In recent years, the coffee industry has been confronted with challenges such as market maturity and intensifying competition. Although corporate ESG activities have become increasingly commonplace, consumers tend to evaluate these initiatives more cr...
In recent years, the coffee industry has been confronted with challenges such as market maturity and intensifying competition. Although corporate ESG activities have become increasingly commonplace, consumers tend to evaluate these initiatives more critically in terms of their perceived authenticity rather than their sheer scope or frequency. Nevertheless, empirical evidence remains limited as to whether such perceptions translate into psychological bonds and long-term relational outcomes. Accordingly, this study aims to structurally examine the effects of ESG management authenticity on social connectedness and brand fandom in the context of coffee shop brands, and to verify the mediating role of social connectedness in these relationships. For this purpose, ESG authenticity was conceptualized as comprising three sub-dimensions—environmental authenticity, social authenticity, and governance authenticity—and a causal model was constructed linking these dimensions to social connectedness and brand fandom. The empirical analysis was based on data collected through an online survey of 300 consumers who had visited the same coffee shop brand at least twice within the past three months and held membership in that brand. The data were analyzed using multiple regression analysis and mediation analysis with the PROCESS Macro.
The results indicate that all three sub-dimensions of ESG authenticity exert a significant positive effect on social connectedness, with environmental authenticity demonstrating the strongest positive influence. Furthermore, all three sub-dimensions of ESG authenticity have a direct positive effect on brand fandom, among which social authenticity exhibits the greatest impact. Social connectedness with the coffee shop brand also shows a significant positive effect on brand fandom, and the indirect effect of ESG authenticity on brand fandom via social connectedness is found to be significant, thereby confirming a partial mediating effect.
This study offers both academic and practical implications by empirically elucidating the structural relationships among ESG management authenticity, social connectedness, and brand fandom within the coffee shop industry context. From an academic perspective, the study is meaningful in that it approaches ESG management not merely as a set of managerial activities, but as a construct grounded in consumers’ perceptions of authenticity, and empirically verifies the relational mechanism through which ESG management leads to psychological bonds and, ultimately, to brand fandom. Moreover, by identifying the differential effects of each sub-dimension of ESG management authenticity, the study suggests the applicability of a more fine-grained conceptualization of authenticity. From a practical perspective, the findings imply that when firms implement ESG in a genuinely authentic manner, they can enhance consumers’ social connectedness with the company and, in turn, foster stronger advocacy and fandom for the brand.