Sustainable development is a fundamental objective for guaranteeing the future of the planet. Taking into account the impact of emerging economies on the global economy and the scarcity of papers that have considered the effect of CSR initiatives on consumer behavior on those economies, it seems that further research on this issue is necessary. In particular, we analyze the extent to which CSR affects the connection and links of the consumer to the brand (i.e., self-brand connection, brand engagement). The main contribution of the paper to the field is the analysis of the interaction between CSR and branding in the context of an emerging economy. To that aim, and also in a novel way, we use the Stimuli-Organism-Response (SOR) model for a sample of more than 400 food and beverage consumers in Metropolitan Lima, Peru. Our results show that CSR effectively acts as a stimulus for consumers to identify and link to brands and that, in addition, these links generate buy-back (i.e., loyalty) and recommendation behaviors (i.e., WOM) which, in turn, create a great commercial value for companies. This research also analyses how incomes and educational levels moderate the intensity of such links. For practical implications, global trends in managing CSR and branding may be useful, although some cross-cultural and context-specific adaptations are necessary.

The main objective of this study is to analyse the impact of sustainable practices on companies’ corporate reputation and brand image in the retail sector as perceived by consumers. In addition, we evaluate how those practices affect consumers’ perceived satisfaction levels and their predisposition to engage in positive Word of Mouth (WOM). For the purpose of this study, the context of an emerging economy, Peru, is taken as reference. To do this, we propose a structural equation model based on a representative sample of 403 consumers. The data analysis—using the PLS software package—confirms that corporate social responsibility (CSR) positively influences both corporate reputation and brand image. These two factors jointly have an impact on consumers’ perceived satisfaction levels, which in turn help to explain the flow of positive WOM. This work is a pioneering study of the relationship between the aforementioned factors in the context of emerging economies. The final part of the article discusses the main theoretical implications and recommendations for business practice.