A comparative study between the relationship of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate image to purchase intention

Abstract

A company banks on their Corporate Image and strategies like Corporate Social Responsibility to build its connection with their stakeholders and to influence them on buying their products and services. This study examined the correlation between Corporate Image and Purchase Intention and Corporate Social Responsibility to Purchase Intention. It is important to know what the target market considers more as significant in their intent to purchase to help the companies better decide on which to put more effort or strengthen these efforts. The study also compared the correlation scores of Corporate Social Responsibility and Purchase Intention versus that of Corporate Image and Purchase Intention. The different studies that were cited in this research were used as a basis to use the same variables in P&G and its target market. Most of those scholarly studies were found to prove the positive effects of CSR activities and Corporate Image to a customer's Purchase Intention. The respondents were the general public of P&G Philippines because they are considered as one of the stakeholders of the company in their CSR campaigns and of their brands and products and selected through convenience and snowball sampling. These respondents are 17-45 years old and live in Luzon. The data gathered from the survey were analyzed through different statistical treatments. It was found that both efforts of the company with regard to Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Image projection are perceived positively by the respondents of the survey to affect their intention to purchase. This means that the high scores they give to the CSR and Corporate Image scales are associated in a positive monotonic relationship with Purchase Intention- as the scores in the CSR and Corporate Image scales increase, scores in the Purchase Intention scale also increases. It was found that the association of Corporate Image to Purchase Intention is higher in degree than that of CSR to Purchase Intention. This may imply that the respondents consider looking at the overall image of P&G than that along of their CSR activities when thinking of purchasing their products. After conducting the study, the researcher then recommends a broader extension through higher number of respondents to be used as a sample. A qualitative method may also be employed to further strengthen the claims and conclusions. An in-depth analysis on the relationship of Corporate Image and Corporate Social Responsibility is also recommended. P&G may also strengthen their CSR campaigns to better influence the Purchase Intentions of their target market while they continue to work on their corporate image.