IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i13p7206-d583480.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Effect of CSR Attributes on CSR Authenticity: Focusing on Mediating Effects of Digital Transformation

Author

Listed:
  • Huifang Liu

    (Department of International Business, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju 28644, Korea)

  • Jin-Sup Jung

    (Department of International Business, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju 28644, Korea)

Abstract

What corporate social responsibility (CSR) attributes determine the CSR authenticity of a company? In the face of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, what direction should the CSR strategy pursue? In the electronics industries in Korea and China, are there any differences in CSR attributes? In this study, we start with some of these basic questions. Considering the promotional and actual costs incurred from CSR activities, CSR strategy are not an issue that can be easily determined from the corporate perspective. However, now it is essential for companies to carry out CSR and sustainable development goals (SDGs) activities, and businesses cannot overlook social issues either. Companies cannot pursue only growth through corporate interests without social value. In this study, we derive three attributes of CSR fit, CSR sustainability, and CSR impact to verify the authenticity of CSR activities. Moreover, we demonstrated the impact of these three attributes on CSR authenticity for the electronics industries in Korea and China. As a result of empirical testing, most of three attributes above mentioned (i.e., CSR fit, CSR sustainability, and CSR impact) produce meaningful results for CSR authenticity. However, CSR sustainability was rejected for the Korea sample, and CSR fit was rejected for the Chinese sample, showing some differences between the two countries. Meanwhile, the digital transformation of the Fourth Industrial Revolution had strong partial mediating effects between CSR attributes and CSR authenticity. This means that digital transformation can be an important pathway to achieve CSR authenticity and suggests that important mediating effects can eventually lead to a firm’s competitiveness.

Suggested Citation

  • Huifang Liu & Jin-Sup Jung, 2021. "The Effect of CSR Attributes on CSR Authenticity: Focusing on Mediating Effects of Digital Transformation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-15, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:13:p:7206-:d:583480
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/13/7206/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/13/7206/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Daeheon Choi & Chune Young Chung & Jason Young, 2019. "An Economic Analysis of Corporate Social Responsibility in Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-18, May.
    2. Terry Beckman & Alison Colwell & Peggy Cunningham, 2009. "The Emergence of Corporate Social Responsibility in Chile: The Importance of Authenticity and Social Networks," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 86(2), pages 191-206, March.
    3. Abdul Karim Feroz & Hangjung Zo & Ananth Chiravuri, 2021. "Digital Transformation and Environmental Sustainability: A Review and Research Agenda," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-20, February.
    4. Pracejus, John W. & Olsen, G. Douglas, 2004. "The role of brand/cause fit in the effectiveness of cause-related marketing campaigns," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 57(6), pages 635-640, June.
    5. Marc Vilanova & Josep Lozano & Daniel Arenas, 2009. "Exploring the Nature of the Relationship Between CSR and Competitiveness," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 87(1), pages 57-69, April.
    6. Naveedullah Mulaessa & Hong Wang, 2017. "The Effect of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Activities on Consumers Purchase Intention in China: Mediating Role of Consumer Support for Responsible Business," International Journal of Marketing Studies, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 9(1), pages 73-81, February.
    7. Shuili Du & C. Bhattacharya & Sankar Sen, 2015. "Corporate Social Responsibility, Multi-faceted Job-Products, and Employee Outcomes," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 131(2), pages 319-335, October.
    8. Hajir Afzali & Sang Soo Kim, 2021. "Consumers’ Responses to Corporate Social Responsibility: The Mediating Role of CSR Authenticity," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-13, February.
    9. Dongho Yoo & Jieun Lee, 2018. "The Effects of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Fit and CSR Consistency on Company Evaluation: The Role of CSR Support," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-16, August.
    10. Becker-Olsen, Karen L. & Cudmore, B. Andrew & Hill, Ronald Paul, 2006. "The impact of perceived corporate social responsibility on consumer behavior," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 59(1), pages 46-53, January.
    11. Alhouti, Sarah & Johnson, Catherine M. & Holloway, Betsy Bugg, 2016. "Corporate social responsibility authenticity: Investigating its antecedents and outcomes," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(3), pages 1242-1249.
    12. Park, Jongchul & Lee, Hanjoon & Kim, Chankon, 2014. "Corporate social responsibilities, consumer trust and corporate reputation: South Korean consumers' perspectives," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 67(3), pages 295-302.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Wanyi Chen & Liguang Zhang & Pinyan Jiang & Fanli Meng & Qianyi Sun, 2022. "Can digital transformation improve the information environment of the capital market? Evidence from the analysts' prediction behaviour," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(2), pages 2543-2578, June.
    2. SiJian Niu & Byung Il Park & Jin Sup Jung, 2022. "The Effects of Digital Leadership and ESG Management on Organizational Innovation and Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-20, November.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jing Yu & Changjun Jiang & Xiaohong Zhuang & Sanggyun Na & Zongmin Cui, 2020. "The Formation Mechanism of Consumer Perceived Corporate Social Responsibility Authenticity: An Empirical Study of Chinese Consumers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-22, March.
    2. Hajir Afzali & Sang Soo Kim, 2021. "Consumers’ Responses to Corporate Social Responsibility: The Mediating Role of CSR Authenticity," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-13, February.
    3. Chen Wang & Yeonggil Kim & Changhee Kim, 2022. "Are all CSR Activities in Your SNS Authentic? The Antecedents and Outcomes of Consumer Perceived Authenticity of CSR," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(4), pages 21582440221, November.
    4. Seonggoo Ji & Ihsan Ullah Jan, 2019. "The Impact of Perceived Corporate Social Responsibility on Frontline Employee’s Emotional Labor Strategies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-14, March.
    5. Duygu Turker & Ozge Can & Gizem Aras‐Beger, 2023. "How authenticity of corporate social responsibility affects organizational attractiveness: Stakeholder perceptions of organizational ideology," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(4), pages 1680-1697, July.
    6. Seunghee Im & Yang Woon Chung & Ji Yeon Yang, 2016. "Employees’ Participation in Corporate Social Responsibility and Organizational Outcomes: The Moderating Role of Person–CSR Fit," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-14, December.
    7. Anran Zhang & Alex Scodellaro & Bo Pang & Hui-Yi Lo & Zhengliang Xu, 2020. "Attribution and Effectiveness of Cause-Related Marketing: The Interplay between Cause–Brand Fit and Corporate Reputation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-17, October.
    8. Virginia S. Harrison & Michail Vafeiadis & Joseph Bober, 2022. "Greening Professional Sport: How Communicating the Fit, Proximity, and Impact of Sustainability Efforts Affects Fan Perceptions and Supportive Intentions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-21, March.
    9. Dongho Yoo & Jieun Lee, 2018. "The Effects of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Fit and CSR Consistency on Company Evaluation: The Role of CSR Support," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-16, August.
    10. Min Ah Jeon & Daechun An, 2019. "A study on the relationship between perceived CSR motives, authenticity and company attitudes: a comparative analysis of cause promotion and cause-related marketing," Asian Journal of Sustainability and Social Responsibility, Springer, vol. 4(1), pages 1-14, December.
    11. Chris Hydock & Neeru Paharia & T. J. Weber, 2019. "The Consumer Response to Corporate Political Advocacy: a Review and Future Directions," Customer Needs and Solutions, Springer;Institute for Sustainable Innovation and Growth (iSIG), vol. 6(3), pages 76-83, December.
    12. Baobao Song & Xiaomeng Lan, 2022. "Meeting Consumers’ Expectations: Exploring Corporate Social Advocacy Communication in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-18, February.
    13. Veronica Gabrielli & Ilaria Baghi, 2019. "How to choose the endorser: An experimental analysis on the effects of fit and notoriety," MERCATI & COMPETITIVIT?, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2019(4), pages 57-89.
    14. Mendini, Monica & Peter, Paula C. & Gibbert, Michael, 2018. "The dual-process model of similarity in cause-related marketing: How taxonomic versus thematic partnerships reduce skepticism and increase purchase willingness," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 195-204.
    15. Shang, Jingzhi & Basil, Debra Z. & Wymer, Walter, 2010. "Using social marketing to enhance hotel reuse programs," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 63(2), pages 166-172, February.
    16. Athanasios Krystallis & Vlad Zaharia & Antonis Zairis, 2021. "“When” Does It Pay to Be Good? Attributions Mediate the Way CSR Elements Impact on Consumer Responses, and Are Controllable," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-16, May.
    17. Lee, Jaedeock & Ferreira, Mauricio, 2013. "A role of team and organizational identification in the success of cause-related sport marketing," Sport Management Review, Elsevier, vol. 16(2), pages 161-172.
    18. Chang-Hyun Jin & Jung-Yong Lee, 2019. "The Halo Effect of CSR Activity: Types of CSR Activity and Negative Information Effects," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-20, April.
    19. Mobin Fatma & Zillur Rahman, 2016. "Consumer responses to CSR in Indian banking sector," International Review on Public and Nonprofit Marketing, Springer;International Association of Public and Non-Profit Marketing, vol. 13(3), pages 203-222, October.
    20. Alessandra De Chiara, 2020. "Sustainable Business Model Innovation vs. “Made in” for International Performance of Italian Food Companies," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-17, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:13:p:7206-:d:583480. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.