Engaging through stories: Effects of narratives on individuals’ skepticism toward corporate social responsibility efforts

Abstract

Skepticism is prevalent surrounding companies’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication. Existing research suggests that narratives can reduce counterarguing and increase story-consistent beliefs and attitudes. However, research is still in its preliminary stage in understanding how narratives may help alleviate individuals’ skepticism toward companies’ CSR initiatives. Through an experiment with Amazon Mechanical Turk participants (n = 345), the current study tested the effect of narrative vs non-narrative videos on individual perception of CSR skepticism. YouTube videos depicting a real organization’s CSR initiatives on the issue of gender equality were selected as stimuli. Results of the study suggest that narrative significantly reduced almost all of the previously identified dimensions of CSR skepticism and significantly increased perceived intrinsic (altruistic) motives. Furthermore, engagement with the video message and perceived CSR motives were significant mediators. The study highlights engagement with messages as a key aspect of reducing CSR skepticism. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.