The impact of brand value co-creation on perceived CSR authenticity and brand equity

Abstract

Purpose In response to the rise of socially conscious consumers, brands have been taking a strategic approach to corporate social responsibility (CSR) to drive brand equity. Nevertheless, merely engaging in CSR is not enough to have a positive impact on the value consumers give to a brand. The success of a CSR program depends on its consumers’ perceived authenticity. Therefore, this study aims to investigate how the perception of CSR authenticity, and consequently brand equity, can be enhanced by leveraging brand value co-creation. Design/methodology/approach The study uses a mixed-method approach to test its hypotheses. Study 1 collects survey data from a national representative sample in the USA, which is analyzed using structural equation modeling. Study 2 collects experimental data from a public university’s research pool, also in the USA, which is analyzed using ANOVA and mediation analysis. Findings This study demonstrates that when consumers believe that a brand is co-creative – i.e. consumers are allowed to participate in the creation of value – they will likely perceive the brand’s CSR program as more authentic, which in turn will positively affect brand equity. Originality/value The findings of this study offer implications for academics and brand managers interested on how to effectively leverage CSR for brand building. Specifically, it demonstrates that embracing CSR alone may not be sufficient to enhance brand equity and that brand managers should consider leveraging co-creation to strengthen perceptions of CSR authenticity.

What drives business-to-business brands to be conscientious?

“…Engaging stakeholders in this process will more likely lead to higher levels of perceived authenticity (Iglesias and Ind, 2020). Future research could study the effect of co-creation, and explore if co-creation related vs nonrelated to the cause (Muniz and Guzmán, 2023) have similar or different effects.…”

“…More recently, sociopolitical activism has been added to the strategy mix as a response to current social interests (Haupt et al , 2023; Kapitan et al , 2022; Ketron et al , 2022; Schmidt et al , 2022; Vredenburg et al , 2020). Past B2C and B2B research demonstrates how brand conscientiousness results in higher brand performance and equity (c.f., Cowan and Guzmán, 2020; Lai et al , 2010; Muniz et al , 2019; Muniz and Guzmán, 2023).…”

“…As with CSR (Guzmán and Becker-Olsen, 2010; Pirsch et al , 2007) and sustainability (Crittenden et al , 2011; Vallaster and Lindgreen, 2013), the challenge companies face in being socio-politically active is doing it in a way that is perceived as not opportunistic, but rather authentic or woke – i.e. a brand that is perceived as open-minded, empathetic and aware of current social issues – (Ahmad et al , 2022; Kapitan et al , 2022; Mirzaei et al , 2022; Muniz and Guzmán, 2023; Schmidt et al , 2022; Vredenburg et al , 2020). Another challenge is keeping their shareholders happy; companies are facing shareholders’ pressure advocating from both sides of the political spectrum, as well as for staying out of the political discourse (Vanderford, 2023).…”