Businesses adopt CSR initiatives to deliver their CSR images to customers to enhance their reputation; the outcomes of the CSR initiatives are partly reliant on a firm`s prior reputation, since most customers do not passively receive the delivered cor...
Businesses adopt CSR initiatives to deliver their CSR images to customers to enhance their reputation; the outcomes of the CSR initiatives are partly reliant on a firm`s prior reputation, since most customers do not passively receive the delivered corporate messages. Instead, they may actively decode them based on the perceived corporate attributes in their mind. This study tested whether three CSR communication appeals consisting of information substantiality, congruence to stakeholders` interest and beneficiary identification directly affect consumers` acceptance or consumers refer to a firm`s prior reputation before accepting the sincerity of CSR communication. The eventual purpose of this study is to propose a comprehensive model explaining consumers` acceptance on corporate CSR communication consisting of three constructs through a firm`s prior reputation. Data were collected through an on-line questionnaire. In this study, some of attributes related with a firm`s prior reputation will be identified as significant mediator variables mediating between CSR communication appeals and consumer acceptance.