CSR as a Selling of Indulgences: An experimental investigation of customers' perceptions of CSR activities depending on corporate reputation

• Autores: Anne-Kathrin Ulke, Laura Schons
• Localización: Corporate Reputation Review, ISSN-e 1479-1889, Vol. 19, Nº. 3, 2016, págs. 263-280
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Companies are increasingly investing in CSR whereby companies with a bad reputation are no exception. The study at hand empirically examines customers' evaluations of corporate credibility as a reaction to companies' CSR engagement contingent on the firms' corporate reputation. Drawing from psychological theories on contrast and recency effects, a conceptual framework is derived which proposes that firms with a bad reputation will benefit more from engaging in CSR compared to those with a favorable reputation. The framework is put to test using a large ( N = 1,717), cross-industry sample (including evaluations of 71 independent firms from varying industries), and a between-subjects experimental design (CSR info is given versus no CSR info is given). Results confirm that, indeed, whereas companies with a bad reputation significantly benefit from CSR in terms of an increase in corporate credibility, there is no positive effect of CSR for companies with a good reputation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]