Two Countries, Two Stories of CSR, Customer Trust and Advocacy Attitudes and Behaviors? A Study in the Greek and Bulgarian Telecommunication Sectors

The Role of CSR Information on Social Media to Promote the Communicative Behavior of Customers: An Emotional Framework Enriching Behavioral Sciences Literature

Studies have shown that an organization's corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities affect customer behaviors such as loyalty and satisfaction. In spite of this, the role of social media in informing customers about a brand's CSR activities and in fostering customer advocacy behavior (CADB) has been underexplored. To fill this knowledge gap, this study investigates the relationship between the CSR-related communication of a banking organization and CADB. This study also examines how emotions such as customer-company identification (CCI) and gratitude as a mediator and a moderator. Using a self-administered questionnaire (n = 302), we collected data from banking customers. Hypotheses were evaluated by using structural equation modeling, which revealed that CSR positively predicts CADB, whereas there are mediating and moderating functions of CCI and GA. Theoretically, this study highlights the role of human emotions in behavior formation from the standpoint of social media. Practically, this study provides important insights for the banking sector's administrators to realize the important role of CSR communication, using different social networking websites, for converting customers into brand advocates.

The Relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility on Social Media and Brand Advocacy Behavior of Customers in the Banking Context

This research study aims to investigate the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR)-related communication on social media and brand advocacy behavior of retail banking customers in a developing country. This study also proposes a dual mediating mechanism of customer engagement and customer-company identification in the above-proposed relationship. The data were collected from retail banking customers with the help of a self-administered questionnaire (n = 356). To test the hypothesized relationships, a theoretical model was developed in this study. For hypothesis testing, we used the structural equation modeling (SEM) technique in AMOS software. The empirical analysis results confirmed our theoretical assumption that the manifestation of CSR-related communication on social media by a bank significantly influenced the advocacy behavior of retail banking customers. Our study also confirmed the mediating function of customer engagement and customer-company identification. The findings of this study offer different implications for the banking sector. For example, our study highlights the critical role of CSR-related communication on social media for meaningful customer-brand relationships by promoting the advocacy behavior of customers.

Characterizing Brand Knowledge and Identification as Predictors of Consumer-Based Brand Equity: Mediating Role of Employee-Based Brand Equity

Branding has been a key factor for the software houses, mainly customers' expectations for a predicted product and real-time experience. The identity and knowledge of brands set a certain set of expectations in the mind of the consumers and the organization's employees. This study mainly investigates the effects of brand identity and brand knowledge on the employee-based brand equity (EBBE) and consumer-based brand equity (CBBE). Further, it examined the mediating role of EBBE among these variables. To complete this empirical study, a quantitative survey was conducted using a 30-item survey method to collect data from 243 respondents from China's software houses. The participants were selected based on purposive sampling. Results show that brand identity and brand knowledge are the main constituents of EBBE, which significantly predicts the CBBE. The study highlights the importance of employees in building overall brand equity. Training and brand promotion activities would help the organizations build a brand identity that positively contributes to the EBBE. Further, brand identity and brand knowledge are needed to improve the human capital, engagement of employees, and their emotional affiliations with the organizations, ultimately making the brand equity of employees stronger.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a Framework for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been an articulated practice for over 7 decades. Still, most corporations lack an integrated framework to develop a strategic, balanced, and effective approach to achieving excellence in CSR. Considering the world’s critical situation during the COVID-19 pandemic, such a framework is even more crucial now. We suggest subsuming CRS categories under Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) be used and that they subsume CSR categories since SDGs are a comprehensive agenda designed for the whole planet. This study presents a new CSR drivers model and a novel comprehensive CSR model. Then, it highlights the advantages of integrating CSR and SDGs in a new framework. The proposed framework benefits from both CSR and SDGs, addresses current and future needs, and offers a better roadmap with more measurable outcomes.