The Effects of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) on Consumer Behaviour in Online Commerce: The Case of Cosmetics during the COVID-19 Pandemics

Abstract

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a trend that manifests on a global level. The positive effects of CSR initiatives depend on the reaction of stakeholders, among which customers represent an important category. The purpose of this paper was to analyse the impact that CSR initiatives of cosmetics companies have on customer behaviour in both the short-term (buying intention) and the long-term (client loyalty) in the case of electronic commerce. Starting from the existing literature, the conceptual model proposed different dimensions of CSR as influencers (legal and ethical, philanthropic and community services, respect for environment, respect for consumers), and as mediators, which were considered as the brand trust and the competitive advantage of the company. The research method used was quantitative with the empirical data being collected from 1265 actual and potential consumers of cosmetic products. The hypotheses were tested using the partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The main findings illustrated positive relationships between CSR and both buying intention and client loyalty, as the two facets of consumer behaviour. The interpretation is that CSR activities can increase both the consumer intentions to buy cosmetics products provided by CSR-involved companies, and increase the long-term customer loyalty for these companies. The research also provided evidence for a strong mediation effect of brand trust for both sides of customer behaviour. This illustrates that when brand trust is higher the effect of CSR initiatives on customer behaviour increases. The paper includes theoretical and practical contributions associated to the results of the research.

The effect of perceived corporate social responsibility on purchase intention in mobile commerce: mediating roles of trusting beliefs and satisfaction

“…Similarly, Dincer and Dincer (2012) report that when customers choose a particular company's product over another, they base their purchase decision on a product's CSR information. Another similar finding by Popa et al (2022) examines the influence of CSR on consumer purchase intention in the context of cosmetic products on e-commerce and indicates that consumers tend to purchase more from cosmetic product companies engaged in CSR. Based on these works, our research proposes the following hypothesis:…”

Responding to COVID‐19: The impact of corporate social responsibility on consumer behavior

“…The authors briefly summarize existing research at the intersection of CSR and COVID‐19. Although there is past work that argues the pandemic is ushering in a new era of CSR (Crane & Matten, 2021; He & Harris, 2020), identifies specific examples of CSR firms that participated in during the pandemic using qualitative methods (Chavan et al, 2022; García‐Sánchez & García‐Sánchez, 2020; López‐Carril & Anagnostopoulos, 2020; Ramya & Baral, 2021), and measures consumer perceptions of CSR via existing scales in surveys (Magno & Cassia, 2021; Popa et al, 2022; Salam & Bajaba, 2022; Wild, 2021), it does not empirically test the differential impact of CSR types on consumer outcomes. There is also existing research that empirically tests the effectiveness of ad appeals (Huang & Liu, 2020; Xie & Wang, 2022) and CSR types during the pandemic.…”

Beyondself‐interest: how altruistic values and human emotions drive brand advocacy in hospitality consumers through corporate social responsibility

“…Within the literature, there is significant scope to explore the additional advantages socially responsible organizations may gain from their consumers that extend beyond financial benefits (Hobeika et al, 2022). This research intends to explore this under‐studied area, spotlighting the relational advantage of a CSR‐oriented enterprise (Popa et al, 2022). While the literature recognizes the emotional engagement CSR initiatives may generate among consumers (Castro‐González et al, 2019), this study further examines the specific emotional responses triggered, constituting a significant contribution.…”