Consumers´ Perceptions of CSR Communication: A Four-Country Comparison
(A2019-9287)

AUTHORS

Verena Batt, Leuphana University Lueneburg; Paula Bögel, Leuphana University Lueneburg; Sigrid Bekmeier-Feuerhahn, Leuphana University Lueneburg; Valentina Cotton-Chan, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

KEYWORDS

csr; credibility; motives

ABSTRACT

In recent decades, a growing number of companies from all over the world have been faced with the need for devising and implementing CSR communication strategies. Yet, given the international scope of business activities today, it is important for managers to know how CSR communication is perceived across countries. The present paper contributes to existing com-parative CSR literature by examining whether Germans, as compared with US-Americans, Australians and Chinese, assign different credibility scores and attribute different motives to a company´s CSR communication. The findings reveal that US-Americans, Australians and Chinese assign a higher degree of credibility to CSR communication than Germans. Further-more, US-Americans and Chinese attribute other-centered motives more strongly to CSR communication than Germans. In contrast, we found no significant differences between Ger-mans and Australians in motive attribution.