Can Consumers’ Altruistic Inferences Solve the CSR Initiative Puzzle? A Meta-analytic Investigation

François A. Carrillat (), Carolin Plewa (), Ljubomir Pupovac (), Chloé Vanasse (), Taylor Willmott (), Renaud Legoux () and Ekaterina Napolova ()
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François A. Carrillat: Griffith University
Carolin Plewa: The University of Adelaide
Ljubomir Pupovac: University of New South Wales, UNSW Sydney
Chloé Vanasse: HEC Montréal
Taylor Willmott: The University of Adelaide
Renaud Legoux: HEC Montréal
Ekaterina Napolova: eHealth NSW

Journal of Business Ethics, 2025, vol. 196, issue 3, No 9, 639-658

Abstract: Abstract Research into consumer responses to corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives has expanded in the past four decades, yet the evidence thus far provided does not paint a cohesive picture. Results suggest both positive and negative consumer reactions to CSR, and unless such mixed findings can be reconciled, the outcome might be an amalgamation of disparate empirical results rather than a coherent body of knowledge. The current meta-analysis therefore tests whether the mixed findings might reflect consumers’ distinct, altruistic inferences across various contingency factors. On the basis of 337 effect sizes, involving 584,990 unique respondents, in 162 studies published between 1996 and 2021, this study reveals that altruistic inferences are central to the current CSR paradigm, such that they mediate the effects of CSR initiatives on consumer responses across multiple contingencies. The mediation by altruistic inferences is stronger (weaker) in conditions favorable to dispositional (situational) motive attributions. Furthermore, consumers respond more favorably to cause marketing or philanthropy rather than business-related CSR initiatives, when the initiative is environmental (vs. social), the firm’s offering is utilitarian (vs. hedonic), the CSR initiative takes place in self-expressive (vs. survival) cultures and in earlier (vs. later) periods. These findings offer several ethical implications, and they inform both practical recommendations and an agenda for further research directions.

Keywords: Corporate social responsibility; Meta-analysis; Consumer behavior (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1007/s10551-024-05704-0

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