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Introduction
Loyalty behaviour is one of the most representative ways in which customers express their satisfaction with corporate performance, and it is closely linked to the profitability of companies (García de los Salmones et al. , 2009). Nonetheless, loyalty is a complex concept, and the models that scholars apply to describe its formation continue finishing off with the plus of new variables with explicative power. Along this line, scholars have started to consider the inclusion of corporate social responsibility (CSR) image in loyalty behaviour models. However, the results of these studies generate controversy because empirical evidence keeps showing contradictory results. Although some scholars perceive positive effects of CSR image on customer loyalty (Pérez et al. , 2013), this influence is rejected in other studies (Carrigan and Attalla, 2001). Thus, new research is needed in this field to clarify the role of CSR image in the formation of customer loyalty behaviours.
Based on these ideas, the purpose of the authors of this paper is to test a conceptual model of CSR image and customer loyalty that overcomes the flaws prevalent in prior models and reflects the latest ideas discussed by scholars concerning both realities. For this purpose, the authors take the paper of Pérez and Rodríguez del Bosque (2013) as the reference for designing their study. This paper is one of the latest approaches to the study of CSR image and customer loyalty that have been published in a top-ranked journal ( Journal of Business Ethics ). The purpose of Pérez and Rodríguez del Bosque (2013) is to test the reliability and validity of a new stakeholder-based CSR image scale by including it in a causal model to understand the way the CSR image influences customer loyalty. The model includes four concepts: CSR image, customer - company (C-C) identification, repurchase behaviour and willingness to recommend. Their findings demonstrate the adequacy of a multi-dimensional scale (19 items gathered in 4 dimensions) to understand CSR image in the banking industry. Their study also validates the causal model and demonstrates that CSR image directly and positively determines identification, repurchase and recommendation behaviours. Nonetheless, the authors of the present study have identified three weaknesses of the paper of Pérez and Rodríguez del Bosque (2013) that justify this new research.
First,...