Abstract
The present study examined consumer responses to strategic corporate social responsibility (CSR) from the perspectives of consumer moral emotions (empathy) and cognition (moral identity), and investigated charitable activities conducted by convenience stores in Taiwan from theoretical and practical perspectives. The research method involved a comparison between two actual charitable activities conducted by convenience stores, namely “donation platform services” and “cause-related marketing”. A questionnaire was distributed into four regions spanning southern to northern Taiwan by using a convenient sampling method, and 332 valid responses were collected. The present study employed structural equation modelling to verify its hypotheses. In terms of theoretical contributions, the present study constructed two theoretical models and subsequently verified that empathy influences moral identity; this constitutes a major contribution to investigations of the causal relationship between moral emotions and cognitive theory. In practice, the present study recommends that convenience stores implement more cause-related marketing to reduce consumer suspicions that firms are motivated purely by profit and increase consumer trust in firms. Subsequent studies are recommended to conduct in-depth investigations of the underlying causes of moral identity internalization and symbolization generating different responses in consumers, as well as other possible situational variables.
Highlights
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is currently a trending research topic in the management field because an increasing number of firms are using CSR as a tool to enhance goodwill and financial performance [1]
If convenience stores continually claim that they donate to social welfare, to prevent consumers from developing an impression of corporate hypocrisy, stores must be careful of consumers becoming aware that it is the consumers themselves contributing donations and not the stores [39]
According to the results of a path analysis, the path coefficient of empathy to evaluation did not reach significance, thereby indicating that consumer empathy did not have a direct effect on the evaluation of CSR activities
Summary
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is currently a trending research topic in the management field because an increasing number of firms are using CSR as a tool to enhance goodwill and financial performance [1]. The present study searched for CSR-related information on the websites of the four major convenience stores in Taiwan and found that convenience stores primarily promoted social welfare on their websites by encouraging the public to engage in charity work and providing the public with a convenient “donation platform (change donation)”. Studies have confirmed that the moral identities of consumers influence their purchase intention toward CRM sponsor brands [20] and that methods of implementing CSR evoke the moral emotions of consumers, thereby generating behavioural responses [21]. From the perspective of consumer emotion, the present study examined responses to strategic CSR and the charity activities of convenience stores in Taiwan from theoretical and practical perspectives. Because the purported charity activities of convenience stores are methods of implementing CSR, they have considerable influence on societal and consumer perceptions. Sustainability 2018, 10, 1812 of academic research may serve as a reference for practical fields to understand which charity activities conform to the expectations of consumers and society and may generate greater comprehensive benefits for CSR communication among firms
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