• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.12 no.9
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• pp.101-112
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• 2014

Purpose - Recently, although corporate social responsibility activities have been increasing in size, they do not have to achieve qualitative improvements and can be passive and cost consuming. Therefore, companies should make quantitative as well as qualitative improvements in their efforts in corporate social responsibility activities. In this study, the classification of social responsibility activities in a variety of studies was analyzed through a more specific path than in previous studies. Corporate behavior image, social behavior image, and corporate contributions image were analyzed through a more detailed analysis of performance. This study suggests that more detailed and concentrated social responsibility activities be pursued by forming companies. Research design, data, and methodology - The purpose of study is to gauge the corporate need for a more intensive, specific area of CSR activities. For this purpose, the sample of consumers that were targeted for CSR activities, recognized as 261 persons, have been investigated. Through a theoretical discussion on previous research, nine hypotheses were established on corporate image, the influence of corporate performance on CSR, and the CSV regulation effect. In order to test the hypothesis, a survey was conducted on 261 male and female consumers who were targeted for CSR, being persons in their 20s to 40s. PASW Statistics 18.0 and AMOS 18.0 were used for statistical analysis. Results - Corporate behavior image was formed through legal responsibility activities and economic responsibility activities. In addition to economic responsibilities, ethical responsibilities and environmental responsibilities were confirmed to have influence on social behavior image. Corporate social responsibility and philanthropic responsibility were confirmed to have influence on economic contribution image. Corporate image has positive effects on brand attitude, corporate reputation, and corporate competition. In addition, when CSV awareness is high, consumers perceive corporate image only through economic responsibility. However, when CSV awareness is low, economic responsibility as well as legal responsibility through charitable activities form the corporate image that influences the brand attitude and corporate reputation, as well as corporate competitiveness. It would appear that the area of corporate social responsibility needs more intensive management for corporate image and corporate competitive advantage. Conclusion - First, the findings of this study show that each CSR activity has a different effect on corporate image and thus, the corporate image influences corporate performance in distinct ways, depending on the CSR activity. This implies that reactive strategies should be tailored to the required image. Second, there is a difference in CSV awareness between groups. When the CSV awareness is low, we can confirm that legal responsibility activities have an especially significant effect on corporate image, implying that corporations should pursue their economic objectives within legal regulations and need to invest significant time and effort for this. This study has limited generalization potential because the result of the model fit has insufficient reference value. In future research, we need to approach various dimensions of corporate performance.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.45-54
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• 2016

Purpose - There have been numerous studies investigating the effects of corporate social responsibility initiatives on corporate associations or corporate images. In line of this research stream, current research examined the potential impact of customer participation in the process of corporate social responsibility initiatives on attitude toward the company. This research differentiates from previous studies that it is the first to connect corporate social responsibility and customer participation. Specifically, we suggest a structural model on corporate associations which was classified into corporate ability associations and corporate social responsibility associations that the more the customers participate in initiating corporate social responsibility, corporate associations were formed more positively. And this leads to the increase of revisit intentions through customer satisfaction. Research design, data, and methodology - To test our research model, we collected data of real consumers of a large discount store in Korea. At the large discount store, customers were given an opportunity to participate the discount store's CSR activity program. We performed field survey and collected data of 146 respondents. We analyzed the data using PASW statistics 21.0 and AMOS 16.0 in order to test our structural model. Results - The results showed that consumers who participated more in initiating corporate social responsibility revealed higher score for corporate ability associations and corporate social responsibility associations. These corporate associations had a positive effect on customer satisfaction, which leads to higher attitude toward revisit intentions. Specifically, hypothesis 1.1 "As Customer participation in CSR process increases, the evaluation of CA associations will be positive,"was supported. Hypothesis 1.2 "As Customer participation in CSR process increases, the evaluation of CSR associations will be positive," was supported. Hypothesis 2.1 "As the evaluation of CA associations is positive, satisfaction with the firm will increase," was supported. Hypothesis 2.1 "As the evaluation of CSR associations is positive, satisfaction with the firm will increase," was supported. Hypothesis 3 "As satisfaction with the firm increases, revisit intentions with the firm will increase," was supported. Conclusions - This research is the first to study the relationship between customer participation in CSR process, CSR, and consumer reactions. This research also contributes to customer participation and corporate social responsibility literature by suggesting customer participation as an antecedent and empirically demonstrating the positive relationships between the constructs. The findings of this research may offer managerial implications for marketing practitioners. When performing corporate social initiatives, it is better to let the customer participate in the process which leads to higher corporate ability associations and corporate social responsibility associations, also higher satisfaction and revisit intentions. Our results provide useful information to practioners that spontaneous participation of consumers makes CSR initiatives effective and successful. Limitations and ideas for further research remain in this research. For example, our focus on the logic was cognitive evaluations(e.g. corporate associations) but affective dimensions might be considered since recent researches are investigating the relationship between customer participation and affective reaction as a response. Despite the limitations, this research have unique and applicable implications for academics and practitioners.

• Journal of Fisheries and Marine Sciences Education
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.1198-1208
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• 2016

The social responsibility of companies helps to produce profits through the brand asset provoking consumers' purchase intention. This study examines the perspective of the social responsibility of fishery companies and empirically analyzes the relationship between the social responsibility and customer loyalty. The study shows the four main results. Firstly, the social responsibility of fishery companies significantly affects the brand asset. Secondly, the brand asset and bland image partially affects the customer loyalty. However, the brand awareness and perceived quality of products do not significantly affect the repurchase intention. thirdly, the social responsibility of fishery companies significantly affects the customer loyalty. Finally, the social responsibility of fishery companies and the customer loyalty have a moderating effects by general firms and fishery firms(fishery distribution, fishery processing and production company).

• Journal of the Korea Fashion and Costume Design Association
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.61-71
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• 2020

This study looks at 'Corporate Social Responsibility' which is required for the fashion industry and brands in modern times. The American fashion brand known for its corporate social responsibility activities, 'Patagonia' is the case study for this research. The purpose of this study is to make suggestions to eco-friendly, outdoor and casual apparel fashion brands that want to introduce corporate social responsibility programs by considering the case of Patagonia's "Worn Wear" campaign. The method of this study was to review corporate social responsibility, previous studies on Patagonia, and literature, such as domestic and foreign media, Patagonia's official homepage, specialty publications, and media. The study concerning corporate social responsibility is focused on Patagonia's "Worn Wear". Worn Wear is Patagonia's system that repurchases and repairs products from Patagonia's own consumers. The study found that the well known corporate social responsibility led to increased sales. Patagonia's social responsibility activities are thought to be part of the brand identity that goes beyond marketing. In the Worn Ware case, repurchasing products from consumers and reselling them or reprocessing them resulted in increased sales, increased consumer engagement, and higher brand attention. The suggestion for a fashion company or brand in a category similar to Patagonia that is looking to engage in corporate social responsibilbty is to adopt and continue a campaign that 'consists of a successful marketing image, connecting memories and new experiences, separated shopping channels while diversifying the creation of distribution and contact channels'.

• Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.5-16
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• 2009

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities have been shown to be potential factors that can improve corporate image and increase the ability of corporations to compete. However, most previous studies related to CSR activities investigated how these activities influence product and corporate evaluation, as well as corporate image. In addition, some researchers treated consumers' perceptions of corporate motives as moderator variables in evaluating the relationship between corporate social responsibilities and consumer response. However, motive-based theories have some weaknesses. Corporate social responsibility activities cause two motives(egoistic vs. altruistic) for consumers, but recently, Vlachos et al. (2008) argued that these motives should be segmented. Thus, it is possible to transform the original theory into a modified theory model (persuasion knowledge model, PKM). Vlachos et al. (2008) segmented corporate social responsibility motives into four types and compared the effects of these motives on customer loyalty. Prior studies have proved that CSR activities with positive motives have positive influences on customer loyalty. However, the psychological reasons underlying this finding have not been determined empirically. Thus, the objectives of this research are twofold. First, we attempt to determine why most customers favor companies that they feel have positive motives for their corporate social responsibility activities. Second, we attempt to measure the effects of consumers' reciprocity when society benefits from corporate social responsibility activities. The following research hypotheses are constructed. H1: Values-driven motives for corporate social responsibility activities have a positive influence on the perceived reciprocity. H2: Stakeholder-driven motives for corporate social responsibility activities have a negative influence on the perceived reciprocity. H3: Egoistic-driven motives for corporate social responsibility activities have a negative influence on perceived reciprocity. H4: Strategic-driven motives for corporate social responsibility activities have a negative influence on perceived reciprocity. H5: Perceived reciprocity for corporate social responsibility activities has a positive influence on consumer loyalty. A single company is selected as a research subject to understand how the motives behind corporate social responsibility influence consumers' perceived reciprocity and customer loyalty. A total sample of 200 respondents was selected for a pilot test. In addition, to ensure a consistent response, we ensured that the respondents were older than 20 years of age. The surveys of 172 respondents (males-82, females-90) were analyzed after 28 invalid questionnaires were excluded. Based on our cutoff criteria, the model fit the data reasonably well. Values-driven motives for corporate social responsibility activities had a positive effect on perceived reciprocity (t = 6.75, p < .001), supporting H1. Morales (2005) also found that consumers appreciate a company's social responsibility efforts and the benefits provided by these efforts to society. Stakeholder-driven motives for corporate social responsibility activities did not affect perceived reciprocity (t = -.049, p > .05). Thus, H2 was rejected. Egoistic-driven motives (t = .3.11, p < .05) and strategic-driven (t = -4.65, p < .05) motives had a negative influence on perceived reciprocity, supporting H3 and H4, respectively. Furthermore, perceived reciprocity had a positive influence on consumer loyalty (t = 4.24, p < .05), supporting H5. Thus, compared with the general public, undergraduate students appear to be more influenced by egoistic-driven motives. We draw the following conclusions from our research findings. First, value-driven attributions have a positive influence on perceived reciprocity. However, stakeholder-driven attributions have no significant effects on perceived reciprocity. Moreover, both egoistic-driven attributions and strategic-driven attributions have a negative influence on perceived reciprocity. Second, when corporate social responsibility activities align with consumers' reciprocity, the efforts directed towards social responsibility activities have a positive influence on customer loyalty. In this study, we examine whether the type of motivation affects consumer responses to CSR, and in particular, we evaluate how CSR motives can influence a key internal factor (perceived reciprocity) and behavioral consumer outcome (customer loyalty). We demonstrate that perceived reciprocity plays a mediating role in the relationship between CSR motivation and customer loyalty. Our study extends the research on consumer CSR-inferred motivations, positing them as a direct indicator of consumer responses. Furthermore, we convincingly identify perceived reciprocity as a sub-process mediating the effect of CSR attributions on customer loyalty. Future research investigating the ultimate behavior and financial impact of CSR should consider that the impacts of CSR also stem from perceived reciprocity. The results of this study also have important managerial implications. First, the central role that reciprocity plays indicates that managers should routinely measure how much their socially responsible actions create perceived reciprocity. Second, understanding how consumers' perceptions of CSR corporate motives relate to perceived reciprocity and customer loyalty can help managers to monitor and enhance these consumer outcomes through marketing initiatives and management of CSR-induced attribution processes. The results of this study will help corporations to understand the relative importance of the four different motivations types in influencing perceived reciprocity.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.7 no.10
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• pp.501-511
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• 2020

As more consumers are interested in sustainability issues and evaluate brands based on their social responsibility issues involved, firms are using social media platforms in order to communicate with consumers about Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities. However, the current literature focuses mostly on factors drive engagement of promotional messages, while little evidence was found in the literature on how to design effective CSR messages on social media to engage consumers. Using over 3,000 branded posts on Facebook and Twitter, this research explores factors that help CSR messages become more engaging in social media. The results show that, on average, CSR messages had a negative significant effect on consumer engagement. However, CSR messages became more engaging when designed with emotional appeals, longer texts, and a hashtag. While marginal, CSR messages with informational appeals and humor undermined the effect of CSR messages on engagement. Finally, we explore different types of CSR messages by their beneficiary scope and the role of brands in the message and discuss what message contents drive more engagement in social media. This research contributes to the academic literature and managers by providing new insights on how to design CSR messages for effective communications in social media.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.73-82
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• 2023

The study aims to evaluate the impact of corporate social responsibility on customers' repurchase intention in Vietnam's fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry. This study employs primary data surveyed from 417 Vietnamese consumers, and the sample is selected based on the willingness to participate in providing information. The results show corporate social responsibility's positive impact on repurchase intention in the FMCG industry in the Vietnam market. There are three components of corporate social responsibility, including ethical responsibility, legal responsibility, and economic responsibility have a positive impact on repurchase intention. The economic responsibility component has the greatest effect on repurchase intention. There is not enough statistical basis for the philanthropic responsibility component of corporate social responsibility to recognize its impact on repurchase intention. The findings of this study suggest that companies dealing in the FMCG industry in Vietnam need to invest more in further developing their corporate social responsibility, it not only helps to improve their customer loyalty to businesses but also contributes to promoting the country's economic and social development in a better and more sustainable direction.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.523-536
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• 2015

Corporate association-which refers to consumers' beliefs, knowledge, perceptions, and evaluations of a corporation -can affect consumers' purchasing intentions. Corporate association consists of corporate ability association and corporate social responsibility association. Corporate ability association refers to a company's product quality, corporate innovation, productivity, consumer orientation, and after service. Corporate social responsibility association, which refers to the social perspective a company has of its responsibility to society, can affect corporate image and consumers' purchasing intentions. Eco-labeling for protecting and sustaining the environment is one of the important green marketing strategies in the fashion business that can influence corporate association and consumers' purchasing intentions. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of consumers' eco-label recognition on their corporate association and intentions to purchase eco-friendly fashion products. Questionnaires were distributed to consumers. The 263 usable questionnaires that were returned were analyzed by descriptive statistics, Cronbach's alpha, factor analysis, regression analysis, and t-test. The results were as follows: There was a significant effect of eco-label recognition on corporate association (ability association and social responsibility association). Eco-label recognition and corporate association were found to significantly affect consumers' purchasing intentions. Regarding the eco-friendly fashion product buying experience, there was no significant difference on corporate association and buying intention, but there was significant difference on eco-label recognition.

• Knowledge Management Research
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• v.12 no.5
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• pp.89-100
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• 2011

Both industrial interest and academic research are increasingly focusing on the need to institute a business environment whereby Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) assumes a major role. It is suggested that four kinds of responsibilities constitute total CSR: economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic responsibilities. Consumers tend to obtain positive perceptions toward the companies which collectively or partially fulfill these responsibilities. Moreover, the company image transfer process is the influence of consumer attitudes toward certain brands on overall evaluation of the company. To understand the image transfer process, we examine the influence of CSR level evaluation on overall brand evaluation in China, where active competitions among global brands exist.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Costume
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• v.66 no.7
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• pp.192-208
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• 2016

Due to the paradigm shift in fashion industry, its contribution to social activities and social enterprises' practice of ethical fashion has been on the rise lately. The surveillance and regulations of international community have increased in light of the betterment of working conditions and protection of the rights, and corporate social responsibility has been emphasized through consumers' interest in ethical consumption. In this regard, the fashion social enterprises' responsible and ethical management can both boost the trust in business and value-added. The study aims to propose feasible methods by exploring ways to induce support from central and local governments, which will lead to the activation of future fashion social enterprises and paradigms shift of consumers's perception and value. The sustainability of social enterprises requires management line or policies that consider social, environmental, economic, and political aspects of virtuous cycle, differentiated internally or externally. Fashion social enterprises also need ethic management and social responsibility management that are distinctive from general fashion enterprises. Thus, they will not be sustainable or differentiated unless entrepreneurial faith and role is not clear. Education and continuous promotion including upcycling are critical to build consumer base as they can make consumers spend ethically and recognize social enterprises. In addition, social education and public relations need to take place in order to internalize consumer pattern. The goal of sustainable corporate social activity is to change the awareness and become social investment that returns some profits to the society as members in line with reviewing corporate image. This can lead to establishing the foundation of securing a big comsumer market and winning the trust of the consumer's through corporate social responsibility and investment.