Research addressing the relationships between corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities and consumers-asstakeholders’ perceptions, attitudes and behaviours is dispersed over a range of topics, subsumed under different marketing concepts, and in general surprisingly under-researched given the centrality of CSR in both the normative management literature and public discourse. This paper gives an overview of the past two decades of research on consumers, marketing and CSR, taking the classical consumer decision-making model as frame of classification. The analysis reveals a significant methodology factor and a serious lack of knowledge concerning the consequences of strategic CSR activities.
Why do consumers perform altruistic acts such as financial contributions to charitable organizations,paying more for environmentally responsible products or even donating organs? One of the explanations is the desire to experience a “warm glow” (Andreoni, 1990), which contradicts the traditional economists’ view of people as selfish utility maximisers. But do consumers also experience a “warm glow” vis-à-vis companies that
perform altruistic acts and reward them, thus leading to enhanced corporate reputation, brand image and customer loyalty?One of the central arguments in favour of corporate
commitment to, and engagement in, social responsibilities is the “stakeholder” argument: a socially responsible company is supposed to address the concerns and satisfy the demands of its main stakeholders (e.g.,Donaldson & Preston, 1995; Jones, 1995;Maignan,Ferrell & Hult, 1999; Waddock, 2000). Stakeholders are
those actors who can, directly or indirectly, affect, or be affected by, corporate activities such as customers,suppliers, employees, shareholders, the media, investors,
regulators, and interest organizations (cf., Freeman,1984).Among the key stakeholders of companies in marketing exchange process are, of course, consumers
(Folkes & Kamins, 1999; Hunt & Vitell, 1992). However,research addressing the relationships between CSR activities and consumers-as-stakeholders’ perceptions,attitudes and behaviours is lacking. Moreover, as will be seen below, the few studies investigating consumers’responses to marketing management of CSR are concerned with a wide and not necessarily coherent range of issues. Studies explicitly investigating consumers’responses to the communication of CSR are scarce
