Does Consumer Empathy Influence Consumer Responses to Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility? The Dual Mediation of Moral Identity

Ghi-Feng Yen and Hsin-Ti Yang
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Ghi-Feng Yen: Department of Business Administration, Chung Yuan Christian University, 200 Chung Pei Rd., Chung Li Dist., Taoyuan City 32023, Taiwan
Hsin-Ti Yang: Department of Business Administration, Chien Hsin University of Science and Technology, 229 Jianxing Rd., Chung Li Dist., Taoyuan City 32097, Taiwan

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 6, 1-17

Abstract: The present study examined consumer responses to strategic corporate social responsibility (CSR) from the perspectives of consumer moral emotions (empathy) and cognition (moral identity), and investigated charitable activities conducted by convenience stores in Taiwan from theoretical and practical perspectives. The research method involved a comparison between two actual charitable activities conducted by convenience stores, namely “donation platform services” and “cause-related marketing”. A questionnaire was distributed into four regions spanning southern to northern Taiwan by using a convenient sampling method, and 332 valid responses were collected. The present study employed structural equation modelling to verify its hypotheses. In terms of theoretical contributions, the present study constructed two theoretical models and subsequently verified that empathy influences moral identity; this constitutes a major contribution to investigations of the causal relationship between moral emotions and cognitive theory. In practice, the present study recommends that convenience stores implement more cause-related marketing to reduce consumer suspicions that firms are motivated purely by profit and increase consumer trust in firms. Subsequent studies are recommended to conduct in-depth investigations of the underlying causes of moral identity internalization and symbolization generating different responses in consumers, as well as other possible situational variables.

Keywords: empathy; strategic CSR; consumer responses; moral identity internalization; moral identity symbolization; dual mediation; convenience stores (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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