How does CSR affect brand attitudes? Three-way interactions of CSR, publicity intensity and skepticism

Purpose It is commonly recognized that the application of corporate social responsibility (CSR) can improve public perceptions of businesses. This paper aims to explore the influencing mechanism of CSR and brand attitude with a mediating effect from brand image and moderating effects from publicity intensity and consumer skepticism. Design/methodology/approach The data were collected via a survey administered in China, which yielded 526 valid responses from 568 respondents. Hierarchical regression was performed to verify the hypotheses. Findings This study suggests that CSR not only strengthens a brand's image but also optimizes consumers' attitudes toward the brand. While suitable intensity of CSR publicity can amplify the impact of CSR activities, excessive publicity diminishes the beneficial effect of CSR on company image. Moreover, when the triple interaction between CSR, publicity intensity and consumer skepticism was examined, it was found that existing consumer skepticism strengthens the negative effect of excessive publicity intensity. Practical implications Some useful suggestions have been put forth to help companies develop impactful CSR promotion strategies, reduce consumer skepticism, create a good brand image, improve brand attitude and achieve sustainable development. Originality/value This paper investigates the influencing mechanism of CSR on brand attitude, analyzes the mediating role of brand image and the moderating role of publicity intensity and consumer skepticism and verifies the triple interaction effect of publicity intensity, consumer skepticism and CSR. This paper expands the research on publicity intensity and skepticism in CSR. It also enriches past research achievements and further expands the CSR research path.