Consumer behavior and corporate social responsibility: An evaluation by a choice experiment

Abstract

The relationship between corporate social responsibility and consumer's behavior is more and more strong today: so it influences management of ethical and social effects of companies. The aim of the study is to investigate to what extent the socially responsible behaviors of companies influence consumer purchasing decisions and, moreover, the possible willingness to pay higher prices for good practice products. A choice experiment was conducted in Italy for this purpose on ready-made foods, where socially responsible initiatives of companies are compared with four levels of price and the presence or absence of a known brand. The analysis shows a positive relationship between socially responsible initiatives of companies and attitudes of consumers towards them and their products. However, by investigation, only few people adopt corporate social responsibility as choice criterion for purchases still, because traditional purchasing criteria continue to prevail, in particular the price. The conclusions are also a matter for thought for further discussion.