Corporate social responsibility and customer loyalty: exploring the role ofidentification, satisfaction and type of company

ABSTRACT: Purpose - The aim of the authors of this paper is to propose a cognitive - affective - conative sequential model to study how three dimensions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) image (society, customers and employees) impact customer affective (identification and satisfaction) and behavioural recommendation and repurchase) responses in the banking industry. The authors also test how the type of company (savings banks vs commercial banks) moderates customer responses to these three dimensions of CSR image. Design/methodology/approach - A multi-group structural equation model is tested using information collected from 648 savings banks' customers and 476 commercial banks' customers in Spain. Findings - The findings demonstrate that the perceptions of customer-centric CSR initiatives positively and consistently impact customer identification with the banking institution, satisfaction, recommendation and repurchase behaviours in the savings and commercial banks' samples. The dimensions of CSR image that concern the activities oriented to society and employees only positively impact customer responses in the savings banks' sample. Practical implications - The findings of this study can assist scholars in creating more informative CSR-based loyalty models that take into consideration new variables (satisfaction and type of company) and better approaches to the conceptualization of CSR image (e.g. the formative approach). The findings can also assist savings and commercial banks in better designing their CSR and communication initiatives to benefit from customer affective and conative responses. Originality/value - The contributions of the paper are threefold: the authors include satisfaction as a new variable in the study of the CSR-based loyalty model; the CSR image is conceptualized as a formative construct, and this provides new justifications for the mixed results reported by previous scholars who have analysed the effects of CSR image on customer loyalty; and the authors explore the moderating role of the type of company on the CSR-based loyalty model proposed in the paper

How customers construct corporate social responsibility images: testing the moderating role of demographic characteristics.

ABSTRACT: This paper discusses the formation process of CSR images from a customer perspective. It analyses the influence of company-CSR coherence, motivational attribution and corporate credibility in the way customers evaluate CSR images in the banking industry. It also describes the impact of customer gender, age and educational level on the formation of CSR images. Results show that CSR images are based on customer perceptions of the company-CSR coherence, the attribution of altruistic motivations and corporate credibility when developing CSR initiatives. The findings also demonstrate that gender, age and educational level do not allow identifying differences in the way customers construct CSR images. Thus, they are not useful in segmenting customers for the design of better CSR and communication strategies

Customer CSR expectations in the banking industry

RESUMEN: Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine customer corporate social responsibility (CSR) expectations in the crisis context of the Spanish banking industry. The paper also takes into consideration the role that corporate governance structure plays in customer CSR expectations. Design/methodology/approach - Analysing 648 customers of savings banks and 476 customers of commercial banks, several univariate statistics and two cluster analyses are implemented. Findings - The authors identify significantly consistent patterns in the CSR expectations of savings banks and commercial banks customers. The customers of both types of banking companies have similar high expectations concerning the CSR oriented to customers, shareholders and supervising boards, employees, the community and legal and ethical CSR. Also customers of both types of banking companies can be consistently classified as customer oriented, legally (customer)-oriented and CSRoriented customers depending on their CSR expectations. Practical implications - These results have interesting implications for managers because it allows them to develop optimal CSR based on their customers' expectations. In this regard, it is observed that the CSR expectations of savings banks and commercial banks customers are quite homogeneous in such a way that the traditional differentiation in the CSR implemented by savings banks and commercial banks may be no longer justified. Originality/value - Previous scholars who have analysed customer CSR expectations have not studied them in a crisis context. This paper contributes to literature by proposing new managerial strategies for companies facing a product or corporate crisis. Scholars studying customer CSR expectations in the banking industry have not considered the role of corporate governance structure either. This paper provides detailed information about the CSR expectations of savings banks customers and commercial banks customers

The stakeholder management theory of CSR: A multidimensional approach in understanding customer identification and satisfaction

ABSTRAC: Purpose - Based on the principles of the stakeholder management theory, this paper explores the multidimensional perceptions that customers of banking companies have of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) orientations of companies. The paper also explores how these multidimensional perceptions affect customer identification and satisfaction with banking companies. Design/methodology/approach - A structural equation model is tested using information collected from 1,124 banking service customers. Findings - The findings demonstrate that customers' perceptions of customer-related CSR and broad legal and ethical issues have significant positive impacts on customer identification and satisfaction with banking companies. Perceptions of shareholderrelated CSR also significantly boost customer satisfaction. In contrast, perceptions of employee- and community-related CSR do not have any significant effect on customer identification or satisfaction. The findings also confirm the importance of customer identification with the company as a key mediator in their satisfaction responses to multidimensional perceptions of the companies' CSR orientations. Originality/value - The contribution of the paper is based on the exploration of a multidimensional approach, which relies on the principles of the stakeholder management theory, to study customer responses to their perceptions of the CSR orientations of banking companies. Previous scholars have reported mixed findings when exploring customer responses to their perceptions of companies' CSR orientations. However, they have frequently considered customer CSR perceptions either as one-dimensional or a reflective second-order construct. Thus, previous scholars have ignored the possibility of multidimensional CSR perceptions having different effects on customer responses such as identification and satisfaction

An integrative framework to understand how CSR affects customer loyalty through identification, emotions and satisfaction .

ABSTRACT: Because previous scholars have offered few comprehensive models to understand the benefits of corporate social responsibility image in terms of customer behaviour, the authors of this paper propose a hierarchy of effects model to study how customer perceptions of the social responsibility of companies influence customer affective and conative responses in a service context. The authors test a structural equation model using information collected directly from 1,124 customers of banking services in Spain. The findings demonstrate that corporate social responsibility image influences customer identification with the company, the emotions evoked by the company and satisfaction positively. Identification also influences the emotions generated by the service performance and customer satisfaction determines loyalty behaviour. The findings have significant implications for service managers because they demonstrate that there are two paths to explain the satisfaction and loyalty of service customers. The first path is composed of the beliefs and emotions generated by the company at the institutional level. The second path is composed of the thoughts, attitudes, emotions and feelings generated by the company’s services

How customer support for corporate social responsibility influences the image of companies: Evidence from the banking industry

ABSTRACT: The authors of this paper carry out two studies to determine whether customer support for corporate social responsibility (CSR support) influences the way customers form their perceptions of CSR practices in the banking industry. Study 1 consists of a cluster analysis which provides information about four customer groups classified according to their support for CSR practices. These groups are labelled as the 'low support', 'social orientation', 'individual benefit', and 'high support' clusters. In Study 2, the authors test whether differences exists in the way the four clusters process their CSR perceptions. The results confirm the relevance of motivational attribution when socially oriented and highly involved customers evaluate CSR. Based on this information, the authors provide several recommendations for managers to effectively design and communicate their CSR strategies

El estudio de la gestión de los grupos de interés como vía para entender las consecuencias de la crisi económica en el sector bancario minorista.

RESUMEN. Las crisis económicas refuerzan la importancia que las empresas conceden a la responsabilidad social corporativa (RSC) como medio para recuperar su credibilidad y reputación en el mercado. El estudio múltiple de casos que se presenta en esta investigación trata de mostrar el papel que juega la RSC en las actuales estrategias de gestión de las entidades bancarias en España. Algunas de las empresas en este sector son líderes mundiales en la distribución de servicios bancarios, por lo que su estudio puede ayudar a otras empresas internacionales a implementar estrategias corporativas de éxito. El análisis se basa en la perspectiva teórica de la gestión de los grupos de interés y se centra en las actividades concretas que las distintas entidades bancarias desarrollan para gestionar sus políticas de RSC. Los resultados demuestran que una aproximación estratégica a este concepto, derivada de una importancia especial que determinadas empresas conceden a los clientes y los empleados, conduce a una mayor rentabilidad de las políticas de RSC. Esta idea pone de manifiesto la relación que existe entre la maximización de beneficios y la gestión de los grupos de interés, lo que ayuda a entender la solidez que han demostrado los bancos en la reciente crisis financiera. Otras entidades, como las cajas de ahorros, que han desarrollado políticas de RSC basadas en una perspectiva de grupos de interés más amplia, se han enfrentado a problemas de solvencia y liquidez que han derivado en una profunda modificación del panorama competitivo nacional.ABSTRACT. Financial recessions strengthen the importance businesses give to corporate social responsibility (CSR) in order to enhance credibility and reputation. The multiple case study presented herein aims at disclosing the role of CSR in the current strategic management of banking institutions in Spain. Some of the companies in this country are world leaders and their study can help other international businesses to implement successful corporate strategies. The analysis draws on the theoretical perspective of stakeholder management theory and focuses on practical activities of different kinds of banking institutions to address how they manage their CSR policies. The findings demonstrate that a strategic approach to CSR, derived from a special significance given to customers and employees in the management of stakeholders, leads to profitable CSR policies. This idea underscores the connection between profit maximization and stakeholder management which accounts for the current robustness of banks in the marketplace. Other institutions developing CSR strategies around social stakeholders have encountered solvency and cash-flow problems which have seriously modified the national marketplace

Corporate Social Responsibility image in a financial crisis context: the case of the Spanish financial industry

RESUMEN. La última crisis económica mundial ha llevado a la sociedad a reclamar un mayor interés de las empresas por cuestiones vinculadas con responsabilidad social corporativa (RSC). Dicho interés se ha materializado en un fuerte aumento del número de trabajos que analizan el rol de la RSC en contextos de crisis, si bien estos son de carácter eminentemente teórico y no aportan información sobre la percepción real de los grupos de interés. El presente estudio tiene por objetivo analizar la imagen y la importancia de la RSC para los usuarios de servicios financieros en España. Para ello se contrasta la validez de una nueva herramienta de evaluación de la RSC, basada en los planteamientos de la teoría de los grupos de interés, que se presenta como una opción interesante para la gestión empresarial de este concepto. Los resultados destacan el especial valor que los clientes conceden a las actividades corporativas que les benefician más directamente como grupo de interés, mientras que los aspectos puramente filantrópicos y económicos de la RSC son los menos apreciados. Los hallazgos del trabajo tienen implicaciones importantes para los directivos de los principales tipos de entidades financieras españolas, bancos y cajas de ahorros, ya que aportan información útil y detallada para una gestión más eficiente de la RSC en sus organizaciones, atendiendo a sus diferentes características funcionales.ABSTRACT. The latest international financial crisis has taken society to claim for a higher interest of companies on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). This fact has lead to an important increase in the number of papers analyzing the role of CSR on crisis contexts. However, these papers are mostly theoretical in nature and little empirical evidence has been given on the real perceptions of stakeholders. The aim of this paper is to study CSR image and relevance for the consumers in the Spanish financial industry. For this purpose, a new scale to measure CSR is proposed based on the proposal of stakeholder theory. The results point to the relevance customers give to all corporate activities directly linked with their own benefit, while the philanthropic and economic dimensions of CSR are less important. These results have important managerial implications for both banks and building societies as they provide useful information for a more effective CSR management, according to the entities’ operative characteristics

Influencias de las características de la relación sobre la percepción de los resultados económicos en relaciones fabricante-distribuidor : el caso de Bimbo Martínez

RESUMEN. La presente investigación analiza el efecto de tres factores sobre la percepción de los resultados económicos de fabricantes y distribuidores en sus relaciones de negocio: las inversiones en activos específicos, la estructura de la interdependencia y los comportamientos oportunistas. Sobre la base de una investigación empírica efectuada en el sector de la panadería y repostería industrial en España, los resultados sugieren un posible comportamiento recíproco de fabricantes y distribuidores respecto a la gestión de sus intercambios comerciales. Sin embargo, se evidencia una diferente consideración de las inversiones y adaptaciones específicas por parte de ambos miembros del canal.ABSTRACT. This work analyzes the effect of three factors on the economic results of manufacturers and distributors in their business relationships: specific-asset investments, interdependence structure and opportunistic behaviors. On base of an empirical investigation made in the bakery sector in Spain, the results suggest a possible reciprocity behavior of manufacturers and distributors with regards to the management of their commercial relationships. However, a different consideration of the specific investments made by the channel members is demonstrated

Sustainability dimensions: A source to enhance corporate reputation

ABSTRACT: The aim of this paper is to enhance our understanding of the relationship between sustainability and corporate image and reputation according to the legitimacy theory framework since the current academic literature does not have an understanding of how sustainability and corporate image and reputation interact. Authors conducted a survey to test the hypotheses. The study was tested using data collected from a sample of 382 Spanish consumers. The proposed hypotheses were analyzed through a structural equation model showing that sustainability plays a vital role as antecedent of both corporate image and reputation. Findings suggest that the economic, social and environmental domains of sustainability present a direct and positive relationship with both corporate image and reputation