IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/soceco/v106y2023ics221480432300085x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Consumer perceptions of price increase by CSR: Focusing on construal level and consumer attribution

Author

Listed:
  • Park, Taehee
  • Yoo, Dongho

Abstract

Product price increases caused by Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities can stifle sales. In this study, we investigate consumers’ perceptions of prices raised by CSR and ways to improve negative consumer viewpoints. This study presents consumers’ construal level and internal attribution as key variables. As a result of Study 1 applying 2 (price level) x 2 (construal level) between-subjects analysis, consumers with activated high-level construal perceived product price as a benefit derived from CSR, whereas those with activated low-level construal perceived product price as a cost. As a result of Study 2 examining the influence of intrinsic attribution, the negative effect of product price was mitigated when consumers’ intrinsic attribution was activated. Consumers with intrinsic attribution perceived product price as benefits of CSR regardless of their construal level. The results of this study are expected to provide important guidelines regarding the success of corporate CSR strategies. Finally, we propose the related academic and practical implications.

Suggested Citation

  • Park, Taehee & Yoo, Dongho, 2023. "Consumer perceptions of price increase by CSR: Focusing on construal level and consumer attribution," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:soceco:v:106:y:2023:i:c:s221480432300085x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socec.2023.102059
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221480432300085X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socec.2023.102059?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yeonsoo Kim, 2017. "Consumer Responses to the Food Industry’s Proactive and Passive Environmental CSR, Factoring in Price as CSR Tradeoff," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 140(2), pages 307-321, January.
    2. Dongho Yoo & Jung-Ae Kim & Sun-Jae Doh, 2018. "The Dual Processing of Donation Size in Cause-Related Marketing (CRM): The Moderating Roles of Construal Level and Emoticons," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-21, November.
    3. Jorge Matute‐Vallejo & Rafael Bravo & José M. Pina, 2011. "The influence of corporate social responsibility and price fairness on customer behaviour: evidence from the financial sector," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 18(6), pages 317-331, November.
    4. DaHee Han & Adam Duhachek & Nidhi Agrawal, 2014. "Emotions Shape Decisions through Construal Level: The Case of Guilt and Shame," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 41(4), pages 1047-1064.
    5. Franziska Völckner & Julian Hofmann, 2007. "The price-perceived quality relationship: A meta-analytic review and assessment of its determinants," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 18(3), pages 181-196, September.
    6. Kyeongheui Kim & Meng Zhang & Xiuping Li, 2008. "Effects of Temporal and Social Distance on Consumer Evaluations," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 35(4), pages 706-713, August.
    7. Jing Wang & Jiewen Hong & Rongrong Zhou & Mary Frances LuceEditor & Gita JoharEditor & Hans BaumgartnerAssociate Editor, 2018. "How Long Did I Wait? The Effect of Construal Levels on Consumers’ Wait Duration Judgments," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 45(1), pages 169-184.
    8. Yunjeong Ahn & Jieun Lee, 2021. "The Role of Anthropomorphic Messengers in Sustainable Participatory Corporate Social Responsibility: Focusing on Messenger’s Facial Expression and Participation Effort," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-13, April.
    9. Shuling Liao & Colin C. Cheng, 2013. "Consumer evaluation of self-service innovation failure: the effect of brand equity and attribution," The Service Industries Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(5), pages 467-485, April.
    10. Xinshu Zhao & John G. Lynch & Qimei Chen, 2010. "Reconsidering Baron and Kenny: Myths and Truths about Mediation Analysis," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 37(2), pages 197-206, August.
    11. Echo Wen Wan & Nidhi Agrawal, 2011. "Carryover Effects of Self-Control on Decision Making: A Construal-Level Perspective," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 38(1), pages 199-214.
    12. Dongho Yoo & Jieun Lee, 2018. "The Effects of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Fit and CSR Consistency on Company Evaluation: The Role of CSR Support," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-16, August.
    13. Aparna A. Labroo & Vanessa M. Patrick, 2009. "Psychological Distancing: Why Happiness Helps You See the Big Picture," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 35(5), pages 800-809, October.
    14. Won‐Moo Hur & Tae‐Won Moon & Hanna Kim, 2020. "When and how does customer engagement in CSR initiatives lead to greater CSR participation? The role of CSR credibility and customer–company identification," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(4), pages 1878-1891, July.
    15. Fennell, Patrick B. & Coleman, Joshua T. & Kuo, Andrew, 2020. "The moderating role of donation quantifiers on price fairness judgments," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 464-473.
    16. Joo, Soyoung & Miller, Elizabeth G. & Fink, Janet S., 2019. "Consumer evaluations of CSR authenticity: Development and validation of a multidimensional CSR authenticity scale," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 236-249.
    17. Torsten Bornemann & Christian Homburg, 2011. "Psychological Distance and the Dual Role of Price," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 38(3), pages 490-504.
    18. DaHee Han & Adam Duhachek & Nidhi Agrawal, 2014. "Emotions Shape Decisions through Construal Level: The Case of Guilt and Shame," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 41(4), pages 1047-1064.
    19. Julian Hofmann & Michel Clement & Franziska Völckner & Thorsten Hennig-Thurau, 2007. "The price-perceived quality relationship: A meta-analytic review and assessment of its determinants," Post-Print hal-02990424, HAL.
    20. Becker-Olsen, Karen L. & Cudmore, B. Andrew & Hill, Ronald Paul, 2006. "The impact of perceived corporate social responsibility on consumer behavior," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 59(1), pages 46-53, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Virginia S. Harrison & Michail Vafeiadis & Joseph Bober, 2022. "Greening Professional Sport: How Communicating the Fit, Proximity, and Impact of Sustainability Efforts Affects Fan Perceptions and Supportive Intentions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-21, March.
    2. Chen Wang & Yeonggil Kim & Changhee Kim, 2022. "Are all CSR Activities in Your SNS Authentic? The Antecedents and Outcomes of Consumer Perceived Authenticity of CSR," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(4), pages 21582440221, November.
    3. Herter, Márcia Maurer & Borges, Adilson & Pinto, Diego Costa, 2021. "Which emotions make you healthier? The effects of sadness, embarrassment, and construal level on healthy behaviors," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 147-158.
    4. Dongho Yoo & Jung-Ae Kim & Sun-Jae Doh, 2018. "The Dual Processing of Donation Size in Cause-Related Marketing (CRM): The Moderating Roles of Construal Level and Emoticons," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-21, November.
    5. Jing Yu & Changjun Jiang & Xiaohong Zhuang & Sanggyun Na & Zongmin Cui, 2020. "The Formation Mechanism of Consumer Perceived Corporate Social Responsibility Authenticity: An Empirical Study of Chinese Consumers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-22, March.
    6. Zheng, Dan & Chen, Yuxin & Zhang, Zhe & Che, Hai, 2022. "Retail price discount depth and perceived quality uncertainty," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 98(3), pages 542-557.
    7. Fernando Santini & Wagner Junior Ladeira & Diego Costa Pinto & Márcia Maurer Herter & Claudio Hoffmann Sampaio & Barry J. Babin, 2020. "Customer engagement in social media: a framework and meta-analysis," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 48(6), pages 1211-1228, November.
    8. Chia-Jung Chang, 2013. "Price or quality? The influence of fluency on the dual role of price," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 24(4), pages 369-380, December.
    9. Duygu Turker & Ozge Can & Gizem Aras‐Beger, 2023. "How authenticity of corporate social responsibility affects organizational attractiveness: Stakeholder perceptions of organizational ideology," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(4), pages 1680-1697, July.
    10. Yunjeong Ahn & Jieun Lee, 2019. "The Effect of Participation Effort on CSR Participation Intention: The Moderating Role of Construal Level on Consumer Perception of Warm Glow and Perceived Costs," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-14, December.
    11. Ryoo, Yuhosua & Kim, WooJin, 2023. "Price-ethicality association: When price discounts inhibit ethical purchasing," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    12. Chan, Eugene Y. & Septianto, Felix, 2024. "Self-construals and health communications: The persuasive roles of guilt and shame," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    13. Nadeem, Waqar & Alimamy, Saifeddin & Ashraf, Abdul Rehman, 2023. "Navigating through difficult times with ethical marketing: Assessing consumers' willingness-to-pay in the sharing economy," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    14. van Doorn, Jenny & Risselada, Hans & Verhoef, Peter C., 2021. "Does sustainability sell? The impact of sustainability claims on the success of national brands’ new product introductions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 182-193.
    15. Hajir Afzali & Sang Soo Kim, 2021. "Consumers’ Responses to Corporate Social Responsibility: The Mediating Role of CSR Authenticity," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-13, February.
    16. Yang, Zhi & Cao, Xia & Wang, Feng & Lu, Chongyu, 2022. "Fortune or Prestige? The effects of content price on sales and customer satisfaction," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 426-435.
    17. Koo, Jieun & Suk, Kwanho, 2020. "Is $0 Better than Free? Consumer Response to “$0” versus “Free” Framing of a Free Promotion," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 96(3), pages 383-396.
    18. Andrea Pérez & Ignacio Rodríguez del Bosque, 2015. "How Customer Support for Corporate Social Responsibility Influences the Image of Companies: Evidence from the Banking Industry," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 22(3), pages 155-168, May.
    19. Zhu, Hong & Zhou, Yayu & Wu, Yening & Wang, Xin, 2022. "To smile or not to smile: The role of facial expression valence on mundane and luxury products premiumness," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    20. Balabanis, George & Stathopoulou, Anastasia, 2021. "The price of social status desire and public self-consciousness in luxury consumption," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 463-475.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:soceco:v:106:y:2023:i:c:s221480432300085x. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/620175 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.