Can Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Internalize into Product Features? An Investigation on Consumer Responses to Products with Ethical Attributes

Although the positive impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) at company level is well documented (Luo and Bhattacharya 2009; Wagner, Lutz, and Weitz 2009), few studies looked at CSR investments in product offerings. This thesis examines consumer responses to products with ethical attributes in which CSR is internalized into product features and production process. Our study shows that ethical attributes that offer utilitarian and symbolic benefits can improve product evaluations. In addition, the positive impact of ethical attribute benefits is amplified when ethical attribute benefit is congruent with the product category benefit. Using the contagion theory, we find that the congruent benefit effect is active only when products have direct contact with consumers, because people want the products close to them to be safe, healthy and of high quality. Finally, personal CSR-quality belief is investigated. People who believe that ethical attributes come at the expense of quality are more sensitive to price-quality relation than people who believe that ethical attributes contribute to quality