The effect of consumers’ perception of CSR activities on their purchasing behavior: the case of the Iranian automotive market

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOES-01-2022-0011
• Published date: 29 June 2022
• Date: 29 June 2022
• Pages: 361-378
• Subject Matter: Economics,Social economics
• Author: Nazanin Tahssili,Mohammad Ali Shahhoseini

The effect of consumers’perception

of CSR activities on their

purchasing behavior: the case of the

Iranian automotive market

Nazanin Tahssili and Mohammad Ali Shahhoseini

University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Purpose –This study aims to examine the customer’s perception of corporate social responsibility within

the automotive market in Tehran, Iran,and whether it leads to a purchasing behavior directly or indirectly

through supportintention.

Design/methodology/approach –A total of 235 customersof luxury and mid-range-priced automobiles

were surveyedand analyzed using the partial least squaresstructural equation modeling method.

Findings –Regarding luxury car owners, the authors concluded that both economical and ethical

perceptions are indirectly related to purchasing behavior. Concerning mid-range-priced car buyers, both

philanthropicand economical perceptions have a direct relationshipwith purchasing behavior, while the legal

perception has an indirect relationship with purchasing behavior. The results show that Iranian car

manufacturers and foreign car dealerships for both luxury and mid-range customers should focus on their

economical responsibilities. The results show that luxury car manufacturers and dealerships should act

ethically. With the importance of the philanthropic dimension for customers of mid-range cars, car

dealershipsdealing with mid-range-priced cars should focusmore on their philanthropic activities. This study

can help companies find better solutions to adjusttheir corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies to the

consumers’beliefs,gain a competitive advantage in the market and fill the knowledge gap regarding Iranian

consumers.

Originality/value –Although some research has been conductedon consumer perception and response

regarding CSR in both developed and developingcountries, no studies on consumer perception toward CSR

have been carriedout in Iran.

Keywords Corporate social responsibility, Purchasing behavior, Support intention,

Consumer perception philanthropic perception, Structural equation modeling, Automotive market,

Iran

Paper type Research paper

Introduction

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a commitment by the corporates to improve the

well-being of the community through their contribution and resources (Kotler and Lee,

2005). Based on Carroll (1999), it requires simultaneous economical, legal, ethical and

philanthropic activities performed by the organization. In other words,an organization

should strive to be profitable as an enterprise, obey the law, act ethically and be a good

organizational citizen.

According to Fixen (2017), modernbusiness leaders recognize the vital role that CSR has

played in public welfare. Nowadays, managers and researchers are paying increasingly

more attention to CSR because of its growing value in consumer perceptions (Arli and

Lasmono, 2009).

CSR activities

361

Received18 January 2022

Revised2 May 2022

Accepted10 June 2022

InternationalJournal of Ethics and

Systems

Vol.39 No. 2, 2023

pp. 361-378

© Emerald Publishing Limited

2514-9369

DOI 10.1108/IJOES-01-2022-0011

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:

https://www.emerald.com/insight/2514-9369.htm

According to a survey conducted by the United Nations, 93% of the more than 1,000

chief executive officers (CEOs) surveyed believed that en gaging in social and

environmental issues is crucial for an organization’s future success (UNGC, 2013).

Because of increasing competition among brands and rising consumer concerns

regarding environmental issues, firms need to build an image of responsible corporate

citizens to create a loyal and long-term relationshipswith their customers (Tschopp and

Nastanski, 2014;Turkel et al., 2015).

In this paper, consistent with Maignan (2001) and Abdeen et al. (2016),weanalyze

the luxury and mid-range-priced automotive market in Tehran, Iran, by using the

Carroll pyramid model consisting of the four levels of economic, legal, ethical and

philanthropic responsibilities. We investigate the customers’perception of CSR and

whether it impacts their purchasing behavior directly or indirectly through support

intention. It is challenging for companies to implement efficient and effective CSR

policies due to the lack of understanding of consumer awareness, perception and

purchasing behavior in developing countries (Lomba, 2017). However, some research

has been conducted on consumer perception and response regarding CSR in both

developed (Brown and Dacin, 1997;Creyer and Ross, 1997;Maignan, 2001;Uusitalo and

Oksanen, 2004;Sankar et al., 2006;Abdeen et al., 2016) and developing countries

(Ramasamy and Yeung, 2008;Arli and Lasmono, 2009). This paper has applied a

different approach by comparing two types of customers’perceptions and the role of

support intention as a mediating factor between CSR beliefs and purchasing behavior.

Prior research shows that the perception of customers about an organization’s

economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic responsibilities has an impact on the

customers’intention to support socially responsible organizations through the

purchasing behavior. To the best of our knowledge, no studies on consumerperception

toward CSR have been conducted in Iran. Studies like these are country-specific due to

the differences in culture and values. Thus, to fill this knowledge gap, a separate study

is conducted solely for Tehran, Iran.

The study examines the two (luxury and mid-range) types of customers in the

automotive market and illustrates the differences in terms of perceptions and their impact

on purchasing behavior(Maignan, 2001;Ramasamy and Yeung, 2008;Abdeen et al., 2016).

The main objectives of this researchare as follows:

measure the effect of consumer perceptions on CSR;

assess the impact of the four dimensions of CSR on consumer’s buying behavior

(directly or through mediating variable of support intention); and

analyze the differences between customers’perceptions and buying behavior of

luxury cars and mid-range-priced cars.

To achieve these purposes,235 customers of luxury and mid-range-priced automobiles were

surveyed and analyzed using the structural equation modeling partial least squares (SEM-

PLS) method, and we concluded that both economical and ethical perceptions have an

indirect relationship with purchasing behavior. In regards to mid-range-priced car buyers,

both the philanthropic and economical perceptions have a direct relationship with

purchasing behavior, while legal perception has an indirect relationship with purchasing

behavior.

Apart from contributing to the fieldofCSRandpreviousstudies(

Maignan (2001)

and Abdeen et al. (2016), helping organizations better realize the customer’s

perception of socially responsible companies is the main purpose of this study.

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