Does perceived social responsibility affect consumer attitudes towards global brands? Lessons from the Nescafé Case in Turkey

Abstract

This study builds on consumer culture theory, signalling theory and the associative network memory model to investigate the impact of consumers' perceptions of global brands' social responsibility on consumers' attitudes towards brands. A survey was conducted in Turkey using Nescafé as an example of a global brand. Data from 243 fully completed questionnaires were analysed using SmartPLS. The results from the structural equation modelling indicate that for Turkish consumers, the perceived globalness of the brand contributes to the brand's perceived credibility but has a negative direct relationship on the perception of the brand's social responsibility. In addition, the local icon value of the brand has positive and significant relationships with the brand's perceived credibility and the brand's perceived social responsibility. This later has a positive relationship on consumers' attitudes towards the brand. The perceived globalness of the brand is important to develop the perceived credibility of the brand. The paper provides some guidelines for global brands when communicating their social responsibility activities to consumers in emerging markets.