University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

The effectiveness of corporate social responsibility in corporate crises: from the perspective of assimilation – contrast effects and attribution theory

Nyarko, Akua Yeboaa

Content Files
NYARKO-THESIS-2017.pdf

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/99105

Description

Title
The effectiveness of corporate social responsibility in corporate crises: from the perspective of assimilation – contrast effects and attribution theory
Author(s)
Nyarko, Akua Yeboaa
Issue Date
2017-07-18
Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)
Ham, Chang Dae
Department of Study
Advertising
Discipline
Advertising
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
M.S.
Degree Level
Thesis
Date of Ingest
2018-03-02T19:59:40Z
Keyword(s)
  • Crisis
  • Corporate social responsibility (CSR)
Abstract
The positive impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities on stakeholder reactions is widely discussed. However, minimal research has addressed how CSR plays diverse roles in insulating a company from negative impacts of corporate crises, depending on the type of crises. This study specifically took into consideration consumers’ awareness of a company’s CSR reputation and their interpretation of CSR motives. To help fill this gap, assimilation - contrast effects and attribution theory were applied to an experimental study exploring a 2 (crisis type: product harm vs. moral harm) x 2 (CSR reputation: high vs. low) x 2 (CSR motives: intrinsic vs. extrinsic) between-subjects design. Two interaction effects were observed between crisis type and CSR reputation and crisis type and consumer inferences of CSR motives on CSR skepticism, resilience to negative information, attitudes towards the corporation and purchase intention of the corporate products. The results indicated that consumers’ awareness of a company’s CSR reputation and their inferences of company motives from a CSR-based crisis played significant roles in determining the valence of reactions within different crisis type. In addition, resilience predicted the impact of crisis type and CSR on attitudes and purchase intentions. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Graduation Semester
2017-08
Type of Resource
text
Permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/2142/99105
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 2017 Akua Nyarko

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