Linking Perceived Corporate Social Responsibility to Brand Loyalty and Brand Advocacy Intention: Brand Trust and Value Co-Creation in Hotel Customer Relationships

This study examines how hotel customers’ perceptions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) are associated with brand loyalty and brand advocacy intention through brand trust and value co-creation. Drawing on signaling theory, relationship-based social exchange reasoning, and service-dominant logic, survey data collected from 638 hotel customers recruited in Taiwan between May and June 2026 were analyzed using PLS-SEM. Perceived CSR was positively associated with brand trust; brand trust was positively associated with value co-creation; and both brand trust and value co-creation were positively associated with loyalty and advocacy intention. The direct CSR–outcome associations were not significant, whereas the proposed indirect associations were significant. Competing-model analyses qualified the serial interpretation: a parallel model remained plausible, and a partial sequential model showed significant CSR–VCC and BT–VCC paths, indicating that trust is a meaningful but not exclusive pathway to participation. Supplementary measurement analyses supported an overarching value co-creation representation while confirming borderline first-order convergent validity. The findings concern customer–brand relationship associations rather than sustainability-specific behavior or hotel sustainability performance. Managerially, hotels should emphasize credible CSR communication and accessible opportunities for customer participation rather than assuming that favorable CSR perceptions directly translate into loyalty or advocacy.