Effects of ethical ideologies and perceptions of CSR on consumer behavior

The mutual dependence of businesses and society has emphasized the growing importance of the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Despite the fact that CSR has emerged as one of the leading management concerns worldwide, both businesses and academia have largely ignored its application in developing countries. This study aims to fill these gaps by examining consumer perceptions of CSR and their role in the relationships between consumers' ethical ideologies (i.e., idealism and egoism) and evaluations of a company's product offerings. An empirical study among Vietnamese consumers shows that consumers perceive CSR in four dimensions-economic, ethical, philosophical, and legal. Different ethical ideologies have different effects on consumer perceptions of CSR; for example, idealism positively affects these perceptions, whereas egoism's effect is negative. Furthermore, the perceptions of CSR fully mediate the relationships between idealism/egoism and product evaluation.