Identification with the foreign company: the influence of CSR and consumer ethnocentrism

Abstract

Previous literature has explored how ethnocentrism influences consumers' attitudes and behaviour toward foreign products; however, few studies have explored whether ethnocentrism diminishes the effect of a foreign firm's corporate social responsibility (CSR) on consumers' purchase intention and the role of consumer-foreign company identification in the CSR-purchase intention relationship. Motivated by this gap in the research, the current study explores these relationships using survey data from American consumers. The results reveal that consumer ethnocentrism moderates the effect of CSR on purchase intention. The results also demonstrate that consumers' identification with the foreign company mediates the effect of CSR and purchase intention. Implications for managers of multinational enterprises are discussed, as are avenues for future research.