Influence of companies´ credibility and trust in corporate social responsibility aspects of consumer food products: The moderating intervention of consumer integrity

Abstract

This study aims to explore and understand whether corporate social responsibility (CSR) could be considered as an indirect cue of certain product characteristics, turning it into an effective instrument to encourage credibility and trust in a food brand and thereby influence consumers’ purchase intention; the study also considers how consumers’ integrity influences these effects of trust and credibility. The proposed model and the mediation and moderation hypotheses were tested with conditional process analysis and were generally supported by data collected from 252 consumers. The results have important implications for companies, revealing that CSR dimensions impact consumer purchase intention by generating greater credibility and trust. Moreover, among consumers with higher integrity, the effects are more significant. Finally, it is the economic dimension of CSR that has the clearest impact on consumer intentions.