The Determinants of Attribution for Corporate Social Responsibility

Abstract

Most of the previous studies focus on means of CSR implementation, such as fit, commitment, but few take corporate communication strategy into consideration. Thus, this study adopts 2 (fit: low/high) x 2 (commitment: short-term/ long-term) x 2 (communication strategy: proactive/ reactive) between-subject factorial design to explore the moderating effects of communication strategy. The results show that high-fit CSR activities, comparing to low-fit ones, generate higher values- and strategic-driven attributions. Comparing to short-term commitment, long-term commitment generates higher values- and strategic-driven attributions. Short-term commitment generates higher stakeholder-driven attribution than that in long-term commitment. When proactive communication strategy is taken, high-fit CSR activities generate higher values-driven attribution than low-fit ones. When proactive communication strategy is taken, long-term commitment generates higher values-driven attribution than short-term commitment. Finally, values-driven attribution will positively influence purchase intention.