The influence of corporate social responsibility on consumers’ purchasing intentions in Thailand

Submission note: A thesis submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the La Trobe Business School, College of Arts, Social Sciences and Commerce, La Trobe University, Bundoora.

This research examines how young adult consumers differentiate between the CSR activities of organizations and in particular how CSR activities influence purchase intentions. In doing so it attempts to explore how different CSR activities offer different types of value and affect consumers’ purchasing intentions in Thailand. To explain CSR in this study, Stakeholder, Legitimacy, Institutional and Resource based theories are referred to. In addition, the Theory of Planned Behavior plays an important part in testing consumers’ purchase intentions. Data were obtained using a mixed methodology: firstly, using qualitative methods, 11 in-depth personal interviews with management personnel in Thai organizations were conducted; secondly, using quantitative research methods, 897 Thai young adult consumers were surveyed; and thirdly, using a field experiment in a retail store environment, 101 consumer surveys were completed comparing how consumers choose between products based on their CSR attributes. The results showed CSR activities explained 8.9% of the variation in respondents’ purchase intentions. However, when consumer value was considered, the variation in respondents’ purchase intentions rose to 21.2%. This means consumer value intervenes in the relationship between CSR and respondents’ purchase intentions. With reference to CSR implementation in Thai organizations, the question of how they implement activities and turn their conceptual plans into strategies was investigated. Two major concepts emerged in this thesis, namely, Capability development and Stakeholder engagement. The results from the in-store experiment xv indicated that respondents supported products with a CSR label and claimed they were willing to pay a premium price for such goods. Most respondents stated that people who are important to them can influence their buying behavior regarding CSR-related products. Consequently, even though the CSR activities may have the broader society in mind, unless they provide individual value through either functional value or peer approval such activities will not affect respondents’ purchase intentions. The research findings can help organizations develop guidelines to implement CSR, and they also provide insights into consumers’ purchase priorities. Finally, the results enable us to have a better understanding of the relationship between CSR and consumers’ purchasing intentions in Thailand.