The Moderating Effect of Social Capital on the Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives

Aims: The purpose of this paper is to study the effect of the sustainable marketing of three types of corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives—cause-related marketing (CRM), corporate philanthropy and creating shared value (CSV)—on consumer attitudinal evaluations with the moderating effect of individual social capital.

Methodology: A 3 x 2 x 2 between-subjects factorial design was employed with the manipulation of three different CSR initiatives.

Results: Our study finds that CSV has the greatest effect on both consumer-company identification (C-C identification) and brand image, followed by corporate philanthropy and CRM. The relationship between CSR initiatives and consumer attitudinal evaluations was especially strong when consumers perceived the C-C identification and brand image as having a high degree of individual social capital. A higher degree of C-C identification and a more positive brand image through CSR initiatives was also linked to stronger in-role and extra-role consumer responses.

Conclusion: The findings of this study help enrich literature on CSR and enable implementers to choose the appropriate goodness of fit while assisting corporations in improving their reputation and image.