The Moderating Effect of Marketing Capabilities on the Relationship between Changes in CSR perceptions and Changes in Brand Equity

摘要

In recent years, firms have been pressured by stakeholders to undertake additional corporate social responsibility investments. Some firms have taken the initiative to allocate additional resources to CSR investments, while others argue that these investments conflicts with the firms' objectives to maximize profits. This controversy has piqued researchers' interests as they explore and study the linkage and relationship between CSR and firm performance. As such, we seek to contribute to this literature by studying the sensitivity of changes in CSR perceptions on brand equity, a noted measure of firm performance. We also take the resource-based view perspective to introduce marketing capabilities as a possible moderator for the CSR-brand equity relationship. Using data from 134 firms, we run a structured equation model (SEM) path analysis and find a positive relationship between changes in CSR perceptions and brand equity, significant at the 5% level. We also find that not only is there a positive and significant (p＜ .01) link between the marketing capabilities and brand equity, but also that marketing capabilities positively and significantly (p＜ .05) moderate the changes in CSR-brand equity relationship. With our significant results, we provide actionable information for managers and decision makers, as well as make theoretical contributions to literature.