CSR and branding in emerging economies: The effect of incomes and education

Abstract

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 importance of socially responsible marketing practices on the healthy food market from the perspective of students

“…Regarding household income, Carvalho et al (2010) state that the influence of customer perception on company social behaviour differs across low and high-income customers. Cambra-Fierro et al (2020) also confirm the importance and impact of consumer income in the context of CSR in emerging markets. Therefore, we have additionally tested whether there are statistically significant differences in perceptions of the importance of different socially responsible marketing practices depending on the respondents' gender and household income.…”

The Impact of Communicating Sustainability and Ethical Behaviour of the Cosmetic Producers: Evidence from Thailand

“…For example, customers in Thailand, a representative emerging market, are known to exhibit tendencies and behaviours distinct from those in the same class of middle-developed countries. In this regard, for example, [7] found that while conspicuous value generally influences consumer willingness to pay for luxury goods, an analysis of survey data collected from Thai consumers showed that conspicuous value does not have a significant effect on purchasing behaviour. In an empirical study based on consumer data from Turkey, also an emerging market, it was found that consumers favourably perceive CSR actions taken by companies, but that this does not necessarily lead to specific purchasing behaviour [6].…”

“…Thus, while several studies using Thai consumer datasets have examined the impact of CSR-based marketing on consumers' willingness to purchase, few studies have discussed the differences in consumer behaviour due to CSR. Among the valuable existing studies, for example, [7] examine the interaction between CSR and branding in the context of an emerging economy, using data from a survey of the attitudes of residents of the Lima metropolitan area in Peru, and conducted an analysis using the stimulus-organisation-response (SOR) model. The study argues that CSR effectively acts as a stimulus for consumers to identify and associate with a brand.…”

“…It has been stipulated that a difference exists between the behaviour of consumers in emerging markets and those in mature markets in relation to CSR. In this regard, it is helpful to reflect on research suggesting that consumers' perceptions of CSR and their interest in ethical corporate behaviour change during the market maturation process [6,7].…”

Food and social media: a research stream analysis

“…Investigating consumers´ personal drivers to write food reviews, Liu et al ( 2020 ) found that personal motivation, and especially altruism, influences the posting of negative consumer online reviews. Cambra-Fierro et al ( 2020 ) discovered that a company’s corporate social responsibility can steer consumers to identify and link themselves to brands generating buy-back and recommendation behaviors. These works thus reveal behavioral drivers on the creation of food reviews both at the consumer and company level.…”