Country-of-Brand, Corporate Social Responsibility and Customer Responds: Moderating Role of Country-of-Manufacture and Corporate Reputation

Abstract

Customers tend to be sceptical of corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities. So it is important to understand the factors that influence customers’ perception of CSR. Furthermore, the research topic on assessing organizations based on customers’ perception of the country-of-origin (COO) remains relatively rare. Thus, this study explores how country-of-brand (COB) image, country-of-manufacture (COM) image and corporate reputation affect perceived CSR. Meanwhile, this research also considers effect of perceived CSR to customer loyalty and trust in Vietnam auto industry. A quota sample representing three regions of Vietnam, including 702 customers who already own personal cars, is collected. Structural equation modelling is used to test the research hypotheses. The results confirm that the COB image has a positive effect on perceived CSR. Corporate reputation plays a significant moderating role in the relationship between COB image and perceived CSR, while COM image only plays an important role as an independent variable. In addition, the study also confirmed the importance of perceived CSR on customer trust and loyalty. The findings of this research might be meaningful for multinational corporations, especially for those operating in auto market.