Virtual responsibility: Understanding consumer engagement in corporate social responsibility virtual reality experiences across heavy and low product users

Yoon-Joo Lee, Huan Chen and Wen Zhao
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Yoon-Joo Lee: Department of Strategic Communication, USA
Huan Chen: College of Journalism and Communications, USA
Wen Zhao: Department of Communication, USA

Journal of Digital & Social Media Marketing, 2025, vol. 13, issue 2, 170-182

Abstract: This study investigates the role of virtual reality (VR) in enhancing audience engagement with corporate social responsibility (CSR) campaigns. Focusing on heavy versus low product users, the research explores how value congruence — alignment between audience values and campaign messages — and immersive VR presence shape attitudes toward CSR initiatives. Using a VR CSR campaign as the context, findings reveal that tailored messaging strategies can optimise engagement across diverse user groups. For low users, aligning campaign values with broader societal goals enhances favourable attitudes, while heavy users respond more positively to practical, non-judgmental messaging emphasising incremental behaviour change. The study underscores VR’s potential as a transformative tool for fostering meaningful connections and advancing CSR goals in a wide range of industries. These insights offer scalable implications for designing impactful CSR campaigns that resonate with diverse consumer segments, leveraging the immersive power of VR to achieve greater social and corporate impact. This article is also included in The Business & Management Collection which can be accessed at https://hstalks .com/business/.

Keywords: virtual reality (VR); corporate social responsibility (CSR); drink driving prevention; alcohol industry (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: M3 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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