Do American Consumers Perceive Corporate Social Responsibility Actions and Exhibit Loyalty Intentions Differently according to the Reputation of Fast Food Restaurants?

Objectives: This study investigated the different perceptions of customers toward traditional and non-traditional fast-food restaurants regarding restaurant healthfulness, corporate reputation, and the impact of corporate reputation on loyalty intentions through corporate social responsibility (CSR) motive. Methods: An online survey was conducted on U.S. residents who were aware of fast food restaurants’ CSR activities. Participants selected one fast food restaurant participating in CSR activities, coded as either traditional (n = 117) or non-traditional (n = 48), and answered questions about the selected restaurant’s healthfulness, reputation, CSR motives, and loyalty intentions. The participants’ perceptions of healthfulness and corporate reputation of the two types of fast-food restaurants were compared. A mediation path of corporate reputation – CSR motive – loyalty intention was analyzed. Results: Non-traditional fast-food restaurants (5.02 ± 1.26) were perceived to be more healthful than traditional ones (3.93 ± 1.72). The participants perceived that compared to traditional fast-food restaurants, non-traditional ones had a better overall corporate reputation ( P = 0.037), were more concerned about their customers ( P = 0.029), better workplaces ( P = 0.007), more environmentally and socially responsible ( P < 0.001), and offered higher quality products and services ( P = 0.042). Significant positive correlations were shown between restaurant healthfulness and corporate reputation ( P < 0.001 for all reputation items). The suggested mediation path was supported with 95% CIs excluding zero, implying that when fast-food restaurants had a better reputation overall, were customer oriented, good employers, strong companies with a good product and service quality, social and environmental responsibility, the participants were more likely to perceive their CSR activities to be sincere and were hence loyal to that restaurant. Conclusions: Overall, participants were more favorable towards non-traditional fast-food restaurants which had a healthier image and better reputation than traditional ones. Therefore, fast food restaurants need to consider offering healthy food and enhance their image, which would maximize the return on their investment in CSR.