Business ethics, corporate social responsibility, and brand attitudes: An exploratory study

O.C. Ferrell, Dana E. Harrison, Linda Ferrell and Joe F. Hair

Journal of Business Research, 2019, vol. 95, issue C, 491-501

Abstract: It is important to understand the relative importance of business ethics and social responsibility in determining brand attitudes. However, there has been a failure in prior research to differentiate between attitudes toward business ethics and CSR. This research reviews customer-brand research related to business ethics and social responsibility and conducts a study to evaluate customer attitudes. Four scenarios offer variations in company behaviors related to positive and negative conduct of customer social responsibility and business ethics. Study findings from a panel of 351 respondents provide new insights related to a customer's expectations and perceptions of company CSR and business ethics behavior. We conclude that although CSR attitudes remain important, customers value business ethics as a critical behavior in their perceptions of brand attitudes.

Keywords: Brand attitude; Expectations of customer social responsibility; Expectations of business ethics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (61)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:95:y:2019:i:c:p:491-501

DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.07.039

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