Antecedents and customer-related outcomes of perceived CSR authenticity of Indian banks: developing an integrated model

Purpose - Business-society relations have weakened in recent years due to evidence of greenwashing and misleading corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices, resulting in a lack of trust and interest amongst the stakeholders regarding CSR efficiency. Therefore, this paper aims to analyse the major antecedents and customer-related outcomes of perceived CSR authenticity. In addition, the study provides an integrated model of CSR authenticity and empirically validates the model in Indian settings. Design/methodology/approach - A structured questionnaire was developed to collect data from 250 bank customers living in a major city situated in the northern part of India. The analysis was conducted using structural equation modelling. Findings - The findings of the study demonstrate that extrinsic motives, intrinsic motives, CSR impact and corporate reputation significantly influence CSR authenticity, while CSR fit was reported to exhibit no significant influence on CSR authenticity. Additionally, the results of the mediation analysis indicated that CSR authenticity had no direct effect on customer loyalty; rather, this effect was found to be mediated through customer trust. Originality/value - This study/research adds insight into the concept of CSR authenticity, which is relatively under-researched, especially in the Indian context. Furthermore, the study focuses on less-explored antecedents, including CSR impact and corporate reputation. In addition, the paper also examines the mediating effect of trust between CSR authenticity and consumer loyalty, which has not been explored yet in the context of CSR authenticity. The analysis also delved into the moderating effect of gender and age on CSR authenticity.