Corporate social responsibility: The effect of green practices in a service recovery

Heidi Albus
Heejung Ro, University of Central Florida

Abstract

This research builds on the halo effect of corporate social responsibility (CSR) literature in marketing to provide insight into the positive effect of CSR in a service encounter. Using a company’s green practices as CSR, this research examines how customers’ perceptions of CSR might spill over into their evaluations of the company and behavioral intentions in a service recovery context. The results, from 418 participants of the scenario-based role-playing experiment, indicate that CSR and service recovery have a significant effect on customer satisfaction, trust, word-of-mouth recommendations, and repeat patronage intentions in a casual-dining restaurant setting. Also, an interaction effect suggests that the CSR effect is more pronounced in a positive service recovery compared to a negative service recovery. The findings of this research provide researchers and practitioners with a better understanding of CSR and the positive influence it has on customer responses in a service encounter.