The CSR's influence on customer responses in Indian banking sector

• This study measures the influence of corporate ability and CSR on consumer purchase intention.
• The impact of awareness as a moderating variable between CSR and purchase intention has been examined.
• Findings suggest that corporate ability has a strong effect on customer purchase intention while CSR activities were found to exert influence on customer purchase intention in cases where the customer was aware of such activities being conducted.

In the face of growing attention to corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities in the marketplace, this paper seeks to demonstrate how corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives influence customer purchase intention in context of Indian retail banking. Further, the impact of awareness as a moderating variable between CSR and purchase intention has been examined. The conclusion drawn from this study have important implications for Indian banks as they suggest that building a socially responsible image might have a favorable effect on consumer purchase intention. Findings suggest that corporate ability has a strong effect on customer purchase intention while CSR activities were found to exert influence on customer purchase intention in cases where the customer was aware of such activities being conducted. This paper contributes to existing CSR literature by offering a deeper understanding into CSR dynamics and its effect on consumer purchase intention. Further, the study tests the level of consumer awareness of CSR activities in a real market situation (not artificial or simulated) which has not been done in previous studies.