Corporate social responsibility in aviation management: The impact of sustainable marketing on brand equity

This study seeks to investigate the impact of various aspects of corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities on sustainable marketing practices and brand equity in the aviation industry. The study used a quantitative approach, and data were collected from 490 employees working in the Turkish aviation industry using a well-structured questionnaire. The data were analyzed using the structural equation modeling (SEM) approach in the AMOS software package. Findings reveal that CSR practices targeting employees negatively affect strategic integration, while ethics-based practices positively influence strategic integration and ethical capabilities. CSR efforts aimed at society harm ethical capabilities but enhance social participation. Strategic integration and ethical capabilities positively affect brand equity components, whereas social participation has a negative impact. The findings suggest that the success of CSR efforts hinges on the strategic fit and ethical dimension of CSR rather than the social aspect of it alone. This research makes its contribution to the existing literature on CSR by expanding knowledge of the multidimensional links between CSR activities, sustainable marketing strategy, and brand equity in the aviation management setting.