Consumers’ Perceptions of Corporate Social Responsibility: Scale Development and Validation

From CSR to Customer Loyalty: An Empirical Investigation in the Retail Banking Industry of a Developing Country

“…Finally, a third important approach regards CSR from a stakeholder-based perspective, systematizing it into several components related to corporate responsibilities towards certain stakeholder categories: shareholders, customers, employees, business partners, the environment, the society, and others (Freeman et al, 2010). Based on these three main approaches, scholars have developed various scales for measuring customers' perceptions of a company's social responsibility (Arli and Lasmono, 2010, Maignan, 2001, Oberseder et al, 2014, Ramasamy and Yeung, 2009, Salmones et al, 2005.…”

“…Thus, Walsh and Beatty (2007), after surveying a sample of American bank customers, came to the conclusion that being perceived as a reliable and financially strong company is positively correlated with brand trust and customer loyalty (including word of mouth). Moreover, Oberseder et al (2014), after conducting a survey among a sample of Austrian retail bank customers, found a positive and significant correlation between purchase intention and the extent to which banks are perceived as being responsible towards their shareholders (ensuring the economic success of the company, correctly investing shareholders' capital, providing sustainable growth and long-term success for the company). Considering these results, the following research hypothesis was issued in order to be tested in the specific context of the retail banking sector of a developing country:…”

“…Also, Mandhachitara and Poolthong (2011) demonstrated that perceived customer orientation is significantly, strongly and positively associated with attitudinal loyalty among bank customers, service quality having a moderating effect on the relationship. Moreover, Matute-Vallejo et al (2011), after analyzing the Spanish retail banking sector, proved that customer loyalty is influenced by costumers' perceptions of their banks' price fairness, while Oberseder et al (2014) showed that purchase intentions in the Austrian retail banking sector is positively impacted by the extent to which banks are perceived as implementing fair sales practices, comprehensibly labelling services, meeting quality standards, and offering their customers safe products and the possibility to file complaints. Another relevant and recent study in the retail banking industry was conducted by Choi and La (2013) among American consumers, their results indicating that when banks are being perceived as behaving honestly, they enjoy higher customer trust and loyalty.…”

“…Being perceived as a good employer, or the extent to which a company is perceived as respecting the rights of its employees, setting safe and decent working conditions, offering adequate remuneration, training its employees, and communicating honestly with them, have been proven to be positively correlated with purchase intentions in the Austrian retail banking sector (Oberseder et al, 2014), or with repurchase and word of mouth intentions in the American financial services sector (Walsh and Beatty, 2007). Mandhachitara and Poolthong (2011) also found that customer loyalty in retail banking is affected by banks' employer brand image (offering a safe workplace, supporting employees' family values, and offering fair compensations and equal employment opportunities).…”

Relação Causal Entre a Lealdade de Cliente e a Responsabilidade Social de Instituição Financeira: Um Estudo com Modelagem de Equações Estruturais

“…Neste sentido, Oberseder et al (2014), depois de realizarem uma pesquisa com uma amostra de clientes de bancos de varejo austríaco, descobriram uma correlação positiva e significativa entre a intenção de se ter um relacionamento e a medida em que os bancos são percebidos como responsáveis para seus acionistas -garantindo o sucesso econômico da empresa, investindo corretamente o capital dos acionistas, proporcionando crescimento sustentável e sucesso a longo prazo para a empresa. Uma empresa socialmente responsável deve ir além do simples cumprimento das leis trabalhistas, buscando alinhar os seus objetivos estratégicos aos interesses dos funcionários.…”