The Association between Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Consumer Buying Behaviour: What Changed Over Two Decades?

CSR has been shown to positively increase consumer buying behavior by increasing purchase intentions and loyalty. The extent of this impact on the other hand depends on the nature of the CSR activity, consumer awareness, and the lifespan of the CSR initiatives. Through a strategic approach arranged in CSR activities, companies are able to expand the positive responses of consumers and achieve long-term positive returns. The research survey and synthesizes the literature on the topic and uses a systematic review approach to investigate the connection between CSR and consumer buying behavior of those published between 2005 and 2025. The corresponding scholarly literature was found by using the Google Scholar, Scopus, and Web of Science search services through the Egyptian Knowledge Bank (EKB) in both the complete list of Google Scholar citations. It is aimed at giving a general picture of the changes that have taken place within the specified period. The scope of CSR and their changing impact on the consumer behavior are discussed, as well as regional variations in the focus areas of the research studies under analysis. To clarify the change in consumer reactions to CSR, the research summarizes the emerging research directions and directions to be used in the future. The pertinent findings, based on the carried-out procedures, highlight the regional differences in terms of the center of the studied research, in which shifts in consumers in response to CSR are observed. The themes to be used in the future research directions are also outlined.