The effects of corporate social responsibility on consumer loyalty through consumer perceived value

This study analyses how consumers perceive the corporate social responsibility (CSR) actions carried out by retailing firms. Specifically, our study empirically demonstrates that investment in CSR policies increases consumer value, satisfaction and loyalty to the company. To achieve this, we propose and test a model of causal relationships. The model was tested with a sample of 408 Spanish supermarket and hypermarket consumers. Methodologically, a variance-based method to estimate the structural model – PLS path modelling – has been chosen. The results show that CSR policies increase consumers’ perceived value towards the company as well as trust, commitment, satisfaction and loyalty. The originality and value of this paper is the study of consumer-oriented CSR as a variable that allows competitive differentiation of the company, by improving the relationship with the consumers and the generation of perceived value. Although CSR and consumer value have become attractive research topics in the business literature, their interrelationships are not well understood. In this study, we analyse a real sample of consumers, which allows us a more accurate approximation of the real consumer perception of CSR.