The Effects of Message Specificity on Outcomes of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Communication: Testing Perceived Social Distance as a Mediator

Jeesun Kim, Sun Young Lee and Hyun Jee Oh ()
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Jeesun Kim: Department of Media and Communication, Incheon National University, Incheon 22012, Republic of Korea
Sun Young Lee: Department of Communication, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
Hyun Jee Oh: Department of Journalism and Public Relations, Jeju National University, Jeju 63243, Republic of Korea

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 24, 1-17

Abstract: Despite growing scholarly attention to what determines effective corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication, consumers’ limited awareness of and attention to CSR messages remain critical challenges for organizations. This study aims to examine the effects of message specificity on an organization’s intended outcomes of CSR communication and to explore the mediating role of perceived social distance in these relationships by applying construal level theory (CLT). We conducted an online experiment ( n = 293), and the results revealed that message specificity had a positive impact on consumer-company identification, word-of-mouth intention, and CSR participation intention. Moreover, perceived social distance significantly mediated the relationships between message specificity and the outcomes of CSR communication. Applying CLT, this study offers theoretical implications for the psychological mechanism of how message specificity generates desired outcomes in CSR communication. In addition, we tested these mediation effects in the context of the geographic proximity (close vs. remote) of the CSR communication to participants; the practical implication is that reducing perceived social distance through message specificity is even more effective for geographically distant CSR campaigns.

Keywords: message specificity; CSR communication; CSR campaign; construal level theory; perceived social distance; consumer-company identification; word-of-mouth intention; CSR participation intention (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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