Assessing the heterogeneity of consumers' preferences for corporate social responsibility using the best-worst scaling approach

Abstract

The promotion of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is important for achieving sustainability. The interest of stakeholders is one factor promoting CSR activities. Consumers are one of the major stakeholders. The aim of this study is to quantify Japanese consumers' preference for 13 CSR activities using the best-worst scaling (BWS) approach. We conducted an online survey in February 2015 and 633 individuals responded. Counting analysis and econometric analysis were used to analyze the BWS data. The results of the counting and MaxDiff analyses show that "Product safety and immediate recall in the case of defects" was identified as the most highly evaluated activity that makes respondents most strongly think that they want to buy a product from a company implementing the CSR activity. The results of the random parameter logit model and latent class model show preference heterogeneity. Some classes prioritize activities that do not generate a private benefit for them, such as environmental issues abroad and the working conditions of employees.