Youth Perception of Corporate Social Responsibility: Does Concern About Social Impact Convert to Consumption?

This research assesses the importance of corporate social responsibility (CSR) as it affects the perception of millennials regarding the socially responsible corporation that, in turn may influence their intention to purchase. The findings show that loyalty and trust appear stronger among older-age consumers than among the younger-age consumers, but both loyalty and authenticity are strong indicators of continuance intention. Younger-age consumers clearly analyzed authenticity to build trust and advocacy, whereas older-age consumer built trust with clearly communicated awareness of CSR initiatives. The managerial implications clearly highlight the importance of awareness for older-age consumers while authenticity was important for younger-age consumers. This offers opportunities for further development on the behavior of the two categoriews of consumers as well as strategies for practitioners to employ CSR to influence continuous purchases.