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This study proposed and tested a model of the direct and indirect impacts of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on customer loyalty through the mediator of guanxi (social connections) of organizations and employees. Participants were 452 life insurance customers in China, who completed measures of CSR, guanxi, and customer loyalty. Results of structural equation modeling indicated that CSR was positively associated with customer loyalty and that guanxi partially mediated this relationship. The study findings provide new insight into the complex relationship between CSR and customer loyalty, and may be of use to insurance service providers for increasing customer loyalty.
Keywords
corporate social responsibility, customer loyalty, guanxi, social connections
Since the Chinese government introduced new harmonious society policies in 2006, there has been growing recognition of the need to incorporate corporate social responsibility into corporate strategy (Yi, 2008). Currás-Pérez et al. (2018) defined corporate social responsibility (CSR) as the commitment of an organization to improving social, environmental, and long-term economic welfare through its business operations. See (2009) suggested that CSR shares common objectives with a harmonious society. CSR functions as a critical tool for building longstanding customer relationships (Aljarah et al., 2020). Existing studies have examined the impact of CSR on customer relationship from various perspectives, such as commitment and trust, and found that CSR activities can enhance customers' commitment and trust (Mohammed & Al-Swidi, 2021; Pivato et al., 2008).
Loyalty is defined as a good long-term relationship between providers and customers (Kandampully & Suhartanto, 2003), and is an important basis for organizations to generate a sustainable competitive advantage (Arslan, 2020). Recently, researchers have incorporated CSR into empirical studies of customer loyalty; however, these studies have produced inconsistent results. Akbari et al. (2021) reported a positive direct link between CSR and customer loyalty; Park and Kim (2019) and Su et al. (2017) found that CSR has an indirect effect on customer loyalty via the mediators of customer satisfaction, trust, and perceived corporate reputation; and Gürlek et al. (2017) revealed that CSR contributes to increased customer loyalty both directly and also indirectly via the mediator of corporate image. However, García de los Salmones et al. (2005) observed that CSR does not significantly affect customer loyalty. Thus, there is still scope for academics to further examine the mechanisms...