Predicting citizen CSA impact: A four-country study of fit, legitimacy, and authenticity

This study investigated how citizens in four countries have distinct expectations for corporations’ role in addressing contentious issues, and how their understandings may contribute to their evaluation of the societal impact of the corporation (authenticity and legitimacy) when engaging in CSA as part of marketing communication. Through surveys in Australia, Belgium, China, and the US, the investigators identified insular, pragmatic, and altruistic groups in each country based on their perspective on corporate CSA engagement. In addition, segmentation works as a necessary, but not sufficient, predictor for the societal-level impact of CSA. Issue-relevant factors, including fit, involvement, and prior attitude are also important factors that drive people’s positive evaluation of authenticity and legitimacy. Its implications include four propositions about the efficacy of CSA depending on the proportions of sympathetic citizen-consumers in specific political communities.