مسئولیت اجتماعی شرکتی به عنوان تعیین کننده وفاداری مصرف کننده: بررسی استانداردهای اخلاقی، رضایتمندی و  اعتماد  Corporate social responsibility as a determinant of consumer loyalty: An examination of ethical standard,  satisfaction, and trust

1. Introduction As consumer loyalty plays an integral role in business success in competitive markets (Kotler & Armstrong, 2010; Oliver, 1999; Orel & Kara, 2014), ample studies have examined the various factors that motivate consumers to remain loyal to a company’s products and services. However, little emphasis has been placed on the effect of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on attracting loyal consumers and increasing their number (Liu, Guo, & Lee, 2011). CSR typically consists of legal, ethical, and philanthropic responsibilities that represent the company’s concern for society (Stanaland, Lwin, & Murphy, 2011), which also functions as a self-regulatory mechanism that monitors whether the company complies with these responsibilities. Applying this concept as one possible way to increase consumer loyalty, this study explicates how some of the determinants and outcomes of CSR influence loyalty in the retail industry. Earlier studies primarily investigated the role of CSR in improving fi- nancial performance and product evaluations by focusing on the corporate perspective of CSR activities (McWilliams, Siegel, & Wright, 2006; Lee, Park, Rapert, & Newman, 2012). Although the importance of CSR in shaping consumer perceptions and valuations of a company is being increasingly recognized (Maignan, Ferrell, & Hult, 1999; Christopher & Luke, 2013), consumer awareness of CSR remains low, and companies frequently have unsatisfactory results despite the large amount of resources dedicated to their CSR activities (Lee et al., 2012). Therefore, companies and researchers should explore the factors associated with consumer perceptions of CSR and investigate their role in shaping consumer loyalty. Accordingly, this study examines CSR from the consumer rather than the corporate perspective by focusing on the value relevance (i.e., fit between a consumer’s values and CSR) and the ethical standards of CSR activities as the two main determinants of CSR quality and commitment. We predict that higher value relevance and ethical standards lead consumers to perceive that the company is committed to its CSR activities, which, in turn, induces greater satisfaction with and trust in the company and its services. Consequently, consumers are likely to remain loyal to the company.