Mediating role of corporate reputation in the relationship between corporate social responsibility and repurchase intention: A case study of McDonald’s fast food restaurant chain

Abstract

This study builds on a strong theoretical background to investigate the relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and consumer repurchase intention through a corporate reputation for McDonald’s distribution channel in Viet Nam. The study was carried out using two methods, qualitative and quantitative research. Qualitative research was conducted using deep interviews with twelve respondents. After being added from qualitative research, the official scale with twenty-one observed variables is used in quantitative research. A quantitative research approach with 279 valid samples was conducted to test the scale and theoretical model. Collected data were analyzed by using SPSS and AMOS software. The results demonstrated a positive impact of CSR on corporate reputation and repurchase intention. This study adds to the existing literature on the role of CSR in marketing by finding that a good corporate reputation along with relevant and integrated CSR activities has a much stronger impact on the repurchase intention of consumers. Findings from research have shown that inappropriate CSR practices can negatively impact the behavior of certain consumers. In the short term, McDonald’s CSR activities may convince consumers to repurchase, but it may not be very convincing and there is no guarantee that this repurchasing behavior will last, as only continuous CSR activities contribute to sustainable behaviour. Therefore, the theoretical contribution of this study is to introduce corporate reputation as a long-term benefit to the relationship between CSR and consumer repurchase intention.