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Consumers' heterogeneous preferences for corporate social responsibility in the food industry

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  • Marco Lerro
  • Riccardo Vecchio
  • Francesco Caracciolo
  • Stefano Pascucci
  • Luigi Cembalo

Abstract

This study reveals the consumer side of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the food industry, exploring awareness, preferences and willingness to pay for CSR of a representative sample of Italian households. The results clearly indicate that Italian consumers reveal a high level of awareness within clear, though heterogeneous, preferences for CSR initiatives. Five consumers' groups were identified: ‘environmentalists’, ‘pro‐socials’, ‘collectivists’, ‘animal friends’ and ‘selfish health centered’. Furthermore, the study reveals consumers' willingness to pay a premium price to reward food companies addressing their concerns and expectations in terms of CSR. Findings offer insights for business managers on how to promote CSR, developing communication and information strategies focusing on specific needs and personal relevance within a group of consumers.

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  • Marco Lerro & Riccardo Vecchio & Francesco Caracciolo & Stefano Pascucci & Luigi Cembalo, 2018. "Consumers' heterogeneous preferences for corporate social responsibility in the food industry," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(6), pages 1050-1061, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:corsem:v:25:y:2018:i:6:p:1050-1061
    DOI: 10.1002/csr.1519
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    3. Marcela Rocha Haase Uhlig & Emerson Wagner Mainardes & Valcemiro Nossa, 2020. "Corporate social responsibility and consumer's relationship intention," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(1), pages 313-324, January.
    4. Roselyne Cheruiyot-Koech & Colin David Reddy, 2022. "Corporate Social Responsibility Preferences in South Africa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-16, March.
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    6. Alessandra De Chiara, 2020. "Sustainable Business Model Innovation vs. “Made in” for International Performance of Italian Food Companies," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-17, December.
    7. Shaohua He & Lei Liu & Qi Liu & Shaoling Fu, 2024. "Creating social value through operational supply chain transparency," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(3), pages 2333-2351, May.
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    11. Andreas Hesse & Karolin Bündgen & Saskia Claren & Sarah Frank, 2022. "Practices of brand extensions and how consumers respond to FMCG giants’ greening attempts," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 29(6), pages 520-537, November.
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    13. Jonathan Luffarelli & Panos Markou & Antonios Stamatogiannakis & Dilney Gonçalves, 2019. "The effect of corporate social performance on the financial performance of business‐to‐business and business‐to‐consumer firms," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(6), pages 1333-1350, November.
    14. Hesse, Andreas, 2022. "Green Marketing: Empirische Erkenntnisse zur Konsumentenwahrnehmung von Ökologie-orientierten Repositionierungsversuchen etablierter Marken," Wissenschaftliche Schriften des Fachbereichs Wirtschaftswissenschaften 36-2022, Hochschule Koblenz - University of Applied Sciences, Fachbereich Wirtschaftswissenschaften.
    15. Chia-Hung Lee & Pei-Ing Wu & Je-Liang Liou & Shou-Lin Yang, 2022. "The Monetary Value of Corporate Social Responsibility: The Impact of Tea Trees Growing Project between Corporates and Taiwan’s Aboriginal Farmers on Consumers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-18, July.
    16. Muhammad Ikram & Abdul Qayyum & Omer Mehmood & Jahanzaib Haider, 2020. "Assessment of the Effectiveness and the Adaption of CSR Management System in Food Industry: The Case of the South Asian versus the Western Food Companies," SAGE Open, , vol. 10(1), pages 21582440199, January.
    17. Andrea Marchini & Chiara Riganelli & Francesco Diotallevi & Bianca Polenzani, 2021. "Label information and consumer behaviour: evidence on drinking milk sector," Agricultural and Food Economics, Springer;Italian Society of Agricultural Economics (SIDEA), vol. 9(1), pages 1-24, December.
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    19. Constanza Bianchi & Valentina Reyes & Veronica Devenin, 2020. "Consumer motivations to purchase from benefit corporations (B Corps)," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(3), pages 1445-1453, May.
    20. Athanasios Krystallis & Vlad Zaharia & Antonis Zairis, 2021. "“When” Does It Pay to Be Good? Attributions Mediate the Way CSR Elements Impact on Consumer Responses, and Are Controllable," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-16, May.

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