When do consumers perceive supermarket chains as good corporate citizens? Evidence from the Dominican Republic during Covid-19

Abstract

The disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have magnified the need to examine how corporate citizenship (CC) influences consumer behavior. This study extends the theory of planned behavior and tests the relative influence of four dimensions of CC on consumer planned intentions to buy (BI) and planned behavior (PB). It also examines whether consumer attitude towards business (CAB) moderates the relationships. Data were obtained from supermarket customers in the Dominican Republic and analyzed with confirmatory factor analysis and multiple regression analysis. The findings support the effect of CC on BI and PB, although the effects vary. BI is significantly influenced by three dimensions of CC, namely economic citizenship, legal citizenship, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. But these effects are weaker when CAB is low. Additionally, the moderating influence of CAB highlights that supermarket consumers are less influenced by CC activities when CAB is low.

Keywords

• corporate citizenship
• corporate social responsibility
• theory of planned behavior
• covid-19