Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) on Customer Loyalty in Indian Telecom Industry: The Moderating Role of Consumer Demographics

Abstract

The aspiration of this paper is to examine the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and service quality on customer loyalty and their relationship in the Indian telecommunication industry. A model was proposed and a total of 377 responses were collected using a structured questionnaire. Data were assessed and analyzed using PLS SEM. Multi-group analysis (MGA) was carried out to comprehend the moderating effect of gender, age, education, and income within the model. The results suggest that CSR does not have a direct impact on customer loyalty (CL), but there is an indirect effect when it is mediated through customer satisfaction (CS) and trust (Tr). Service quality (SQ) was found to have a direct impact on CL and while it is also mediated through CS. The results of the MGA revealed that customer satisfaction increases commitment towards customer loyalty and trust among male users. This study highlights that the modern customers are knowledgeable, more aware, and value companies which are focused on CSR activities.