THE IMPACT OF PERCEIVED CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY ON CONSUMER LOYALTY: USING CORPORATE IMAGE AND CUSTOMER TRUST AS MEDIATORS

Year 2025, Volume: 12 Issue: 2, 96 - 111, 31.12.2025

Mudallala Mousa

https://izlik.org/JA82RU96UH

Abstract

Purpose- Social responsibility could vary between economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic responsibilities. However, understanding how
people perceive CSR is an important aspect, particularly for managers. Thus, this research sheds light on this aspect by considering its impact on
consumer loyalty through trust and corporate image.
Methodology- The researcher considered the quantitative method to instigate the study hypotheses, and the data was collected via questionnaires.
The sample size included 410 respondents from company X consumers. The author used Structural Equation Model (SEM) to analyze the gathered
data through Amos software.
Findings- The results and findings of the study showed that consumer loyalty towards the company brands is not affected by their perception of
the social responsibility the company performs. However, the findings also supported the positive relationship that connects perceived CSR and
image, perceived CSR and consumer trust, corporate image and consumer loyalty, and consumer trust and consumer loyalty. Additionally, the
research confirms the positive effects of the mediating variables (consumer trust and corporate image).
Conclusion- Corporate social responsibility has occupied a distinguished place in business strategies due to the significance that lies behind the
advantages it brings to companies. It could be concluded from this study that it is important to consider trust and corporate image while doing
social activities to increase consumer loyalty.

Keywords

Perceived CSR , Trust , corporate image , loyalty , consumer

References

• Aksoy, N. (2015). The corporate social responsibility and sponsorship illusion of the commercial companies in public elementary schools of Turkey. Journal for Critical Education Policy Studies (JCEPS), 13(1), 15-29.
• Al Mubarak, Z., Ben Hamed, A., & Al Mubarak, M. (2018). Impact of corporate social responsibility on bank’s corporate image. Social Responsibility Journal, 15(5), 710-722.
• Alniacik, U., Alniacik, E., & Genc, N. (2011). How corporate social responsibility information influences stakeholders' intentions. Corporate social responsibility and environmental management, 18(4), 234-245
• Amoroso, D. L., & Roman, F. (2015). Corporate social responsibility and purchase intention: the roles of loyalty, advocacy and quality of life in the Philippines. The International Journal of Management, 4(1), 25-41.
• Andreassen, W., & Lindestad, B. (1998). Customer loyalty and complex services: the impact of corporate image on quality, customer satisfaction and loyalty for customers with varying degrees of service expertise. International Journal of Service Industry Management, 9(1), 7-23.
• Andreu, L., Casado-Díaz, A. B., & Mattila, A. S. (2015). Effects of message appeal and service type in CSR communication strategies. Journal of Business Research, 68(7), 1488-1495.
• Aras, G., & Crowther , D. (2008). The social obligation of corporations. Journal of Knowledge Globalization, 1(1), 43–59.
• Arendt, S., & Brettel, M. (2010). Understanding the influence of corporate social responsibility on corporate identity, image, and firm performance. Management Decision, 48(10), 1469-1492.
• Bae, J., & Kim, S. (2013). The influence of cultural aspects on public perception of the importance of CSR activity and purchase intention in Korea. Asian Journal of Communication, 23(1), 68-85.
• Barone, M. J., Miyazaki, A. D., & Taylor, K. A. (2000). The influence of cause-related marketing on consumer choice: Does one good turn deserve another? Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 28(2), 248–262.
• Berens, G., C. B. M. van Riel & G. H. van Bruggen. (2005). Corporate associations and consumer product responses: the moderating role of corporate brand dominance. Journal of Marketing, 69(3), 35–48.
• Bianchi, E., Bruno, J. M., & Sarabia-Sanchez, F. J. (2019). The impact of perceived CSR on corporate reputation and purchase intention. European Journal of Management and Business Economics, 28(3), 206-221.
• Brown, T. J., & Dacin, P. A. (1997). The company and the product: corporate associations and consumer product responses. Journal of Marketing, 61(1), 68-84.
• Byrne, B. M. (2011). Structural equation modeling with AMOS Basic concepts, applications, and programming (Multivariate Applications Series), Routledge, New York
• Byrne, B. M. (2016). Structural Equation Modeling with Amos: Basic Concepts. Applications, and Programming (3ed.). New York: Routledge
• Carroll, A. B. (1979). A three-dimensional conceptual model of corporate performance. Academy of Management Review, 4(4), 497-505.
• Chaudhuri, A., & HolbrooK, M. B. (2001). The chain of effects from brand trust and brand affect brand performance: The role of brand loyalty. Journal of Marketing, 65(2), 81-93.
• Choi, B., & La, S. (2013). The impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and customer trust on the restoration of loyalty after service failure and recovery. Journal of Services Marketing, 27(3), 223-233.
• Coulter, K. S., & Coulter, R. A. (2002). Determinants of trust in a service provider: the moderating role of length of relationship. Journal of Services Marketing, 16(1), 35-50.
• Courtney, M., & Gordon, R. (2013). Determining the number of factors to retain in EFA: using the SPSS R-menu v2 0 to make more judicious estimations. Practical Assessment. Research, and Evaluation, 18(1), 8-21.
• Crosby, L. A., Evans, K. R., & Cowles, D. (1990). Relationship quality in services selling: an interpersonal influence perspective. Journal of Marketing, 54(3), 68–81.
• David, P., Kline, S., & Dai, Y. (2005). Corporate social responsibility practices, corporate identity, and purchase intention: A dual-process model. Journal of Public Relations Research, 3(17), 291-313.
• Deepak, S., Jagdip, S., & Barry , S. (2002). Consumer trust, value, and loyalty in relational exchanges. Journal of Marketing, 66(1), 15-37.
• Delgado‐Ballester, E., & Munuera‐Alemán, J. L. (2001). Brand trust in the context of consumer loyalty. European Journal of marketing, 35(11/12), 1238-125.
• Deng, X., & Xu, Y. (2017). Consumers’ responses to corporate social responsibility initiatives: the mediating role of consumer–company identification. Journal of Business Ethics, 142(3), 515–526.
• Dodd, M. D., & Supa, D. W. (2011). Understanding the effect of corporate social responsibility on consumer purchase intention. Public Relations Journal, 5(3), 1-19.
• Doney, P. M., & Cannon, J. P. (1997). An examination of the nature of trust in buyer–seller relationships. Journal of Marketing, 61(2), 35-51.
• Eyduran, E., Topal, M., & Sonmez, A. Y. (2010). Use of factor scores in multiple regression analysis for estimation of body weight by several body measurements in brown trouts (Salmo trutta fario), 611- 615.
• Fatma, M., & Rahman, Z. (2016). The CSR’s influence on customer responses in Indian banking sector. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 29, 49-57.
• Gaskin, J. (2021a). EFA section. Gaskination's StatWiki. http://statwiki.gaskination.com
• Gaskin, J. (2021b). CFA section. Gaskination's StatWiki. http://statwiki.gaskination.com
• Gatti, L., Caruana, A., & Snehota, I. (2012). The role of corporate social responsibility, perceived quality and corporate reputation on purchase intention: Implications for brand management. Journal of Brand Management, 20(1), 65-76.
• Guenzi, P., Johnson, M. D., & Castaldo, S. (2009). A comprehensive model of customer trust in two retail stores. Journal of Service Management, 20(3), 290-316.
• Gundlach, G. T., & Murphy, P. E. (1993). Ethical and legal foundations of relational marketing exchanges. Journal of Marketing, 57(4), 35-46.
• Gürlek, M., Düzgün, E., & Meydan Uygur, S. (2017). How does corporate social responsibility create customer loyalty? The role of corporate image. Social Responsibility Journal, 13(3), 409-427.
• Hair, J., Black, W., Babin, B., and Anderson, R. (2010). Multivariate data analysis.7th ed. NJ, USA: Prentice-Hall, Inc. Upper Saddle River.
• Hart, A. E., & Rosenberger, P. J. (2004). The effect of corporate image in the formation of customer loyalty: an Australian replication. Australasian Marketing Journal, 12(3), 88-96.
• Keh, H. T., & Xie, Y. (2009). Corporate reputation and customer behavioral intentions: The roles of trust, identification and commitment. Industrial Marketing Management, 38(7), 732-744.
• Khamis, N. I., & Wan Ismail, W. K. (2022). The impact of corporate social responsibility on corporate image in the construction industry: a case of SMEs in Egypt. Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment, 12(1), 128-146.
• Kiran, R., & Sharma, A. (2011). Corporate social responsibility: A corporate strategy for new business opportunities. Journal of International Business Ethics, 4(1), 10-22.
• Koep, L. (2017). Tensions in aspirational CSR communication—A longitudinal investigation of CSR reporting. Sustainability, 9(12), 2202-2219.
• Kotler, P., & Lee, N. (2005). Corporate Social Responsibility: Doing the Most Good for Your Company and Your Cause. New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons.
• Lee, E. M., & Yoon, S. J. (2018). The effect of customer citizenship in corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities on purchase intention: The important role of the CSR image. Social Responsibility Journal, 14(4), 753-763.
• Lee, J., & Lee, Y. (2018). Effects of multi-brand company’s CSR activities on purchase intention through a mediating role of corporate image and brand image. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management: An International Journal, 22(3), 387-403.
• Lei, P. W., & Wu, Q. (2007). Introduction to structural equation modeling: Issues and practical considerations. Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice, 26(3), 33-43.
• Lin, C. P., Chen, S. C., Chiu, C. K., & Lee, W. Y. (2011). Understanding purchase intention during product-harm crises: Moderating effects of perceived corporate ability and corporate social responsibility. Journal of Business Ethics, 102(3), 455-471.
• Lin, C. W., Wang, K. Y., Chang, S. H., & Lin, J. A. (2019). Investigating the development of brand loyalty in brand communities from a positive psychology perspective. Journal of Business Research, 99, 446-455.
• Liu, Y., Ji, H., & Fenglan. (2010). A study on the perceived CSR and customer loyalty based on dairy market in China .7th International Conference on Service Systems and Service Management (pp. 1-6). IEEE.
• Marsh, H. W., Guo, J., Dicke, T., Parker, P. D., & Craven, R. G. (2020). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM), and set-ESEM: Optimal balance between goodness of fit and parsimony. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 55(1), 102-119.
• Marsh, H. W., Muthén, B., Asparouhov, T., Lüdtke, O., Robitzsch, A., Morin, A. J., & Trautwein, U. (2009). Exploratory structural equation modeling, integrating CFA and EFA: Application to students' evaluations of university teaching. Structural equation modeling: A multidisciplinary Journal, 16(3), 439-476.
• Martínez, P., & Rodríguez, I. (2013). CSR and customer loyalty: the roles of trust, customer identification with the company and satisfaction. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 35, 89-99.
• Martínez, P., Pérez, A., & Del Bosque, I. R. (2014). CSR influence on hotel brand image and loyalty. Academia Revista Latinoamericana de Administración, 27(2), 267-283.
• Moisescu, OI. (2015). The impact of customers’ perception of CSR on corporate brand loyalty: The case of the Romanian mobile telecom industry. Central European Business Review. 4(2),21–30.
• Moorman, C., Zaltman, G., & Deshpande, R. (1992). Relationships between providers and users of market research: the dynamics of trust within and between organizations. Journal of Marketing Research, 29(3), 314–328.
• Muijs, D.,2010. Doing quantitative research in education with SPSS. Sage.
• Mulaessa, N., & Wang, H. (2017). The effect of corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities on consumers purchase intention in China: Mediating role of consumer support for responsible business. International Journal of Marketing Studies, 9(1), 73-85.
• Olšanová, K., Gook, G., & Zlatić, M. (2018). Influence of luxury companies’ corporate social responsibility activities on consumer purchase intention: Development of a theoretical framework. Central European Business Review, 7(3), 1-14.
• Oney, E., Guven, G. O., & Rizvi, W. H. (2017). The determinants of electronic payment systems usage from consumers’ perspective. Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja, 30(1), 394–415.
• Oo, E. Y., Jung, H., & Park, I. J. (2018). Psychological factors linking perceived CSR to OCB: The role of organizational pride, collectivism, and person–organization fit. Sustainability, 10(7), 2481-2499.
• Panwar, R., Rinne, T., Hansen, E., & Juslin, H. (2006). Corporate responsibility: Balancing economic, environmental, and social issues in the forest products industry. Forest Products Journal, 56(2), 4–12.
• Park, K.-N. (2002). An empirical study on the effects of rich media banner advertisement on corporation image and attitude. The Korean Journal of Advertising, 13(4), 229-255.
• Pérez, A., & Bosque, I. D. (2013). Extending on the formation process of CSR image. Social Marketing Quarterly, 19(3), 156-171. Pérez, A., & Del Bosque, I. R. (2013). Measuring CSR image: Three studies to develop and to validate a reliable measurement tool. Journal of Business Ethics, 118(2), 265-286.
• Pérez, A., & del Bosque, I. R. (2014). Customer CSR expectations in the banking industry. International Journal of Bank Marketing, 32(3), 223–244.
• Pirtini, S., & Erdem, Ş. (2010). Nature of corporate social responsibility from the point of marketing management view and application of content analysis on social responsibility projects. Journal of Naval Science and Engineering, 6(2), 51-75.
• Pivato, S., Misani , N., & Tencati , A. (2008). The impact of corporate social responsibility on consumer trust: The case of organic food. Business Ethics: A European Review, 17(1), 3–12.
• Pornpratang, K., Lockard, D., & Ngamkroeckjoti, W. (2013). The impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on consumer trust and purchase intention: A case study of condominium development in Bangkok area. International Conference on Business, Economics, and Accounting, 5, 20- 23.
• Roman, S. (2003). The impact of ethical sales behavior on customer satisfaction, trust and loyalty to the company: an empirical study in the financial services industry. Journal of Marketing Management, 19(9), 915-939.
• Savalei, V., & Bentler, P. M. (2006). Structural equation modeling. The handbook of marketing research: Uses, misuses, and future advances, 330, 36.
• Schumacker, R. E., & Lomax, R. G. (2010). A Beginner’s Guide to Structural Equation Modeling (3rd ed.). New York: Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.
• Sekaran, U. & Bougie, R., 2016. "Research Methods for Business: a skill-building approach". 7th ed. United Kingdom: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
• Semuel, H., & Chandra, S. S. (2014). The analysis of corporate social responsibility implementation effects towards price fairness, trust and purchase intention at oriflame cosmetics product in Surabaya. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 42-47, 42-47.
• Sen, S., & Bhattacharya, C. B. (2001). Does doing good always lead to doing better? Consumer reactions to corporate social responsibility. Journal of Marketing Research, 38(2), 225-243.
• Servera-Francés, D., & Piqueras-Tomás, L. (2019). The effects of corporate social responsibility on consumer loyalty through consumer perceived value. Economic Research-Ekonomska istraživanja, 32(1), 66-84.
• Sharma, R., & Jain, V. (2019). CSR, trust, brand loyalty and brand equity: Empirical evidence from sportswear industry in the NCR region of India. Metamorphosis, 18(1), 57-67.
• Sharon, Y. H., & Stanley McGreal, W. (2010). House-buyers expectations with relation to corporate social responsibility for Malaysian housing. International Journal of Housing Markets and Analysis, 3(2), 132-145.
• Shrestha, N. (2021). Factor analysis as a tool for survey analysis. American Journal of Applied Mathematics and Statistics, 9(1), 4-11.
• Sirgy, M. J., & Lee, D.-J. (1996). Setting socially responsible marketing objectives: A quality-of-life approach. European Journal of Marketing, 30(5), 20-34.
• Smith, S. M., & Albaum, G. S. (2005). Fundamentals of marketing research. Sage.
• Speed, R., & Thompson, P. (2002). Determinants of sports sponsorship response. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 3, 226–238.
• Su, S., Jeong, Y. J., Choi, J. Y., & Kim, S. W. (2015). Effects of ethical management of retail enterprises in Korea on corporate image and purchase intention. The Journal of Business Economics and Environmental Studies, 5(1), 27-35.
• Sweetin, V. H., Knowles, L. L., Summey, J. H., & McQueen, K. S. (2013). Willingness-to-punish the corporate brand for corporate social irresponsibility. Journal of Business Research, 66(10), 1822-1830.
• Thomas, J., & Kozhikode, M. (2008). Trust in customer relationships: addressing impediments in research. Advances in Consumer Research, 8, 346-349.
• Tian, Z., Wang, R., & Yang, W. (2011). Consumer responses to corporate social responsibility (CSR) in China. Journal of Business Ethics, 101(2), 197-212.
• Ünal, N. G. (2020, April 13). Capital. Retrieved from KSS liginde son tablo: https://www.capital.com.tr/is-dunyasi/arastirmalar/kss-liginde-son- tablo
• Upamannyu, N. K., Gulati, C., Chack, A., & Kaur, G. (2015). The effect of customer trust on customer loyalty and repurchase intention: The moderating influence of perceived CSR. International Journal of Research in IT, Management and Engineering, 5(4), 1-31.
• Vanhamme, J., Lindgreen, A., Reast, J., & Van Popering, N. (2012). To do well by doing good: Improving corporate image through cause-related marketing. Journal of Business Ethics, 109(3), 259-274.
• Weston, R., & Gore Jr, P. A. (2006). A brief guide to structural equation modeling. The Counseling Psychologist, 34(5), 719-751.
• Williams, B., Onsman, A., & Brown, T. (2010). Exploratory factor analysis: A five-step guide for novices. Australasian Journal of Paramedicine, 8(3), 123-134.
• Winters, K. (1990). The need for improved assessment of adolescent substance involvement. Journal of Drug Issues, 20, 487-502.
• YAŞLIOĞLU, M. M. (2017). Sosyal bilimlerde faktör analizi ve geçerlilik: Keşfedici ve doğrulayıcı faktör analizlerinin kullanılması. İstanbul Üniversitesi İşletme Fakültesi Dergisi, 46, 74-85.
• Yaşlioğlu, M., & Yaşlioğlu, D. T. (2020). How and when to use which fit indices? A practical and critical review of the methodology. Istanbul Management Journal, (88), 1-20.
• Zeithaml, V. A., Berry, L. L., & Parasuraman, A. (1996). The behavioral consequences of service quality. Journal of Marketing, 60(2), 31-46.