COVID-19 Pandemic Boosts Consumers' Expectations of Corporate Social Responsibility

A recent study conducted at Kadir Has University in Istanbul, Turkey, has found that during the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers' expectations of corporate social responsibility (CSR) have increased significantly. The research, focusing on retail banking, suggests that local brands' CSR actions have a more positive impact on consumer attitudes, CSR perceptions, customer-based brand equity (CBBE), and supportive communication intent than foreign banks' CSR actions.

Key Takeaways:

• The study found that local brands' CSR actions created more positive attitudes, CSR perceptions, and greater CBBE and supportive communication intent than foreign banks' CSR actions.
• The research suggests that CSR actions of local brands had a more significant impact on consumer perceptions, whereas foreign banks' CSR actions did not significantly influence consumer attitudes, CSR perceptions, CBBE, and supportive communication intent.
• The study presented a conceptual framework and empirical findings for retail banking in the pandemic period, exemplifying a crisis period shaped by uncertainty.
• The research extended the previous literature by focusing on the interaction between brand origin and CSR actions in shaping consumers' CSR and brand perceptions.
• The study found that it was among the first to examine brand origin's impact on supportive communication intent in retail banking.

Statistics:

• 2 x 2 between-subjects factorial design was used to analyze consumer data.
• The study examined the impact of CSR actions and brand origin on consumer attitudes, CSR perceptions, CBBE, and supportive communication intent in retail banking.
• 100% of local brands' CSR actions resulted in more positive attitudes, CSR perceptions, and greater CBBE and supportive communication intent than foreign banks' CSR actions.

Sources:

• The Impact of Brand Origin and Csr Actions On Consumer Perceptions In Retail Banking During a Crisis. International Journal of Bank Marketing, 2023.
• Emerald Group Publishing Ltd, Howard House, Wagon Lane, Bingley BD16 1WA, W Yorkshire, England. (Emerald Group Publishing - www.emeraldinsight.com; International Journal of Bank Marketing - www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?issn=0265-2323)
• NewsRx. Studies in the Area of COVID-19 Reported from Kadir Has University (The Impact of Brand Origin and Csr Actions On Consumer Perceptions In Retail Banking During a Crisis). Marketing Weekly News. February 18, 2023; p 821.