The Role of CSR Engagement in Customer-Company Identification and Behavioral Intention During the COVID-19 Pandemic
The global coronavirus pandemic has reignited a strategic debate among the business community of the necessity for corporate social responsibility (CSR) engagement in the ever-dynamic social media. Considering the global economic downturn introduced by the COVID-19 pandemic, the present research is...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2021-08-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.721410/full |
| _version_ | 1818596816300539904 |
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| author | Yanqin Wu Wenzhong Zhu |
| author_facet | Yanqin Wu Wenzhong Zhu |
| author_sort | Yanqin Wu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The global coronavirus pandemic has reignited a strategic debate among the business community of the necessity for corporate social responsibility (CSR) engagement in the ever-dynamic social media. Considering the global economic downturn introduced by the COVID-19 pandemic, the present research is devoted to investigating whether CSR engagement in social media can help DiDi (a Chinese shared brand) at stake survive this overwhelming crisis. A theoretical model proposed to describe the hypothesized relationships was tested by a Structural Equation Modeling technique through the empirical online questionnaire. Through findings, we demonstrated that there was a positive relationship between CSR engagement of DiDi on WeChat, customer–company identification (C–C identification), and behavioral intention [purchase intention, brand loyalty, and e-word-of-mouth (eWOM)] of customers. With attention to psychological influence, our empirical statistics also evidenced the mediating role of C-C identification between CSR engagement and behavioral intention of customers. This study highlights the significant role of CSR engagement in a critical period theoretically and offers businesses more open innovation strategies to compete against the COVID-19 pandemic-induced market downturn. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-16T11:37:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-64953e6bad35432085d2542fcadfcb9e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-16T11:37:55Z |
| publishDate | 2021-08-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-64953e6bad35432085d2542fcadfcb9e2022-12-21T22:33:01ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782021-08-011210.3389/fpsyg.2021.721410721410The Role of CSR Engagement in Customer-Company Identification and Behavioral Intention During the COVID-19 PandemicYanqin Wu0Wenzhong Zhu1School of English for International Business, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Guangzhou, ChinaSchool of Business, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Guangzhou, ChinaThe global coronavirus pandemic has reignited a strategic debate among the business community of the necessity for corporate social responsibility (CSR) engagement in the ever-dynamic social media. Considering the global economic downturn introduced by the COVID-19 pandemic, the present research is devoted to investigating whether CSR engagement in social media can help DiDi (a Chinese shared brand) at stake survive this overwhelming crisis. A theoretical model proposed to describe the hypothesized relationships was tested by a Structural Equation Modeling technique through the empirical online questionnaire. Through findings, we demonstrated that there was a positive relationship between CSR engagement of DiDi on WeChat, customer–company identification (C–C identification), and behavioral intention [purchase intention, brand loyalty, and e-word-of-mouth (eWOM)] of customers. With attention to psychological influence, our empirical statistics also evidenced the mediating role of C-C identification between CSR engagement and behavioral intention of customers. This study highlights the significant role of CSR engagement in a critical period theoretically and offers businesses more open innovation strategies to compete against the COVID-19 pandemic-induced market downturn.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.721410/fullCSR engagementbehavioral intentionC-C identificationChinese shared brandsCOVID-19 pandemic |
| spellingShingle | Yanqin Wu Wenzhong Zhu The Role of CSR Engagement in Customer-Company Identification and Behavioral Intention During the COVID-19 Pandemic Frontiers in Psychology CSR engagement behavioral intention C-C identification Chinese shared brands COVID-19 pandemic |
| title | The Role of CSR Engagement in Customer-Company Identification and Behavioral Intention During the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_full | The Role of CSR Engagement in Customer-Company Identification and Behavioral Intention During the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_fullStr | The Role of CSR Engagement in Customer-Company Identification and Behavioral Intention During the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Role of CSR Engagement in Customer-Company Identification and Behavioral Intention During the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_short | The Role of CSR Engagement in Customer-Company Identification and Behavioral Intention During the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_sort | role of csr engagement in customer company identification and behavioral intention during the covid 19 pandemic |
| topic | CSR engagement behavioral intention C-C identification Chinese shared brands COVID-19 pandemic |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.721410/full |
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