Does corporate social responsibility image influence on purchase intent? The role of consumer-company identification

Abstract

Are investments in communication activities which try to position the brand as a socially responsible entity justified? There still exist both in the academic world and in the managerial practice some doubts with regards to whether the Corporate Social Responsibility influences the consumer ́s purchase behaviour, and being it so, through which mechanism is that influence caused. This analysis tries to shed some light on the question, by including the concept of consumer-company identification. Thus, is empirically contrasted a model which compares influence of brand’s social responsibility image and corporate ability image on purchase intent through consumer-company identification. Conclusions states that while brand’s social responsibility image influences on purchase intent trough identification, corporate ability image influences directly and positively on purchase intent with no need of such mediation.