Exploring consumers’ perceptions of corporate social responsibility and negative responses to e-commerce service failures: A stress and coping perspective

Abstract

The current study investigates whether consumers’ perceptions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) reduces their negative responses to e-commerce service failures through applying the transactional theory of stress and coping. The data are collected from 297 student consumers through a self-administered questionnaire. Results showed that consumers’ perceptions of CSR negatively influenced their attributions of responsibility for experiencing e-commerce service failures. The attributions of responsibility negatively influenced the feelings of guilt but positively influenced the feelings of regret. Guilt is negatively related to behaviors of engaging in negative word-of-mouth and reducing dependence on platforms, while regret is positively related to these consumers’ behaviors. The current study contributes to the existing literature by expanding our understanding of relationships among perceptions of CSR, attributions of responsibility, negative emotions and responses. Yet our study provides theoretical support for improving CSR strategies and policies in the field of e-commerce.