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Customer perceptions of CSR authenticity

Saju Jose (Department of Marketing, College of Business, Abu Dhabi University, Abu Dhabi, UAE)
Nilesh Khare (Jagran Lakecity Business School, Jagran Lakecity University, Bhopal, India)
F. Robert Buchanan (Department of International Business, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana, Pennsylvania, USA)

International Journal of Organizational Analysis

ISSN: 1934-8835

Article publication date: 3 September 2018

Issue publication date: 3 September 2018

1345

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to look at corporate social responsibility (CSR)-related actions to see whether they relate to clients’ perception of CSR.

Design/methodology/approach

Ninety-nine bank customers in Brisbane, Australia were surveyed by mail in a cross-sectional field study.

Findings

Not all CSR-related behaviors of the organizations were influential to perceptions of social responsibility. Big picture actions for the betterment of humanity were found to be influential to the perception of the firm’s CSR. However, respondents did not relate the firms’ profit and revenue initiatives to social responsibility, other than negativity toward false and misleading practices.

Research limitations/implications

Results are limited to one industry in Australia.

Practical implications

Actions for human betterment were found to be influential to the perception of the firm’s CSR. Also the uses of dishonest marketing schemes were seen as detrimental to CSR perceptions of the firm. However, respondents did not connect the firm’s business actions affecting profitability with customers, to their perceptions of its CSR. Thus, the authors conclude that altruism from a “big picture” standpoint has value in shaping CSR perception, but the organization may not always find it necessary to deprioritize profit, or to attempt to weave CSR actions into every aspect of their business.

Originality/value

The inquiry takes a novel approach to CSR, capturing an unexplored aspect of how CSR is perceived and valued by stakeholders.

Keywords

Citation

Jose, S., Khare, N. and Buchanan, F.R. (2018), "Customer perceptions of CSR authenticity", International Journal of Organizational Analysis, Vol. 26 No. 4, pp. 614-629. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOA-08-2017-1213

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited

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