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Corporate social responsibility and competitive advantage: Overcoming the trust barrier

Author

Listed:
  • Shuili Du

    (Simmons College)

  • C.B. Bhattacharya

    (ESMT European School of Management and Technology)

  • Sankar Sen

    (Baruch College, City University of New York)

Abstract

This research builds on the complementary corporate social responsibility (CSR) literatures in strategy and marketing to provide insight into the efficacy of CSR as a challenger’s competitive weapon against a market leader. Through an investigation of a real world CSR initiative, we show that the challenger can reap superior business returns among consumers who had participated in its CSR initiative, relative to those who were merely aware of the initiative. Specifically, participant consumers demonstrate the desired attitudinal and behavioral changes in favor of the challenger, regardless of their affective trust in the leader, whereas aware consumers’ reactions become less favorable as their affective trust in the leader increases. Furthermore, participation, unlike mere awareness, transforms the nature of the consumer-challenger relationship from a transactional one to a communal, trust-based one.

Suggested Citation

  • Shuili Du & C.B. Bhattacharya & Sankar Sen, 2010. "Corporate social responsibility and competitive advantage: Overcoming the trust barrier," ESMT Research Working Papers ESMT-10-006, ESMT European School of Management and Technology.
    • Handle: RePEc:esm:wpaper:esmt-10-006
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Mahrinasari MS, 2019. "Determinants of Brand Equity: Communication of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) versus CSR itself and Company Credibility," Contemporary Economics, University of Economics and Human Sciences in Warsaw., vol. 13(3), September.
    2. Yong Liu & Qian Xu & Zhi‐yang Liu, 2020. "A coordination mechanism through value‐added profit distribution in a supply chain considering corporate social responsibility," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 41(4), pages 586-598, June.

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    Keywords

    corporate social responsibility; competitive strategy; challenger brand; affective trust;
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