The role of corporate social responsibility, perceived quality and corporate reputation on purchase intention: Implications for brand management

Businesses increasingly consider corporate reputation as a valuable asset that has a positive impact on purchase intention. Concurrently, corporate social responsibility (CSR) issues have received growing attention and the importance of CSR has been increasingly emphasized. Claims have been made that both CSR and corporate reputation can provide a competitive advantage as in conjunction with perceived product quality they can influence purchase intentions. In this article we explore the interaction between these concepts and put forward a set of hypotheses about the expected linkages. Our discussion is based on findings from a study on a sample of customers of two brands of a traditional type of Italian Christmas cake-Panettone. The two brands are widely known in a specific geographical and cultural area and one is well known for its strong engagement in CSR activities. We conclude by discussing the limitations of our study and drawing implications for future research. ©2012 Macmillan Publishers Ltd.