Consumers' Perception of Corporate Social Responsibility

More than ever, consumers are interested in corporate social responsibility (CSR) and their purchase behaviour may be increasingly influenced by attention to CSR issues. But notwithstanding growing consumer interest and an expanding body of literature investigating the relationship between CSR and consumer behaviour, little is known on what, exactly, consumers perceive as CSR. This paper sheds light on this issue and reports findings from qualitative interviews with consumers to identify their view of CSR. A grounded theory of CSR domains has been created on the basis of this data. The identified CSR domains relate to employees, customers, the environment, society, the local community, suppliers, governments, shareholders, banks and the economy. This research contributes to the growing literature on CSR and consumer behaviour by identifying domains of CSR relevant to consumers. Such consumer centric CSR domains offer companies a basis for potential differentiation strategies and contribute to a better understanding of CSR.