THE FORMATION OF CUSTOMER CSR PERCEPTIONS IN THE BANKING SECTOR: THE ROLE OF COHERENCE, ALTRUISM, EXPERTISE AND TRUSTWORTHINESS

ABSTRACTThe purpose of the authors in this paper is twofold. First, we aim to broaden the scope of analysis in the CSR-customer domain by testing the multidimensionality of CSR perceptions. We also define the role of CSR coherence, corporate altruism, expertise and trustworthiness in the formation of customer CSR perceptions. Results demonstrate that both altruism and CSR coherence directly influence CSR perceptions because of the scepticism of customers towards CSR. Corporate credibility dimensions -expertise and trustworthiness- have significant different effects on the formation of customer CSR perceptions so our results corroborate the necessity of analyzing these two dimensions as different concepts which affect corporate image in diverse ways.Keywords: CSR Perceptions; CSR Coherence; Altruism; Expertise; Trustworthiness.1. INTRODUCTIONFor the purpose of enhancing corporate images and reputations, corporate social responsibility (CSR) has recently become an essential activity in the agenda of many companies worldwide. As an example of this commitment to societal concerns, companies implement codes of ethical behaviour, publish CSR reports periodically, exhibit their support to international CSR standards and work to be included in prestigious sustainability indexes such as the Dow Jones Sustainability Index or the FTSE4Good Index.In the academic realm, the recent interest in CSR has derived into an extensive line of research concerning CSR perceptions (CSR image) and their influence on stakeholder behaviour. Researchers have been especially interested in determining how CSR image influences the identification of customers with the organization, their satisfaction with the company or customer loyalty (Lichtenstein et al., 2004; Sen et al., 2006; Marin and Ruiz, 2007). Nevertheless, significantly lower attention has been paid to the study of the mental patterns that take customers to form CSR perceptions of businesses (Rifon et al., 2004; Becker-Olsen et al., 2006; Bigne et al., 2010). Furthermore, in this nascent domain researchers have concentrated on analyzing only limited representations of CSR -mostly cause-related marketing (CrM) and the sponsorship of social causes. However, the CSR definition has evolved since the initial conceptualizations provided in the 1950s and 1960s and this is now considered as a broader concept which includes a vast array of social initiatives aimed at positively affecting not only society but also other stakeholders such as customers, employees and shareholders (Maignan and Ferrell, 2004). This is, for example, the case with the banking industry which is analysed in this research.As a consequence of the current financial crisis, the banking sector is now facing a significant loss of credibility and the trust of most of its stakeholders. CSR in this context tends to significantly raise stakeholder suspicion and, thus, customers might find it difficult to easily accept this new strategy as an altruistic commitment of the organization. Thus, reasons exist to believe that significant different patterns take customers to form a CSR image of their main banking providers when results are compared to previous findings in other industries (Perez and Rodriguez del Bosque, 2012). Nevertheless, no paper has analyzed customer CSR perceptions in this industry so far, a fact which encourages the proposal of our research.Based on these ideas, the goals of this paper are twofold: a) to test a multidimensional definition of CSR to understand customer CSR perceptions in the Spanish banking industry and b) to provide a causal model to explain the formation of CSR perceptions, which should allow the researchers to extend on previous findings by more clearly defining the role of CSR coherence, altruism and the dimensions of corporate credibility -expertise and trustworthiness- on CSR perceptions. For this purpose, the paper presents the results of two studies, each one oriented to analyze one of the objectives presented here. …