Does CSR disclosure enhance corporate brand performance in emerging economy? Evidence from India

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to delve into the influence of corporate social responsibility on the corporate brand performance of Indian business-to-business (B2B) companies. Design/methodology/approach The corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices have been measured through CSR disclosure index (CDI), generated by surveying annual reports/CSR reports/websites of 131 Indian B2B firms. The same was mapped to corporate brand performance of these firms, measured as customer-based corporate brand equity, which was measured through a questionnaire-survey of purchasing managers and users working in firms that are customers to the above-mentioned firms. Findings The result reveals the positive influence of CSR practices in shoring up corporate brand performance. Research limitations/implications CDI has been developed based on CSR reporting across the stakeholder groups. However, the impact has been mapped onto one stakeholder category, the customer. The sample period was only one year, and the data is cross-sectional. Future studies may investigate the long-term effect of CSR using longitudinal data on larger data sets. Practical implications This study will encourage Indian B2B firms to practice CSR not only for conforming to the regulatory requirements but also as a strategic tool in strengthening the competitive advantage. Originality/value It is the first study of its kind to evaluate the imprint of corporate social responsibility, measured based on CSR reporting by firms, on corporate brand performance. It looks into the return earned by firms from the resources invested in CSR activities.

The impact of web marketing on corporate social responsibility (CSR) and firms' performance

“…Recent studies in web marketing on CSR (Namely, Sarkar et al ., 2021; Masoud and Vij, 2020; Lan et al ., 2021; Yim et al ., 2019) were used to validate the results of the current study on the impact of web marketing on CSR and firms' performance. Most of the previous studies were agreed that web marketing on CSR positively and significantly affects firm financial performance (Seok et al ., 2020; Jang et al ., 2019).…”

The Relationship of Sustainability Communication on Social Media with Banking Consumers’ Loyalty through e-WOM

“…In this regard, the first theoretical implication of the present study is that it adds to the existing literature of CSR from the perspective of consumer-centric outcomes. Whereas the previous studies have largely explored CSR from an organizational perspective [17,18,62,63]. The second theoretical implication of the present study is that it enriches the existing literature of CSR and consumer behavior by introducing e-WOM as a potential mediator in the proposed relationship of CSR and consumer loyalty.…”

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a Framework for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

“…Research That Supports the Outcome Financial Performance and Profitability [79,[86][87][88][89][90] Image and Identification [91][92][93][94][95][96][97] Reputation, Credibility and Recognition [49,52,88,98] Brand [52,91,94,95,97,[99][100][101][102][103] Social and Public Trust [80,94,[104][105][106] Customer Satisfaction [107][108][109][110][111][112][113][114] Customer Loyalty [96,102,103,109,[113][114][115][116][117][118]…”