Impact of corporate social responsibility initiatives on Taiwanese banking customers

Abstract

PurposeScant research has investigated retail banking customers' reactions to different corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. This study seeks to investigate whether Taiwanese retail banking customers prefer corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives that favour themselves or other stakeholder groups (community, environment), and whether these initiatives impact customer attitude and behavioural intentions.Design/methodology/approachUsing an experimental survey design and a snowball sampling technique, 130 Taiwanese banking customers answered questionnaires examining attitude and behaviour in response to three different CSR initiatives.FindingsCustomer‐centric initiatives more powerfully impacted banking customers' attitude to the bank and behavioural intentions than environmental or philanthropic initiatives. However, the results were significant only for the difference between customer‐centric and environmental initiatives.Originality/valueThis is the first research examining banking customers' attitude and behaviour in response to different CSR initiatives in a Taiwanese setting. It has implications for banks developing CSR strategies.