Linking Corporate Social Responsibility, Consumer Identification and Purchasing Intention

Abstract

Apart from the broad oversight of a company’s supply chain practices, more businesses are recognizing the importance of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and its influence on societal well-being. In addition to their financial success, ratings are being developed to analyze how well most corporations perform regarding their CSR operations. This grade can then be used to determine the market success of each firm. This study’s objective was to examine the mechanisms of how customers intend to pay premium prices for companies’ CSR activities, i.e., how CSR affects consumer–company identification and purchasing intention. We employed a questionnaire-based study to evaluate our research model generated from the literature. Using PLS-SEM, a quantitative analysis based on responses from major businesses in Pakistan was conducted. The results indicate that CSR is significantly correlated with brand image, consumer–company identification and identity attractiveness, and further leads to higher consumer satisfaction and purchasing intention. This paper contributes to the literature by confirming that consumers in Pakistan intend to buy CSR-conscious products and are willing to sponsor companies’ CSR activities. It implies that investing in CSR may improve a company’s financial performance and competitive advantage. On the other hand, the stability of this association calls for additional testing and empirical investigation.