The Behavioral Ramification of CSR and Service Quality: Which one is the stronger predictor of behavior?

Abstract

Fierce competition and globalization has transformed the playing field of the businesses. Abundant choices of the products have overall increased the expectation of the customers while decreasing their loyalty. The organizations are looking for unique ways to get hold of the customers’ patronage. CSR has emerged out to be a leading research theme in majority of the consumer behavior literature. By the same token service quality is believed to influence consumer behavior. Following the trail, the main research focus in the field of marketing is to have a better understanding of the dynamic nexus between service quality and buying behavior.
This study strives to explore the relationship among corporate social responsibility (CSR), service quality (SQ), corporate image, and consumer buying behavior in the context of the fast food industry, the second largest industry of the country having 180 million consumers. A cross sectional quantitative examination was conducted. A sample size of 1530 respondents from restaurant industry operating in Pakistan was considered for the study. The result of the study shows that both CSR and service quality can enhance consumer buying behavior but the positively perceived CSR is a stronger predictor of consumer buying behavior than service quality. Corporate image is partially mediating the relationship between CSR/SQ and consumer buying behavior. Therefore, CSR is more important and promising marketing strategy towards improving the consumers’ positive assessment about the organization, building positive corporate image, influencing consumer buying, contributing towards unique competitive characteristics and eventually gathering the customers’ patronage.