Serving the poor: captive market CSR and repurchase intention

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine whether corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities of the firm affect poor captive consumers’ repurchase intentions, and whether or not CSR activities may moderate established relationships that drive repurchase intentions. Design/methodology/approach – A survey was administered to 201 poor microfinance borrowers at the bottom of the pyramid in India in a cross-sectional field study format. Multivariate regression is used to examine relationships between CSR and repurchase intention. Findings – All else being the same, CSR activities aimed at the borrowers’ communities affects repurchase intentions positively even among poor captive borrowers. Further, positive perceptions of CSR to some extent mitigate the negative impact of the dissatisfaction on repurchase intentions. Unmarried borrowers, mostly female, were more moved by CSR impressions compared to their married counterparts. Research limitations/implications – Future research could identify other aspects of demographic differences in borrowers, and capture more about attitudes toward CSR and motivations for borrowing. Longitudinal study can establish causality that cannot be inferred from this cross-sectional field study. More diverse locations and organizations would offer wider generalizability. It will be interesting to examine if poor and captive customers would care about CSR activities even when such activities are targeted at recipients unrelated to them or their communities. Originality/value – The dynamics of CSR in poor captive consumer communities are somewhat novel. Microfinance context makes it even more so as the borrower is both a client and a recipient of CSR simultaneously. Results suggest that like well-off consumers, poor and captive customers also care about dissatisfaction and CSR.

The effects of resilience and familiarity on the relationship between CSR and consumer attitudes

“…CSR plays another important role as a marketing communication tool in the process of creating a plausible corporate image that carries a socially responsible depiction of a firm (Jahdi, 2013). CSR as a marketing communication tool positively enhances firm image and reputation (Saeidi et al, 2015;Tingchi Liu et al, 2014;Jose et al, 2015). Through using CSR as a communication tool, companies attempt to understand consumers' needs and wants and familiarize customers with the companies' offerings.…”

“…Sullivan-Taylor and Wilson (2009) show that CSR strategies that manage the threat of terrorism in the tourism industry also improve the level of organizational resilience. In a study on whether CSR activities affect consumer repurchase intention, Jose et al (2015) show that risks have a negative impact on bank customers' attitudes and they suggest CSR reduce and limit financial risks. In other words, this argument suggests that marketing activities can change consumer attitudes even though consumers are already exposed to or have experienced traumatic accidents or risks and have a negative attitude toward the company.…”

The Implementation of Corporate Social Responsibility Policies to Overcome Poverty

“…CSR is one of pro-poor policies for development [3] and one of the public services carried out by the government to the poor [4]. According to World Bank, CSR is the commitment of business to contributes to sustainable economic, working with employees, their families, the regional community and society at large to improve their quality of life in ways that are both good business involved and its stakeholders [5].…”

The moderating role of personal value orientation on the links between perceived corporate social performance and purchase intentions

“…When firms deviate from ethical and social obligations in society, customers will have a negative evaluation of those firms (Jose, Khare, & Buchanan, 2018), which may even result in sanctions toward irresponsible companies (Dawkins & Lewis, 2003; Shim & Yang, 2016; Smith, 2000). Yet, studies have found that there is a relationship between CSR performance and customer's support intentions (Abdeen, Rajah, & Gaur, 2016; Jose, Khare, & Buchanan, 2015). It is well documented that consumers' perceptions of CSR have a positive impact on their purchase intentions (Alniacik, Alniacik, & Genc, 2011; Bianchi, Bruno, & Sarabia‐Sanchez, 2019; Jones, Reilly, Cox, & Cole, 2017; Mohr, Webb, & Harris, 2001; Pekkanen, Pätäri, Albadera, & Jantunen, 2018; Sen, Bhattacharya, & Korschun, 2006).…”