Building company reputation and brand equity through CSR: the mediating role of trust
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives on the two marketing outcomes - corporate reputation (CR) and brand equity (BE), based on the perception of consumers regarding banks in India.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey of banking consumers was carried out, resulting in 303 valid responses. In order to address research objectives and test the hypothesis, structural equations modeling has been employed.
Findings
Results reveals that CSR activities influence CR and BE directly as well as indirectly. In addition, the mediating role of trust is found to be significant between CSR and CR and CSR and BE. The study shows that CSR activities build consumer trust in a company which in turn positively impacts CR and BE.
Research limitations/implications
The findings have important implications for retail banks in India and suggest that CSR activities can help banks in building CR and BE. The hypothesized theoretical framework has been tested in the banking context, so the generalization of findings is limited to the context.
Originality/value
This study contributes to literature by highlighting the important role of CSR and its direct and indirect effects on CR and BE.
Keywords
Citation
Fatma, M., Rahman, Z. and Khan, I. (2015), "Building company reputation and brand equity through CSR: the mediating role of trust", International Journal of Bank Marketing, Vol. 33 No. 6, pp. 840-856. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJBM-11-2014-0166
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2015, Emerald Group Publishing Limited