The influence of corporate social responsibility and price fairness on customer behaviour: evidence from the financial sector

This paper explores how customers' perceptions of firms' corporate social responsibility (CSR) and fairness in their pricing strategy determine customers' behaviour as users of financial services. Specifically it proposes a model where CSR and price fairness positively determine customer loyalty through satisfaction and commitment. It also proposes that the entity's social responsibility actions influence customers' price fairness evaluations. To test this model, structural equation modelling is employed on a sample of 300 customers of banks and savings banks. Results show that both CSR and price fairness contribute to achieving customer loyalty, also confirming the roles of satisfaction and commitment as mediating variables. In addition, it is also shown that CSR influences customer perceptions of price fairness, in such a way that customers perceive that socially oriented firms are also fairer in their pricing strategies. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.