Philippine Television Network Companies’ Corporate Social Responsibility Engagements and Electronic Word-of-Mouth: The Intervening Role of Consumer-Company Identification

ABSTRACT This study aims to identify the interrelationships among the three variables – corporate social responsibility (CSR) engagement, consumer-company identification (C-C identification), and electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) in the Philippine television network industry. This study also investigates whether C-C identification can act as a mediator between CSR and eWOM. The participants were viewers and supporters of two leading television networks (ABS-CBN and GMA) in the Philippines (sample size = 433). Quantitative research and a causal predictive approach were utilized in this study. The survey-based data were analyzed through partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to estimate the parameters of the structural model. The results showed that CSR engagement has a significant and positive effect on consumer company identification (C-C identification). A significant relationship between CSR engagement and positive eWOM is also supported. Moreover, C-C identification also positively influences eWOM. The mediation analysis also revealed that C-C identification mediates the relationship between CSR engagement and eWOM.