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To serve the country or avoid risk? The effects of strategic versus responsive CSR on consumer trust under high tariff salience

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Listed:
  • Dai, Luote
  • Xiang, Kangli
  • Gu, Shengyu
  • Zhou, Xiaomin

Abstract

This study focuses on the influencing mechanism of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on consumer behavior in the context of geopolitical risks. Taking the 104 % tariff imposed by the United States on Chinese products as the experimental situation, this paper innovatively puts forward the concept of tariff salience from the perspective of institutional theory and consumer psychology. Moreover, this paper systematically discusses the linkage effect of tariff salience, CSR type, moral emotion and CSR skepticism on consumer trust and purchase intention. Through three situational experiments, the study reveals the following core conclusions: (1) Tariff salience significantly reduces consumers' brand trust and purchase intention, and the negative effect is mainly amplified by negative moral affect (anger) and partially offset by positive moral affect (appreciation), reflecting the “emotional offset†effect; (2) Strategic CSR is generally more capable of enhancing consumer trust compared to Reactive CSR. However, this signaling effect is significantly weakened in situations of high suspicion or high institutional threat, indicating that the effectiveness of CSR signals is context-dependent. (3) CSR skepticism significantly regulates the chain path of moral affection-trust-behavior, which has a significant amplifying effect on the negative emotional path, but has a limited impact on the positive emotional path, showing obvious regulatory asymmetry. This study not only expands the application scope of institutional theory and signaling theory in the field of CSR, but also provides precise management suggestions and theoretical guidance for enterprises to repair consumer trust through CSR strategies in the context of institutional risk.

Suggested Citation

  • Dai, Luote & Xiang, Kangli & Gu, Shengyu & Zhou, Xiaomin, 2026. "To serve the country or avoid risk? The effects of strategic versus responsive CSR on consumer trust under high tariff salience," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 89(PA).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:joreco:v:89:y:2026:i:pa:s0969698925003613
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jretconser.2025.104582
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