Understanding Corporate Social Responsibility and Product Perceptions in Consumer Markets: A Cross-cultural Evaluation

Abstract

The concept of corporate social responsibility is becoming integral to effective corporate brand management. This study adopts a multidimensional and cross-country perspective of the concept and analyses consumer perceptions of behaviour of four leading consumer products manufacturers. Data was collected from consumers in two countries -Spain and the UK. The study analyses consumersÕ degree of interest in corporate responsibility and its impact on their perception about the company. The findings here suggest a weak impact of company-specific communication on consumersÕ perception. The implications of this study are relevant to companies for strengthening their social responsibility associations with the consumers.

The Promotion of Responsible Tourism Management Through Digital Media

“…In addition, it also uses the CSR measures that relate to the hospitality businesses' commercial, ethical and social responsibility (Frey & George, 2010;Singh & Del Bosque, 2008;Holcomb et al, 2007;Carroll, 1999). Hence, this contribution examines the owner-managers' perceptions on digital media as a vehicle to communicate with stakeholders.…”

“…Alternatively, they could not dedicate sufficient time and resources to use web technologies. As a result, companies may not always report enough information on their social, ethical and environmentally-related activities (de Grosbois, 2012;Huimin & Ryan, 2011;Singh & Del Bosque, 2008;Carroll, 1999). Wellknown tourism business (particularly international hotel chains) are usually visible online and they even communicate about their responsible tourism management in their CSR (and sustainability) reports (Holcomb et al, 2007).…”

“…Wellknown tourism business (particularly international hotel chains) are usually visible online and they even communicate about their responsible tourism management in their CSR (and sustainability) reports (Holcomb et al, 2007). Yet, there are still a number of companies' that are not reaching their target audience through digital media (Font et al, 2012;Singh & Del Bosque, 2008). This leads to the fourth hypothesis that aims to identify the possible antecedents (by using stepwise regression) of CSR (and sustainability) reporting on digital media: …”

“…Very often, they may disclose non-financial information on their web pages relating to socially responsible behaviours as they give a breakdown of all the actions they undertake toward their stakeholder groups (Huimin & Ryan, 2011;Singh & Del Bosque, 2008). In addition, they may report other information on issues relating to environmental sustainability and governance behaviours.…”

Corporate Social Responsibility In Germany And Other Countries

“…Singh et al shows that CSR is less known in Spain than in United Kingdom and that consumers in United Kingdom are more interested in social and environmental concerns than Spanish consumers [28]. It appears that the influence of CSR on purchase behavior is stronger for German and French consumers than for American consumers.…”