Consumer inferences of corporate social responsibility (CSR) claims on packaged foods
Introduction
Imagine that you are in a grocery store. While browsing the frozen food aisle, you are tempted by a pint of ice cream. You read on its package that the company uses non-GMO (genetically modified organism) ingredients and makes the package out of 100% recycled materials. You decide to buy it and you feel good about yourself for choosing a healthy food product and for being environmentally conscious. Then you find a box of pasta and its package description indicates that the company strives to protect employee rights and provide fair treatment. Ethical food companies make quality food, you believe. Both ice cream and pasta go into your shopping cart and it feels like you are part of a good cause.
This scenario demonstrates consumers' increasing desire for healthy options and socially responsible business practices. Such a trend has compelled the food industry to develop more socially responsible initiatives under the umbrella of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). CSR is generally defined as pro-social corporate endeavors (Sen & Bhattacharya, 2001) and has become one of the key business priorities in the global retail and consumer goods sector (Hartmann, 2011). The food sector's high dependency on natural resources, low supplier power, and generally large societal and environmental impacts accelerate the urgency for food manufacturers to engage in CSR initiatives (Hartmann, 2011). For example, Coca-Cola decided to no longer use an ingredient linked to a flame retardant, after a consumer claimed that the ingredient was not approved in the European Union or Japan (Feeney, 2014). Among a variety of communication channels, marketers have greater control over the information displayed on the package (Du, Bhattacharya, & Sen, 2010). Packaging is perceived to have the ability to draw consumers' attention to the product and to establish distinctive positive associations that would differentiate the product from its competitors and further create value for consumers (Chandon, 2013). Therefore, food packaging has become a popular marketing tool to communicate CSR initiatives to consumers and build a favorable reputation and image.
Despite the increasing importance of packaging as a CSR communication channel, surprisingly insufficient research has been conducted on consumers' information processing of CSR claims displayed on food packages. Due to rising concerns about foods' relationship with obesity and diseases, academic researchers, along with years of governmental efforts, have prioritized studying consumers' information processing of nutrition labels and/or health-related packaging claims (e.g., Chandon, 2013). Traditionally, CSR has been viewed from the company's or stakeholder's perspectives in terms of direct profitability, financial performances, and/or value creation. However, CSR in the food industry is more complex, since food is fundamental to basic human needs and the entire food supply chain encompasses a wide range of stakeholders (Hartmann, 2011). Considering the prevalence of CSR practices in the food sector and the communication of CSR activities through food packaging, it is important for scholars and practitioners to understand how consumers process CSR claims conveyed on food packages, and how such claims influence consumer inferences, and ultimately, purchase decisions.
To fill in the abovementioned research gaps, this study focused on the effects of different domains of CSR claims (i.e., food manufacturing, employee welfare, and eco-friendly packaging CSR) on consumers' perceptions of food products and attitude as well as behavioral intentions toward food companies. In addition, this study examined whether these effects would vary depending on the types of food (i.e., essential vs. indulgent food). Specifically, the objectives of this study were to investigate the differential effects of three domains of CSR claims on consumers' (1) perceptions of food products, (2) attitudes toward company, (3) behavioral intentions, and (4) the potential moderating effects of food types on the tested relationships.
Section snippets
CSR communications in the food industry
CSR has been broadly defined as pro-social corporate endeavors (Murray and Vogel, 1997, Sen and Bhattacharya, 2001), ranging from companies' social, economic, and environmental obligations to protections of ethical human rights and consumer concerns related to business operations and core strategy (European Commission, 2011). In modern society, as concerns of social welfare and general well-being evolve, CSR initiatives have extended to eco-friendly practices, employee and community support,
Research design, sample and procedure
A pilot study was conducted to develop the experimental stimuli. An online survey was launched with a convenience sample of 30 participants. Participants were asked to select the top five important CSR initiatives from a list of 14 common CSR initiatives (e.g., restrictions of the use of antibiotics in livestock, ethical sourcing, and prevention of soil erosion) representing the three CSR domains. Based on the frequencies, initiatives related to non-GMO (for grain-based food)/antibiotics-free
Demographics and manipulation checks
Among the 520 participants, 52.9% were male and 67.9% were at the age of 25 to 44. Nearly 80% were Caucasian and 57.9% reported their annual income in the range of $25,000 to $80,000. Chi-square tests were performed to examine the effectiveness of CSR domains and food types manipulations. As intended, domains of CSR claim manipulations were perceived significantly different in each condition (X2 (4, N = 393) = 632.751, p < 0.001). The perceived food types differed significantly between the two food
Conclusions
The present study provided empirical support for the application of ELM theory and the halo effect to the context of grocery shopping of packaged foods. Specifically, the findings suggest the salience of halo effects of on-package CSR claims on consumers' inferences and behavioral intentions; CSR claims displayed on food packages could serve as a heuristic cue and influence consumers' perceptions of health benefits, taste, attitude toward the company and behavioral intentions upon their point
Dr. Wei Wei is an assistant professor at Rosen College of Hospitality Management, University of Central Florida. Her research focuses on consumer behavior and psychology in hospitality service encounters, such as consumer food choices and pro-environmental behavior.
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Dr. Wei Wei is an assistant professor at Rosen College of Hospitality Management, University of Central Florida. Her research focuses on consumer behavior and psychology in hospitality service encounters, such as consumer food choices and pro-environmental behavior.
Ms. Gaeul Kim received her Master's degree in hospitality and tourism management from Purdue University. Her thesis is about Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) message design and communication in the food industry.
Dr. Li Miao is an associate professor at the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Oklahoma State University. She is also a research fellow at the School of Economics and Management, Chongqing Normal University in China. The research interests of Dr. Miao include consumer responses to food labeling and consumer behavior in hospitality service consumption.
Dr. Carl Behnke is an associate professor at School of Hospitality & Tourism Management, Purdue University. His research interests include food safety, foodservice operations, culinary education and training.
Dr. Barbara Almanza is a professor and the HTM PhD and MS graduate programs director at School of Hospitality & Tourism Management, Purdue University. Her research interest centers on food safety.