Social order or social justice? The relationship of political ideology with consumer preferences for Corporate Social Responsibility

Despite the recognized importance of political ideology in shaping consumer behavior across various contexts, it remains unclear whether conservatives and liberals exhibit different preferences when it comes to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Using survey data from 598 respondents in the United States, our findings indicate a positive correlation between conservatism and consumer preference for customer, supplier, and shareholder CSR domains. Conversely, conservatism correlates negatively with consumer preference for environmental and societal CSR domains. These relationships are mediated by social order and social justice. Conservatism also has a negative indirect relationship with consumer preference for employee's CSR domain through social order. Overall, our study contributes to the marketing literature by demonstrating that political ideology is related to divergent preferences for CSR, with group-related moral motives serving as mediators in these relationships. • We study political ideology and consumer preferences for CSR domains. • Conservatism is positively related to customer, supplier, and shareholder domains. • Conservatism is negatively related to environmental and societal domains. • Moral motives -social order and social justice-have a mediating role. • Consumers' political ideology is crucial for effectively targeting CSR initiatives.