The impact of corporate social responsibility practices on customer purchase intention of clothing industry: An integration of triple bottom line and ISO2600

Abstract

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has gained research attention as the result of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), which focus on responsible consumption and production (SDG-12). However, previous studies mainly focused on Carroll’s pyramid of CSR and other facets of CSR practices need to be further explored. The objective of the study is to examine the impact of CSR practices on customer purchase intention in the clothing industry by integrating the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) model and ISO26000 best practices with the Signalling theory as the theoretical foundation. Through an online survey, a total of valid 182 responses were obtained via purposive sampling. Multiple regression was utilized for data analysis. The results show that economic CSR had the strongest impact on customer purchase intention, followed by environmental, social, and customer issues. Surprisingly, there was no significant impact between fair operating practices and customer purchase intention. The current study is unique by integrating the TBL framework with the customer-related ISO26000 CSR practices in a single framework and utilizing the Signalling Theory as the underpinning theory to explain the relationships, which is novel in an emerging market. The results provide insightful implications to the clothing company's management to emphasize the (social, economic, environmental, and customer issues) CSR attributes to guarantee business sustainability and attract consumers in this competitive marketplace.