The Impact of Perceived Corporate Social Responsibility on Dining Intention in US Restaurants: Focusing on Customers’ Health

ABSTRACT Despite the importance of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in promoting healthy food consumption choices on the part of individual companies, little research has been conducted from these perspectives of the customers. This absence is especially significant considering how CSR influences customers’ perceptions, behavioral intentions in service encounters, and the role of brand equity in the restaurant industry. To fill this research gap, the current study sought to examine the impact of consumers’ perceptions of CSR, including their health-focused practices, on dining intentions in restaurants within the Unites States. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling, and the results revealed that CSR has a positive correlation with customer satisfaction, and that both customer satisfaction and trust are significantly related to brand equity. Consumers’ perceived importance of CSR, their satisfaction with and trust toward the company, and brand equity all have significant impacts on their revisit intentions to restaurants.