to the moral or ethical side of business, but also to many benefits that CSR can generate, such as improving the company's image or customer loyalty. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the relationship between CSR and customer loyalty in the Romanian retail sector. Moreover, the effect that CSR has on corporate reputation and the mediating role of reputation on the relationship between CSR and customer loyalty has been studied. In this regard, a questionnaire-based survey was conducted to measure the level of social responsibility and corporate reputation perceived by customers of retail stores in Romania, but also their loyalty to a particular store. The obtained results confirm the existence of a positive relationship between CSR and customer loyalty, but also the partial mediation that the corporate reputation exerts on this relationship.