Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporate Reputation, Customer Emotions and Behavioral Intentions: A Structural Equation Modeling Analysis

This study investigated structural relationships among customers' perceptions of corporate social responsibility (CSR), corporate reputation, customer emotions, and behavioral intentions in the hospitality service context. Based on the stakeholder theory and signaling theory, the study postulates that customer's perceptions of CSR, as a cognitive evaluation, influence their evaluation of the service provider's corporate reputation; both CSR and corporate reputation influence customer emotions as affective states of mind, and customer behavioral intentions (i.e., loyalty intentions, word-of-mouth) as conative behavioral constructs. 451 valid surveys were collected from hotel guests staying in three resort hotels in Hunan Province, China, and data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). Results show that CSR has a significant effect on corporate reputation, and customer emotions (positive and negative) partially mediate the effects of CSR and corporate reputation on loyalty intentions and word-of-mouth. The study provides empirical evidence to support the link between CSR and customer affective and conative experiences in the modern service context of China. Both theoretical and practical implications are discussed.