CSR as a Selling of Indulgences: An Experimental Investigation of Customers’ Perceptions of CSR Activities Depending on Corporate Reputation

Anne-Kathrin Ulke () and Laura Marie Schons ()

Corporate Reputation Review, 2016, vol. 19, issue 3, No 5, 263-280

Abstract: Abstract 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.

Keywords: corporate social responsibility; corporate credibility; corporate reputation; impression formation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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DOI: 10.1057/s41299-016-0005-0

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