There is a gap in the literature concerning the effects of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on corporate strategy. This study analyses the influence of CSR on competitiveness as a strategic dimension of companies. It addresses the conditions under which CSR has a positive influence on competitiveness through testing the moderator effect of corporate strategy, size, and industry. Based on an empirical study of 144 companies, the results show a positive effect of CSR on competitiveness, which is stronger for large companies and for companies that follow a proactive (vs reactive) strategy, while no differences appear between service and manufacturing industries.Two arguments justify the moderating effect of company size on the impact of CSR on competitiveness: (1) in small companies, the owner of the company is also the manager; and (2) visibility relates to the size of the company. Russo and Perrini (2010) argue that CSR is not solely a prerogative of large firms, and show that large firms and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) must be treated as two different constructs to examine their responsible corporate strategies. In order to justify the differences between small and large firms in the CSR orientation, they point Competitiveness and CSRA series of interviews was conducted with 12 managers to verify the dimensions and items used to measure CSR and competitiveness. A number of themes emerged from these interviews and were subsequently incorporated into our questionnaire. Eight key managers, randomly selected from the same industries as the survey organisations, were then used to pilot test the instrument. Respondents were mailed a copy of the survey and asked to review it for content, clarity and validity. Based on this feedback, some redundant or ambiguous items were modified or eliminated. SampleData were collected through an e-mail survey using a self-report questionnaire. The initial sample consisted of 500 CEOs randomly selected among companies with more than five employees established in Spain. Not-for-profit organisations, public administration organisations, and educational institutions were excluded from the sample because the nature and demands of their stakeholders may differ significantly from those faced by for-profit organisations. Potential participants were mailed a questionnaire and a cover letter that offered a summary of the study's results in exchange for their completed answer. One week later, an e-mail was sent to all potential participants. Of the 500 questionnaires mailed, 164 were completed and 15 were undeliverable, yielding a response rate of 29.8%. Finally, five returned questionnaires were discarded because the respondents reported that the survey was inappropriate for their organisation or experience. The final sample included 144 respondents.A non-response bias test was conducted by testing differences between early and late respondents (Armstrong and Overton, 1977). Wilks's MANOVA test criterion (Johnson and Wichern, 2007) was employed to test at the 0.05 level of signific...

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Consumers often share their service experiences with others and, in doing so, may change their evaluation of the experience. In three studies, we analyze the influence of social sharing of consumption-related emotions on the sharer’s satisfaction with the consumption experience and related outcomes. Study 1 demonstrates that the sharing of negative emotions amplifies the sharer’s dissatisfaction. Study 2 shows that the specific nature of the negative emotion (anger vs. regret) and that of the recipient (friend vs. stranger) moderate this negative effect. Study 3 finds that the effects of sharing further depend on whether the recipient is viewed as a prospective customer or not. From a theoretical perspective, the findings contradict the claim that cathartic venting contributes to a person’s relief and well-being. In addition, the assertion that strong ties are better than weak ties does not always hold. The benefits of sharing depend on the specific emotion involved and the recipient’s interests. From a managerial perspective, the findings should help companies devise programs to compensate the negative consequences of service failures. For example, by offering customers the opportunity to express anger to strangers through their corporate websites or social media communities, managers may be able to reduce customer dissatisfaction and thus maintain the relationship. In addition, such opportunities may help the firm identify dissatisfied consumers and, in turn, apply service recovery strategies to retain them.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine how consumers' personality (i.e. motivation for affiliation) and their perceptions about the company (i.e. identity attractiveness) and the relation they maintain with the company's employees (i.e. personal connection with salesperson) influence their identification with the company. The research also considers the moderating effects of identity salience and salesperson identification with the company. In addition, the study proposes that salesperson identification may further enhance the positive influence of the consumer‐salesperson connection on the consumer's identification with the company.Design/methodology/approachIn order to test the hypothesized model, this study uses a sample of customers from a financial institution with different levels of business involvement with the company. With a questionnaire formed with measures taken from previous literature, structural equation modeling was used to test the proposed model.FindingsThe results showed that all three determinants – i.e. identity attractiveness, need for affiliation, and personal connection – have direct and positive effects on consumer identification with the company. Moreover, the moderating effect of identity salience was also confirmed for the impacts of both identity attractiveness and need for affiliation on consumer identification, as well as the moderating effect of salesperson identification for the impact of personal connection between the customer and the salesperson on consumer identification.Practical implicationsThis research offers important insights for marketing managers. Specifically, companies need to be aware of and to deliver a consistent and attractive identity of both their salespeople and their company. Moreover, marketing communications that attempt to connect a product or brand to a social identity should consider the extent to which target consumers value that social identity, and what aspects can be leveraged to increase perceptions of relevance associated with that identity. Therefore, all communication activities should provide cues about how the company or its products are related to an identity that is relevant to the consumer.Originality/valueThis research contributes to the literature on social identity and organizational identification as it examines the consumer‐company relationship in a consumer context. The main contributions are three. First, it highlights the importance of the non‐product aspects of a company in terms of building a consumer‐company bond. Second, it shows that consumers are more likely to adopt social identities (i.e. to identify with particular social groups) when they consider the company's identity to be personally relevant. And third, it demonstrates the impact of the salesperson identification with the company on his/her performance, a relationship that sales literature has not considered yet.

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Brand extension is a widely adopted strategy for firms to take advantage of an existing brand's equity in a new product category. The main goal of this paper is to test the moderating role consumer-company identification plays in the effect of product fit and information on consumers' evaluations of brand extensions. Study 1 demonstrates the moderator effect of identification on the effect of category fit on consumers' purchase intentions for brand extensions and brand alliances. In Study 2, we proposed that identified consumers are not affected by information about the product, while low identified consumers rely more on that information. However, results show that the presence of information about the brand extension is only significant for identified consumers. For marketing managers, our results will help in decisions regarding extension category selection, segmentation strategy, and identification cuing.