1
Consumer CSR Perception and Purchase Intention
Differences in Gender and National Culture
The Case of Fair Trade products
MSc. Dissertation
Date of Submission: December 3, 2018
Author: Marit Uppelschoten - S3257983/b7080733
Double Degree Master International Business Management & Marketing University of Groningen, Newcastle University
2 Abstract
This study examines gender and national culture differences in consumer Corporate social responsibility (CSR) perceptions and the intention to purchase Fair Trade products in the supermarket. The relationship between consumer CSR perceptions and purchase intention will be explained drawing on the attribution theory and the theory of planned behaviour. The moderating effect of gender is justified with the gender socialization theory and the theory of planned behaviour. Furthermore, the moderating effect of national culture will be explained by Hofstede’s Model of six dimensions of national cultures.
The data was collected via an online survey, which resulted in a final sample of 216 respondents. To test the hypotheses, factor analysis, bivariate Pearson’s correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis were performed. The overall results show that consumer CSR perceptions about environmental and supplier issues have a positive effect on the intention to purchase Fair Trade products. The relationship was strongest for CSR perceptions about environmental issues. Evidence for differences between men and women was found for two CSR dimensions. The relationship between consumer CSR perception about community issues and the intention to purchase Fair Trade products was moderated by gender, such that the relationship was stronger when the consumer was female. Thus, female consumers were found to have more concern for community issues, compared to male consumers. The relationship between consumer CSR perception about supplier issues and the intention to purchase Fair Trade products was moderated by gender, such that the relationship was stronger for a male consumer. This implies that male consumers consider supplier issues as more important than female consumers. A possible explanation for this finding is that men are justice oriented. Empirical evidence for differences in national culture was not found for any of the CSR perception dimensions.
This study contributes to the existing literature by examining seven different dimensions of consumer CSR perception. Additionally, the findings contribute to the literature by showing that gender differences can exist on various CSR dimensions. This study has some practical implications. This study provides firms with a better understanding of consumer CSR perceptions, which might help them in making better decisions concerning the CSR strategy and marketing strategy. Furthermore, this study implies that it can be beneficial to differentiate between male and female consumers but that this is not necessary for collectivistic and individualistic countries as consumer segments. Finally, the results of this study might help firms with the CSR training of young professionals.
3 Table of Content
Introduction ... 4
1. Theoretical Foundation and Hypotheses Development ... 10
1.1 CSR ... 10
1.2 CSR Perceptions ... 12
1.3 CSR Perceptions and Purchase Intention ... 14
1.3.1 The Attribution Theory... 14
1.3.2 The Theory of Planned Behaviour ... 14
1.3.3 Fair Trade ... 16
1.4 Gender ... 18
1.4.1 The Theory of Moral Reasoning and Development ... 20
1.4.2 Gender and Purchase Intention ... 21
1.5 National Culture ... 23
2. Methodology ... 30
2.1 Study Context ... 30
2.2 Sample and Data Collection ... 30
2.2.1 Pilot Test ... 31 2.3 Ethical Issues... 32 2.4 Variables... 33 2.4.1 Independent variable ... 33 2.4.2 Moderating Variables ... 33 2.4.3 Dependent Variable ... 34 2.4.4 Control variables ... 34 2.5 Bias ... 36 3. Analyses ... 38 4. Results... 38 4.1 Sample description ... 38 4.1.1 Representativeness of Sample ... 41
4.2 Validity and Reliability of Measurement Instruments ... 43
4.3 New Variables ... 44
4.4 Correlation Between Variables ... 46
4.5 Multiple Regression Analysis ... 49
4.6 Multiple Regression Analysis with Moderation ... 50
5. Discussion and Conclusion... 52
6. Limitations and Future Research ... 55
References ... 57
Appendices ... 67
4
Introduction
The attention for corporate social responsibility (CSR) has increased among researchers and firms in the recent years berseder, Schlegelmilch, Murphy, and Gruber, 2014; Wang, Tong, George and Takeuchi, 2016). CSR is ‘‘the responsibility of enterprises for their impact on society’’ (European Commission, 2011, p.6). This increase in attention is due to the rise of global issues such as climate change, pollution, poverty and human rights violations (Kolk, and van Tulder, 2010). Many firms across the globe are no longer questioning whether they should engage in CSR practices; instead they have become aware that it is crucial for them to do so (Wang et al, 2016). As a result, CSR has become an essential part of the business strategy for many firms all over the world (Runhaar and Lafferty, 2009). The importance that firms currently give to CSR is illustrated by the Giving in Numbers report, which shows that the total CSR contribution by almost half of the world’s biggest firms increased by 2.3 percent between 2014 and 2016 (CECP, 2017). Moreover, the total CSR contribution by the world’s biggest firms was more than $20.7 billion in 2016.
However, as Votaw (1972, p.25) has stated, ‘‘CSR means something, but not always the same thing, to everybody’’. here has been specific interest in CSR policies and the consumer response to these CSR policies berseder et al, 2014). Studies have been conducted on the consumer perception of CSR and show that perceptions of CSR differ across countries (Nurunnabi, Alfakhri, and Alfakhri, 2018). For example, research shows that French consumers are most concerned about a firm’s legal responsibilities, while U.S consumers are most concerned about a firm’s economic responsibility (Maignan, 2001).
5 Lanero-Carrizo, 2017). An explanation for these findings is that women have more faith in the good outcomes of CSR (Berényi and Deutsch, 2017). In contrast, other studies have not found any evidence for a difference in concern for CSR between men and women (Gholipour, Nayeri, and Mehdi, 2009; Perez and Rodriguez del Bosque, 2013). Furthermore, research concerning CSR shows that consumers take CSR into account when they purchase products (Nurunnabi et al, 2018). Because the gender differences in CSR perceptions remain unclear,
this research will examine the relationship between consumer CSR perceptions and consumer
purchase intention of Fair Trade products and the effect of gender on this relationship.
Moreover, it is important to examine the effect of gender on this relationship because gender is a demographic variable that is often used by retailers in order to segment consumers(Otnes & Mcgrath, 2001). A good market segmentation based on a demographic characteristic such as gender, enables a firm to achieve the highest return on investment for its marketing and sales costs (Martin, 2011).
Additionally, as a result of globalisation the world has seen an expansion of the international scope of corporate activity (Maignan, 2001). Many firms have internationalised their business or are internationalising (Dawson, 2007). Hence, it is also important for these firms to know whether consumer perceptions of CSR vary by national culture (Dawson, 2007). Therefore, this research will also examine the relationship between consumer CSR
perceptions and consumer purchase intention of Fair Trade products and the effect of
national culture on this relationship.
6 and in the past few years there has been an increase in the sales of Fair Trade products (GFK, 2018).
The attribution theory and the theory of planned behaviour, which will be discussed in paragraph 1.3, provide the basis for the claim that consumer CSR perceptions influence a consumer’s intention to purchase Fair rade products in the supermarket. The attribution theory asserts that people are social perceivers, who will interpret CSR behaviour and will react to this CSR behaviour in a certain way (Heider, 1958; Jones and Davis, 1965; Kelley, 1973). The theory of planned behaviour suggests that the more favourable a person’s perception of CSR, the stronger will be a person’s intention to perform CSR behaviour (Ajzen, 1991). Thus, the more favourable a person’s perception of CSR, the stronger will be a person’s intention to purchase Fair rade products.
The gender socialization theory and the theory of planned behaviour, which will be further discussed in paragraph 1.4.2, provide the basis for the argument that gender differences in the perception of ethical problems exist, and that these differences have an effect on the relationship between consumer CSR perception and purchase intention. Men appear to be independent, ambitious and justice or rights-oriented while women are care or responsibility-oriented and socialized to maintain relationships (Gilligan, 1982; Langdale, 1983; Spence and Helmreich, 1978; Morrell and Jayawardhena, 2010). The theory of planned behaviour claims that the determinant for purchase intention, which is perception, might differ for men and women (Fishbein and Ajzen, 2010). This suggests that gender moderates the relationship between consumer CSR perception and purchase intention.
7
Individualism vs. Collectivism because the cultural dimension Individualism vs. Collectivism
is consistently applied in CSR and sustainability research (Thanetsunthorn, 2015; Williams and Zinkin, 2008; Maignan, 2001). More importantly, people in collectivistic cultures are concerned with the well-being of other people in society, while people from individualistic cultures are mainly concerned about themselves (Hofstede, 2011; 1994). As CSR is ‘‘the responsibility of enterprises for their impact on society’’ European Commission, 2011, p.6), it is likely that the consumer CSR perceptions differ for individualistic and collectivistic cultures, which makes this specific cultural dimension suitable for this study. The sample consisted of respondents from both individualistic and collectivistic countries. In individualistic cultures people are supposed to take care of themselves and their direct family, while in collectivistic cultures people belong to strongly connected groups. Because individualistic cultures think in terms of ‘I’, this might imply that people in these cultures pay less attention to CSR and do not consider it as a highly important matter. On the contrary, people in collectivistic cultures who think in terms of ‘We’ can be expected to think of CSR as a highly important matter because they believe that people should take care of each other.
8 consumer was female. Thus, female consumers were found to have more concern for CSR perception about community issues, compared to male consumers. The positive relationship between consumer CSR perception about supplier issues and the intention to purchase Fair Trade products was moderated by gender, such that the relationship was stronger when the consumer was male. This implies that male consumers consider supplier issues as more important than female consumers. Empirical evidence for differences between national cultures was not found for any of the CSR perception dimensions.
The results of this study contribute to the literature by examining seven different dimensions of consumer CSR perception, while most studies examined CSR perceptions based on Carroll’s 1991) pyramid of CSR, which consists of economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic responsibilities. (Maignan, 2001; Kolk et al., 2015). However, Carroll’s 1991) pyramid does not include environmental and supplier dimensions, which have been found to be viewed as important by consumers in this study. The findings of this study imply that new issues have become important in society, such as environmental and supplier issues. Thus, the application of the consumer CSR perception construct developed by berseder et al. (2014), is a potential contribution to the literature because it explains consumer CSR perceptions better in the current day and age. Additionally, this study is a potential contribution because this consumer CSR perception construct is fairly new and has not been previously applied in a cross-cultural setting.
9 explanation for this finding is that men are justice oriented (Gilligan, 1982). Therefore, following the rules, laws and contracts is important to them. As supplier issues concern matters such as fair negotiation and fair terms and conditions, thus matters concerning contracts and rules, it is fitting that men find supplier issues more important than women who are care oriented.
Furthermore, this study possibly contributes to the literature by using a sample with respondents from 31 different nationalities, which is a different approach compared to other studies concerning CSR perception. Other existing CSR studies used a one country sample or compared consumers from two or three countries (Maignan, 2001; berseder et al., 2014; Kolk et al., 2015; Calabrese et al., 2016).
10
1. Theoretical Foundation and Hypotheses Development
1.1 CSR
The concept of CSR dates back to the 1950’s and it has become a well-known concept since then (Garriga and Melé, 2004; Carroll, 1999). Yet, despite the extensive research that has been conducted on this topic, there is no general accepted definition for CSR (McWilliams, Siegel, and Wright, 2006). The European Union (EU) defines CSR as ‘‘the responsibility of enterprises for their impact on society’’ (European Commission, 2011, p.6). This is an appropriate definition for this study, because it is a concise definition that is communicated to all member states of the EU and its citizens (European Commission, 2011). Consequently, many firms in the EU will adopt this definition or use it as a guideline. As this study also looks into differences between nationalities, it is suitable to work with a definition that is adopted in various countries. More importantly, this definition has a clear stakeholder focus. Considering that this study aims to examine the CSR perception of a stakeholder group, namely the consumers, the definition formulated by the EU is appropriate.
11 is entirely in contrast with the perspective from Milton Friedman (1970), who claims that a firm has only one responsibility, the responsibility of making profits. Friedman (1970) argues that managers of a firm should operate entirely in the interests of the firm owners, within the limits of the law. This means that firm managers have a social responsibility towards their shareholders and not towards society. According to Friedman (1970), shareholders are the ultimate owners of a firm. It is clear that Friedman’s vision is the total opposite of the stakeholder theory, because this theory suggests that firms also have a responsibility toward their stakeholders such as customers and employees.
12 philanthropic responsibility is placed at the top of the pyramid. With this responsibility a firm is expected to donate financial and human resources to local society and consequently to enhance quality of life.
Figure 1.1. (Carroll, 1991, p.42).
1.2 CSR Perceptions
The research that has been conducted in the field of CSR is extensive (Garriga and Melé, 2004). A lot of different perspectives and approaches have been discussed and as a result, there are many different ways in which CSR can be understood (Garriga and Melé, 2004; André, 2016). How people understand CSR depends on how it is perceived (Nurunnabi et al, 2018). Yet, these perceptions are likely to differ. As Votaw (1972, p.25) has stated, ‘‘CSR means something, but not always the same thing, to everybody’’.
13 social and environmental topics in its core business activities and acts responsibly towards its employees, its customers, the environment, its suppliers, the local community, its shareholders and society at large’’ ( berseder et al., 2014, p.103). The results from the study conducted by berseder et al. (2014) indicate that consumer perception of CSR is a multidimensional construct, which comprises seven dimensions. The first dimension is the
employee dimension, which concerns matters such as working conditions, acceptable salary
and the discrimination of workers ( berseder et al., 2014). Secondly, the customer dimension includes affairs such as comprehensive and understandable product labels, fair pricing and the safety and high quality of products. The environmental dimension addresses topics like energy use, waste and emissions. Supplier practices, which include fair contracts, auditing and criteria for the selection of suppliers are discussed in the supplier dimension. Furthermore, there are topics related to the local community, society and shareholders. For the community
dimension, a firm's duties to the local community are considered. For example, the creation of
employment for people living in the neighbourhood, local sourcing and support for the development of the community. The shareholder dimension focuses on sustainable growth, financial success for the long run and responsible investing. Naturally, this dimension also concerns the earning of profits. Finally, there is the society dimension, which concerns issues that relate to society in general. Here, contributions to social charities, support for social programs and the recruitment of the unemployed and people with a disability is considered.
14 1.3 CSR Perceptions and Purchase Intention
1.3.1 The Attribution Theory
In order to fully grasp the concept of CSR perceptions, it is important to understand how these perceptions develop. The attribution theory follows the assumption that people are social perceivers, who make causal deductions about situations or occurrences they notice and experience (Heider, 1958; Jones and Davis, 1965; Kelley, 1973). The deductions made by people, connect situations by causal relationships. Moreover, these deductions are the beliefs that enable people to understand and predict the perceptible world. Furthermore, individuals interpret behaviour in terms of its causes and these interpretations play an essential part in the decision on how to react to this specific behaviour (Kelley and Michela, 1980). This implies that people will interpret behaviour concerning CSR and consequently will react to this behaviour in a certain way.
1.3.2 The Theory of Planned Behaviour
The theory of planned behaviour provides the basis for the argument that consumer CSR perceptions influence a consumer’s purchase intention. The theory of planned behaviour is a widely used theory in research, which examines purchase intention and purchase behaviour (Beldad and Hegner, 2018). Intention is the central component in the theory of planned behaviour (Ajzen, 1991). It is suggested that intentions express motivational factors, which
Table 1.1. Overview of Consumer CSR perception Domains/Dimensions Employee dimension Customer dimension Environmental dimension Supplier dimension Community dimension Shareholder dimension Society dimension
15 influence an individual’s behaviour. It is an indication ‘‘of how hard people are willing to try, of how much of an effort they are planning to exert, in order to perform the behaviour (Ajzen, 1991, p.181). he stronger a person’s intention to participate in a specific behaviour, the higher is the likelihood that this person will perform the behaviour. However, this is only the case when a person is free to decide whether to perform the behaviour or not.
According to the theory of planned behaviour, intention has three conceptually independent determinants (Ajzen, 1991). These determinants are subjective norms, perceived behavioural control and attitudes. The first determinant subjective norms refers to ‘‘the perceived social pressure to perform or not to perform the behavior’’ Ajzen, 1991, p.188). The second determinant of intention is perceived behavioural control, which refers to ‘‘the perceived ease or difficulty of performing the behaviour’’ (Ajzen, 1991, p.188). Finally, the third determinant attitudes refers to ‘‘the degree to which a person has a favorable or unfavourable evaluation or appraisal of the behavior in uestion’’ (Ajzen, 1991, p.188). In the context of this study, this refers to the degree to which a person has a favourable or unfavourable evaluation or appraisal of products that have incorporated aspects of CSR. In this study these products are Fair Trade supermarket products. In the next two paragraphs, a justification will be given for the context of this study and the decision to focus on Fair Trade products.
16 attitude is likely to influence a person’s perception. hey claim that a person’s perception is consistent with that person’s attitude Fa io, Powell and Herr, 1983). Therefore, based on the theory of planned behaviour, it can be proposed that an individual’s perception of CSR may influence its intention to purchase products that have incorporated aspects of CSR.
1.3.3 Fair Trade
Fair Trade is often discussed in relation to CSR (Stefanska and Nestorowicz, 2015). Fair rade is defined as ‘‘a trading partnership, based on dialogue, transparency and respect, that seeks greater equity in international trade. It contributes to sustainable development by offering better trading conditions to, and securing the rights of, marginalized producers and workers – especially in the South. Fair Trade organizations (backed by consumers) are engaged actively in supporting producers, awareness raising and in campaigning for changes in the rules and practice of conventional international trade’’ (Morrell and Jayawardhena, 2010, p.394). This definition was developed by FINE, a network that comprises four organisations, who advocate Fair Trade in Europe (Morrell and Jayawardhena, 2010). These four organisations are the World Fair Trade Organization, Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International, Network of European Worldshops and the European Fair Trade Association.
17 Fair Trade also strives to create awareness among consumers, concerning the adverse consequences for producers of global trade (Redfern and Snedker, 2002). By creating awareness, the movement hopes that consumers will consider these adverse effects in their purchase activities, consequently resulting in a favourable use of their purchasing power. Similarly, Fair Trade pushes for adjustments in the rules and procedures of conventional international trade. Finally, it also aims to set an example for good trade partnerships by means of respect, discussion and transparency.
The goals that Fair Trade tries to achieve are all aspects that correspond with CSR. In particular, the protection of human rights, environmental operation and the attention for the exploitation of children are aspects that are often mentioned in CSR. Therefore, the purchase intention of Fair Trade products will be examined in this study. Moreover, the increase in Fair Trade product sales provides this study with a suitable product category that contains CSR Aspects. A product is Fair Trade when it is labelled with the Fair Trade label (Redfern and Snedker, 2002). There are a lot of Fair Trade products available in the supermarket; these include coffee, chocolate,fruit juice and tea.
Thus, based on the theory of planned behaviour, it can be proposed that an individual’s perception of CSR may influence its intention to purchase products that have incorporated aspects of CSR, that is to say Fair Trade products. In this case the CSR perceptions are positive perceptions, meaning that a consumer finds CSR issues important. Accordingly, the following hypotheses are proposed.
H1: There is a positive relationship between a consumer’s CSR perception about community issues and the intention to purchase Fair Trade products in the supermarket.
18 H3: There is a positive relationship between a consumer’s CSR perception about shareholder issues and the intention to purchase Fair Trade products in the supermarket.
H4: There is a positive relationship between a consumer’s CSR perception about environmental issues and the intention to purchase Fair Trade products in the supermarket.
H5: There is a positive relationship between a consumer’s CSR perception about societal issues and the intention to purchase Fair Trade products in the supermarket.
H6: There is a positive relationship between a consumer’s CSR perception about customer issues and the intention to purchase Fair Trade products in the supermarket.
H7: There is a positive relationship between a consumer’s CSR perception about supplier issues and the intention to purchase Fair Trade products in the supermarket.
1.4 Gender
Research conducted in the field of CSR has considered the influence of gender on various aspects such as CSR reporting and stakeholder relations ( ilkė, Raišienė and Simanavičienė, 2014). Furthermore, there has been a debate concerning the influence of gender on the consumer response to CSR (Perez and Rodriguez del Bosque, 2013). Gender is a demographic variable that is often used by retailers in order to segment consumers (Otnes & Mcgrath, 2001). The segmentation of consumer groups helps firms to understand and satisfy the needs of their consumers (Martin, 2011). A good market segmentation based on a demographic characteristic such as gender, enables a firm to achieve the highest return on investment for its marketing and sales costs.
Alonso-19 Almeida et al. (2015), examined the CSR perception of Spanish business students. The results of this study show that female students are more concerned about CSR, compared to their male counterparts (Del Mar Alonso-Almeida et al., 2015). The study accounted for social desirability bias, by ensuring the anonymity of the respondents. Berényi and Deutsch (2017) found similar results in their research on CSR attitudes of Hungarian business students. The results show that female Hungarian business students are more sensitive and open to CSR concerns, compared to male students (Berényi and Deutsch, 2017) Additionally, a study concerning CSR and consumer behaviour in the Spanish cosmetics sector showed that women are likely to be more worried about the CSR standards of cosmetics firms, in comparison with men ( ue -Burguete et al., 2017). The studies conducted by Berényi and Deutsch (2017) and ue -Burguete et al. (2017) did not control for social desirability bias.
However, other studies conducted on gender differences and CSR, found no evidence for the claim that women place more importance on CSR than men (Gholipour et al. (2009; Perez and Rodriguez del Bosque, 2013). The explanation given for this finding is that because CSR is achieving increasingly more recognition in society, both men and women are becoming more aware of the importance of CSR activities (Perez and Rodriguez del Bosque, 2013). The study conducted by Gholipour et al. (2009) examined the CSR attitudes of Iranian business students. The results of this study show that gender does not influence the CSR attitudes of Iranian business students (Gholipour et al., 2009). Similar empirical evidence is provided by Perez and Rodriguez del Bosque (2013). In their study on the formation of CSR perception of Spanish banking service consumers, they found no evidence for a gender effect (Perez and Rodriguez del Bosque, 2013).
20 1.4.1 The Theory of Moral Reasoning and Development
The theory of moral reasoning and development provides an introduction into the discussion about differences between genders. This theory concerns itself with the various ways in which individuals thinks about moral dilemmas during different stages in their life (Daniels, 1995).
rights-21 oriented while women are care or responsibility-oriented. This theory is supported by other studies (Langdale, 1983; Lyons, 1983).
1.4.2 Gender and Purchase Intention
Research has also focused on gender differences in shopping behaviour (Coley and Burgess, 2003). A study conducted by Dittmar and Drury (2000) found that shopping plays a psychological and emotional role for people. However, this plays a much bigger role for women than for men (Dittmar and Drury, 2000). Furthermore, women exhibit a highly positive attitude regarding shopping in general and see it as a leisure activity (Campell, 2000). Men on the other hand, tend to exhibit a negative attitude regarding shopping and view it as a job that they want to accomplish as soon as possible and with the least amount of effort. Thus, women are likely to concentrate on the process of shopping which is frequently enjoyable to them, while men tend to concentrate on the actual outcome of shopping, which is to acquire goods with the least amount of trouble. Consequently, it can be said that men tend to be more motivated by functional aspects when they are shopping, whereas women tend to be more motivated by emotional and social aspects. This is supported by Dittmar, Long and Meek (2004) who confirm that men are more functional in their shopping than women. On the other hand, women focus on social-experiential and identity-related matters and specifically emotional engagement (Dittmar et al., 2004).
22 to be independent, logical and ambitious (Spence and Helmreich, 1978). Researchers that support the gender socialization theory, assert that men and women express disparate values (Fagenson 1993). They assert that men and women express disparate values because they differ in their moral reasoning (O’Fallon and Butterfield, 2005). These differences in moral reasoning are explained by Kohlberg’s 1981, 1984) theory of moral reasoning and development and Gilligan’s 1982) criticism on this theory.
Furthermore, the theory of planned behaviour provides an argument that gender may have an effect on the relation between CSR perception and purchase intention. Fishbein and Ajzen (2010) argue that the determinants of intention may predict a person’s intention to purchase a product differently for men and women. That is to say, the intention determinant attitude, which is consistent with perception, is influenced by gender. This argument implies that gender may moderate the relationship between CSR perception and the intention to purchase products with CSR aspects. Therefore, the following hypotheses are proposed.
H8a: Gender moderates the positive relationship between a consumer’s CSR perception about community issues and the intention to purchase Fair Trade products in the supermarket, such that this relationship is stronger when the consumer is female.
H8b: Gender moderates the positive relationship between a consumer’s CSR perception about employee issues and the intention to purchase Fair Trade products in the supermarket, such that this relationship is stronger when the consumer is female.
23 H8d: Gender moderates the positive relationship between a consumer’s CSR perception about environmental issues and the intention to purchase Fair Trade products in the supermarket, such that this relationship is stronger when the consumer is female.
H8e: Gender moderates the positive relationship between a consumer’s CSR perception about societal issues and the intention to purchase Fair Trade products in the supermarket, such that this relationship is stronger when the consumer is female.
H8f: Gender moderates the positive relationship between a consumer’s CSR perception about customer issues and the intention to purchase Fair Trade products in the supermarket, such that this relationship is stronger when the consumer is female.
H8g: Gender moderates the positive relationship between a consumer’s CSR perception about supplier issues and the intention to purchase Fair Trade products in the supermarket, such that this relationship is stronger when the consumer is female.
1.5 National Culture
In the current age of globalisation, economies across the globe are becoming more integrated and increasingly interdependent (Hill, 2009). As a result of this phenomenon, the world has seen an expansion of the international scope of corporate activity (Maignan, 2001). Considering that many firms, including retailers have internationalised or are internationalising, it is important for these firms to know whether consumer perceptions of CSR vary by nationality (Dawson, 2007).
24 framework, every country has its own score on each of the six cultural dimensions (Hofstede, 2011). Consequently, this means that the national cultures of various countries can be compared. The six cultural dimensions are Power Distance, Uncertainty avoidance,
Individualism versus Collectivism, Masculinity versus Femininity, Long Term versus Short Term Orientation and Indulgence versus Restraint (Hofstede, 2011). The six dimensions can
ensue in every possible combination and all dimensions are statistically distinct. However, in this study solely the cultural dimension Individualism vs. Collectivism will serve as the theoretical framework for the formulation of the hypotheses. It was decided to focus on this specific cultural dimension, because the cultural dimension Individualism vs. Collectivism is consistently applied in CSR and sustainability research (Thanetsunthorn, 2015; Williams and Zinkin, 2008; Maignan, 2001). Moreover, people in collectivistic cultures are concerned with the well-being of other people in society, while people from individualistic cultures are mainly concerned about themselves (Hofstede, 2011; 1994). Considering that CSR is ‘‘the responsibility of enterprises for their impact on society’’ (European Commission, 2011, p.6), it is likely that the consumer CSR perceptions differ for individualistic and collectivistic cultures, which makes this specific cultural dimension suitable for this study.
25 without the protection from their group. Consequently, people in individualistic cultures do not experience strong feelings of loyalty. On the other hand, in collectivistic cultures people belong to strongly connected groups. From the moment of birth, people become integrated into these cohesive groups which offer them protection in return for loyalty (Hofstede, 2011; 1994). Children are taught to respect the group of which they are part of and to discern between in-group and out-group members. Thus, it can be said that in individualistic cultures people think in terms of ‘I’ while people in collectivistic cultures think in terms of ‘We’.
26 Moreover, many studies conducted on firm CSR performance examined firm CSR performance in individualistic and collectivistic countries (Thanetsunthorn, 2015; Ho, Wang, and Vitell, 2012). Thanetsunthorn (2015) found evidence that firms in individualistic countries have a lower community-related and employee-related CSR performance, compared to firms from collectivistic countries. Additionally, firms from individualistic countries showed less consideration for the firm’s impact on the environment, in comparison to firms from collectivistic countries (Thanetsunthorn, 2015). Similar results were found in a study conducted on corporate social performance (Ho et al., 2012). The findings of this study provided evidence for the claim that corporate social performance is higher in collectivistic countries compared to individualistic countries. The results of these studies suggest that collectivistic countries are more concerned with CSR or CSR related aspects compared to individualistic countries.
27 H9a: National culture moderates the positive relationship between a consumer’s CSR perception about community issues and the intention to purchase Fair Trade products in the supermarket, such that this relationship is stronger when the consumer comes from a country with a more collectivist culture.
H9b: National culture the positive relationship between a consumer’s CSR perception about employee issues and the intention to purchase Fair Trade products in the supermarket, such that this relationship is stronger when the consumer comes from a country with a more collectivist culture.
H9c: National culture the positive relationship between a consumer’s CSR perception about shareholder issues and the intention to purchase Fair Trade products in the supermarket, such that this relationship is stronger when the consumer comes from a country with a more collectivist culture.
H9d: National culture moderates the positive relationship between a consumer’s CSR perception about environmental issues and the intention to purchase Fair Trade products in the supermarket, such that this relationship is stronger when the consumer comes from a country with a more collectivist culture.
H9e: National culture moderates the positive relationship between a consumer’s CSR perception about societal issues and the intention to purchase Fair Trade products in the supermarket, such that this relationship is stronger when the consumer comes from a country with a more collectivist culture.
28 H9g: National culture moderates the positive relationship between a consumer’s CSR perception about supplier issues and the intention to purchase Fair Trade products in the supermarket, such that this relationship is stronger when the consumer comes from a country with a more collectivist culture.
29 H8a H1 H9a H8b H2 H9b H8c H3 H9c H8d H4 H9d H8e H5 H9e H8f H6 H9f H8g H7 H9g
30
2. Methodology
2.1 Study Context
This study will be conducted in the supermarket context because food products are products that are very frequently purchased by consumers. The average consumer visits the supermarket two or three times a week (Deloitte, 2017). Additionally, food products are purchased by people from all levels of society. Research has indicated that in the past few years, the sales of Fair Trade products have increased (Beldad and Hegner, 2018). The increase in Fair Trade products sales, is recorded in various large markets including the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands and the United States of America. For example, in the Netherlands the number of family households in the Netherlands that purchase Fair Trade products has tripled in the past ten years (GFK, 2018).
Considering that supermarket products are frequently purchased by consumers all over the globe and from all levels of society, the supermarket context is suitable for this study into consumer perception of CSR.
2.2 Sample and Data Collection
31 common studied language in the world, it is a suitable language for the survey (Noak and Gamio, 2015).
This study examines whether consumer CSR perception has a positive effect on purchase intention. Because this study examines whether there is a positive effect and not the accurate size of an effect, a non-probability sample will be used (Blumberg, Cooper, and Schindler, 2014). Considering the small timeframe in which the data has to be collected and the few specific characteristics of the target group, the non-probability sample that will be used is a convenience sample. A convenience sample allows the researcher the freedom to approach every person they can find (Blumberg, Cooper, and Schindler, 2014). This means that family and friends can also be included in the sample. It is important to note that this sampling method has no controls to secure precision which entails that the researcher cannot control who participates in the survey (Blumberg, Cooper, and Schindler, 2014). Additionally, a convenience sample is prone to bias and often not representative for the entire population. Consequently, this means that the results of this study will be less reliable compared to a study that uses a different sampling method. The period of data collection for this study was from 16 till 29 October. A total of 222 respondents completed the survey. A total of six respondents completed less than half the questions of the survey. Consequently, these responses could not be included in the analyses and were removed from the final sample. A final sample of 216 respondents was used for the analyses.
2.2.1 Pilot Test
32 Based on the feedback from the respondents, some minor changes were made to the survey. First of all, some respondents indicated that they did not understand what was meant with the word remuneration. Consequently, the word remuneration was replaced with the synonym salary. Furthermore, some respondents mentioned that some of the statements did not fit completely with the question phrase. As a result, the statements were reviewed and a couple of minor changes were made to some of the statements.
Finally, respondents were also asked if they knew what was meant with a Fair Trade product and what was meant with a product with CSR aspects. Based on their responses, it could be concluded that Fair Trade product were more suitable to use in the survey question for purchase intention compared to products with CSR aspects. This is because it was not clear to the respondents, what kinds of CSR aspects were meant. Additionally, they did not exactly know what kinds of products were meant with this description. Contrarily, they did know what was meant with a Fair Trade product and they could also give examples for such products. Consequently, it was decided to use the concept of Fair Trade products for the final survey.
2.3 Ethical Issues
This study has considered possible ethical issues and was designed in accordance with the ethical guidelines of the University. These ethical guidelines involved matters such as data collection and financial inducements. First, respondents were assured that their response would be completely anonymous and confidential. Second, respondents were assured that the collected data would be solely used for this study and not for any other purposes. Third, no incentives were offered for the completion of the survey. Finally, the respondents voluntarily participated in this research and could stop at any moment with the survey. This study followed the ethical guidelines; therefore ethical approval was obtained for this study.
33 2.4 Variables
2.4.1 Independent variable
The independent variables concerning the different dimensions of Consumer CSR Perception will be measured with the consumers’ perceptions of CSR scale which is developed by berseder et al. (2014). This measurement scale considers seven sub-dimensions of CSR perceptions which are responsibility toward employees, customers, the environment, society, the local community, suppliers, and shareholders. The items are measured with a 5 point rating scale, that ranges from Highly disagree to Highly agree.
2.4.2 Moderating Variables
The moderating variable gender will be a nominal variable. This variable will equal 1 when the consumer is male, 2 when the consumer is female and 3 when the consumer preferred not to answer. For the regression analysis, the variable gender was recoded into the dummy variable Female. This variable equals 1 when the consumer is female and 0 when the consumer is not female, meaning the consumer is male.
The moderating variable nationality will be a dichotomous variable. One of the questions that the respondents were asked to answer, was the question concerning their nationality. Based on the answers to this question, it was possible to assign the cultural dimension
Individualism versus Collectivism scores to each respondent’s country of origin.
Consequently, a new dichotomous variable will be created which equals 1 when the consumer comes from a county with a collectivistic culture and 0 when the consumer comes from a country with an individualistic culture. Based on his research into culture, Hofstede (2001) has generated a country index, in which he assigned a value to countries for each cultural dimension. Hence, a country also has a specific value for the cultural dimension Individualism
versus Collectivism. The assigned value of a country can lie between 0 and 100. The highest
34 collectivistic society (Hofstede, 2001). Based on Hofstede’s 2001) country index and the collected data of this study, it was decided to assign country scores above 70 to individualism and country scores of 70 and lower to collectivism. Countries that score between 70 and 50 on the cultural dimension Individualism versus Collectivism often show both individualistic and collectivistic characteristics. On the other hand, countries with scores above 70 are highly individualistic and show no characteristics of collectivism (Hofstede, 2001).
Additionally, two respondents came from countries that were not included in Hofstede’s 2001) country index. One respondent was from rmenia and one respondent was from Grenada. s rmenia’s neighbouring countries are all collectivistic, it was decided to assign Armenia to collectivism. The neighbouring countries of Grenada also show very low scores on the cultural dimension Individualism versus Collectivism, which indicates that these countries are collectivistic. Therefore, it was decided to assign Grenada to collectivism.
2.4.3 Dependent Variable
There are various measurements that can be used to measure the dependent variable purchase intention. In order to measure the dependent variable purchase intention, 5 point Likert scale questions will be adopted from the questionnaire by Chu and Lu (2007) and Tsai, Joe, Lin, Chiu and Shen (2015). The dependent variable is measured with three items. As displayed in table 4.5, all three items have very high factor loadings and the cronbach’s alpha α) is 0.85, which indicates that the measurement instrument for purchase intention is valid and reliable.
2.4.4 Control variables
35 concerning purchase intention and CSR perception, which also included age and education level as control variables (Bateman and Valentine, 2010; Kolk, van Dolen and Ma, 2015).
The control variable age is a discrete ordinal variable. This variable will equal 1, when the consumer is between 18 and 29 years old and equal 2 when the consumer is between 30 and 49 years old. This variable will equal 3 when the consumer is between 50 and 64 years old and equal 4 when the consumer is above 64 years old. For the regression analysis, the control variable age is recoded into three different dummy variables. A dummy variable is created for Age 18 till 29, which equals 1 when the consumer is between 18 and 29 years old and 0 when the consumer does not belong to this age group. A dummy variable is created for Age 30 till 49, which equals 1 when the consumer is between 30 and 49 years old and 0 when the consumer does not belong to this age group. Finally, a dummy was created for Age 50 till 64, which equals 1 when the consumer is between 50 and 64 years old and 0 when the consumer does not belong to this age group. The age group above 65 years old is the reference level.
36 The education level, academic higher education (Dutch: wo) is the reference level and other forms of education were assigned as missing values.
Because this study is conducted in the Netherlands, it can be expected that a large number of respondents will have the Dutch nationality. Therefore, a dummy variable which will equal 1 when a consumer has the Dutch nationality and 0 when the consumer does not have the Dutch nationality, will be included as a control variable.
2.5 Bias
37 In order to control for social desirability bias, the survey will be anonymous (Podsakoff, MacKenzie, Lee and Podsakoff, 2003). By ensuring the anonymity of the respondents, they will know that they cannot be identified based on their answers. Consequently, respondents are more inclined to answer the questions truthfully, even if their answers to the questions are less socially desirable.
38
3. Analyses
The data that has been collected with the program Qualtrics, was downloaded as an SPSS Statistics Data document. In order to analyse the data, the software program IBM SPSS Statistics 25 has been used.
4. Results
4.1 Sample descriptionA detailed overview of the sample characteristics is displayed in table 4.1. The final sample consists of 216 respondents. 130 of all respondents were female (60.2%) and 85 were male (39.4%). One respondent preferred not to answer the question concerning gender. The majority of the respondents were between 18 and 29 years old (69.4%). 13% of the respondents were between 30 and 49 years old, which is similar to the percentage of respondents between the ages of 50 and 64 years old (12.5%). Only 8 respondents (3.7%) were older than 64 years old.
39 Table 4.1. Sample descriptions (n = 216)
Characteristics Frequency Percentage
Total sample size 216
Gender Male 85 39.4 Female 130 60.2 Unknown 1 0.5 Age 18-29 years old 150 69.4 30-49 years old 28 13.0 50-64 years old 27 12.5
Above 64 years old 8 3.7
Missing 3 1.4
Level of education
Secondary education (Dutch: mbo) 32 14.8
Higher professional education (Dutch: hbo) 46 21.3 Academic higher education (Dutch: wo) 120 55.6
Other 18 8.3
Nationality culture
Individualistic 158 73.1
Collectivistic 56 25.9
40 Table 4.2. Sample nationalities (n = 216)
Nationality Frequency Percentage
41 4.1.1 Representativeness of Sample
In order to examine if the sample is representative, a Man Whitney U-test is conducted. First, a Man Whitney U-test was conducted to examine if there are differences in age and education level between men and women. The result of this test was insignificant for both education (MWU = 5362.00 z = -0.405, p = 0.685) and age (MWU = 5190.50 z = -0.533 p = 0.594). These results indicate that there are no significant differences between the age and education level of men and women. The results of the Man Whitney U-test with gender is displayed in table 4.3.
Table 4.3. Comparison of Men and Women
N Mean Rank Sum of Ranks z U P-value Age Male 84 104.28 8759.50 -0.533 5189.50 0.594 Female 128 107.96 13818.50 Education Male 85 109.92 9343.00 -0.405 5362.00 0.685 Female 130 106.75 13877.00
Note. * p<0.05 (2-tailed), ** p< 0.01 (2-tailed)
42 and 29 years old but there are also consumers who belong in greater numbers to the other age groups, which is depicted in figure 4.1. Based on the results of the Man Whitney U-tests, it can be said that the sample is not representative for individualistic and collectivistic countries. The results of the Man Whitney U-test with individualistic and collectivistic countries, is displayed in table 4.4.
Table 4.4. Comparison of Individualistic and Collectivistic countries
N Mean Rank Sum of Ranks z U P-value Age Individualistic 156 111.96 17465.50 -2.976 3360.50 0.003** Collectivistic 55 89.10 4900.50 Education Individualistic 158 104.70 16543.00 -1.233 3982.00 0.218 Collectivistic 56 115.39 6462.00
Note. * p<0.05 (2-tailed), ** p< 0.01 (2-tailed)
43 4.2 Validity and Reliability of Measurement Instruments
In order to analyse the data, it is important to test the validity and reliability of the measurement instruments that are used for this study. To test the validity of the measurement instruments, an exploratory factor analysis was conducted. For the exploratory factor analysis, a principal component analysis (PCA) was conducted on the 36 items with a direct oblimin rotation. The results of the PCA are displayed in table 4.5.
Factor loadings should be above 0.35 in order to be acceptable for a PCA (Field, 2009). For some items, the factor loadings were below 0.35. Additionally, some items had a cross loading. A factor loading below 0.35 indicates that an item does not measure the construct to which it was assigned. A cross loading indicates that an item has a factor loading on more than one factor. This is problematic because this means that an item measures two different constructs. Consequently, items with factor loadings below 0.35 or with cross loadings could not be included in further analyses and had to be removed.
44 customer dimension α = 0.70), CSR perception supplier dimension α = 0.83), and Purchase intention α = 0.85).
4.3 New Variables
45 Table 4.5. Measurement Scales and Factor Loadings
Constructs Measurement Items Factor
Loadings Variance explained Eigenvalue Cronbach’s alpha α) CSR Perception Community dimension
Contribute to the economic development of the region
0.766 5.60% 1.74 0.71
Create jobs for people in the region 0.729 Source products and raw materials
locally
- Respect regional values, customs, and culture
0.649 Communicate openly and honestly
with the local community
0.529 CSR Perception
Employee dimension
Set decent working conditions 0.781 4.82% 1.49 0.82 Treat employees equally 0.774
Offer adequate salary 0.712 Develop, support and train
employees
0.474 Communicate openly and honestly
with employees
0.650 Offer flexible working hours for
employees
- CSR Perception
Shareholder dimension
Invest capital of shareholders correctly
0.672 3.15% .98 0.66
Inter-Item correlation: 0.49 Communicate openly and honestly
with shareholders
0.716 Provide sustainable growth and
long-term success
- CSR Perception
Environmental dimension
Reduce energy consumption -0.672 4.58% 1.42 0.82 Reduce emissions like CO2 -0.793
Prevent waste -0.664
Recycle -0.590
Have higher corporate environmental protection standards than legally required
-0.607
CSR Perception Societal
dimension
Employ people with disabilities - 8.31% 2.58 0.78 Employ long-term unemployed -
Make donations to social facilities 0.638 Support employees who are
involved in social projects during working hours
0.741
Invest in the education of young people
0.821 Contribute to solving societal
problems
0.750 CSR Perception
Customer dimension
Implement fair sales practices - 3.43% 1.06 0.70 Label products clearly and in a
comprehensible way
46 Set fair prices for products -
Offer safe (not harmful) products - Offer the possibility to file complaints
0.436 CSR Perception
Supplier dimension
Provide fair terms and conditions for suppliers
0.797 29.07% 9.01 0.83
Communicate openly and honestly with suppliers
0.733 Negotiate fairly with suppliers 0.827 Select suppliers thoroughly with
regard to respecting decent employment conditions
0.681
Control working conditions at suppliers
0.561 Purchase
Intention
The likelihood that I would pay for (or continue buying) a Fair-trade product is high.
0.855 6.18% 1.92 0.85
My willingness to buy (or continue buying) a Fair-trade product is very high.
0.889
In the near future, I would consider purchasing (or continuing buying) a Fair-trade product.
0.745
Factor loadings > 0.35 are displayed.
4.4 Correlation Between Variables
In order to assess the relationship between variables, a Bivariate Pearson’s correlation analysis was conducted. Very weak positive correlations were found between Culture and Intention (r = 0.153. p=0.032) and the age group 30 till 49 and Intention (r = 0.161. p=0.024). Weak positive correlations were found between Community and Intention (r = 0.331,
p<0.001), Employee and Intention (r = 0.303, p<0.001), Shareholder and Intention (r = 0.203, p=0.004), Societal and Intention (r = 0.314, p<0.001), Customer and Intention (r = 0.320, p<0.001). Additionally, a weak positive correlation between Female and Intention was found, r= 0.240. p=0.001. Moderate positive correlations were found between Environmental and
-47 0.151. p=0.035). Finally, a weak negative relationship between Dutch nationality and Intention was found, r = - 0.216. p=0.002. The correlations for Higher professional education (r = 0.049. p=0.495), the age group 18 till 29 years old (r = -0.060. p=0.406) and 50 till 64 years old (r = -0.037. p=0.611) were statistically non-significant.
48 Table 4.6. Correlation between variables (n = 196)
Variables 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 1.Intention --- 2.Shareholder 0.203** --- 3.Customer 0.320** 0.467 ** --- 4.Environmental 0.497** 0.363 ** 0.539 ** --- 5.Employee 0.303** 0.406 ** 0.513 ** 0.414 ** --- 6.Community 0.331** 0.338 ** 0.302 ** 0.403 ** 0.437 ** --- 7. Societal 0.314** 0.104 0.240 ** 0.416 ** 0.213 ** 0.194 ** --- 8.Supplier 0.407** 0.430 ** 0.451 ** 0.512 ** 0.474 ** 0.350 ** 0.417 ** --- 9.Female 0.240** -0.045 0.169* 0.053 0.275 ** 0.027 0.144* 0.209 ** --- 10.Culture 0.153* 0.027 -0.052 0.095 -0.082 0.212 ** 0.231 ** 0.043 0.010 --- 11. Dutch Nationality -0.216 ** -0.095 -0.086 -0.275 ** 0.023 -0.310 ** -0.399 ** -0.218 ** 0.110 -0.613 ** -- 12. Age 18 till29 -0.060 0.036 0.030 0.101 0.104 0.155* 0.100 0.093 -0.013 0.199 ** -0.341 ** -- 13. Age 30 till49 0.161* -0.017 0.055 0.072 0.045 -0.007 0.097 0.110 -0.055 -0.031 0.052 -0.589 ** -- 14. Age 50 till64 -0.037 -0.011 -0.122 -0.212 ** -0.216 ** -0.172* -0.237 ** -0.241 ** 0.120 -0.195 ** 0.313 ** -0.576 ** -0.150* -- 15. Secondary vocational education -0.151* -0.120 -0.145* -0.127 -0.217 ** -0.162* -0.115 -0.132 -0.069 -0.078 0.129 -0.186 ** -0.051 0.204 ** -- 16. Higher professional education 0.049 0.097 -0.068 -0.085 0.111 -0.019 0.022 -0.011 0.132 -0.074 0.209 ** -0.226 ** 0.114 0.234 ** -0.238 ** --
49 4.5 Multiple Regression Analysis
In order to test the hypotheses 1 till 7 a multiple regression analysis (MRA) has to be conducted. Prior to conducting the MRA, four assumptions had to be evaluated (Allen and Bennett, 2012). First, as discussed in the previous paragraph no multicollinearity was detected. Second, the normality of the residual was evaluated. It can be said that the residual is normally distributed. Third, the error term of the model was evaluated. The error term is constant, which indicates that the assumption of homoscedasticity has been met. Finally, the linearity of the residual was assessed. The relationship between the residual and the predicted values was linear. Hence, the final assumption, linearity of residuals, was met. Prior to the creation of the interaction terms, the variables were mean centred. The results of the MRA can be found in table 4.7.
Model 1 tested the control variables. The regression model was significant, R²= 0.279,
F(6,189) = 3.396, p = 0.003. The results showed that having the Dutch nationality has a
negative effect on the intention to purchase Fair Trade products, B = -0.381 , t = -3.223, p = 0.001. Thus, non-Dutch consumers have a higher intention to purchase Fair Trade products compared to Dutch consumers. No significant results were found for the other control variables.
Model 2 tested hypotheses 1 till 7. The regression model was significant, R²= 0.372,
F(9,180) = 7.112, p< 0.001. The regression model showed a significant result for the variable
50 marginally significant result for the variable Female, B = 0.265, t = 2.427, p = 0.016. Thus, female consumers have a higher intention to purchase Fair Trade products, compared to male consumers. No other significant results were found, therefore there is no support for the other hypotheses.
4.6 Multiple Regression Analysis with Moderation
In order to analyze hypothesis 8 and 9, a MRA with moderation has to be conducted. Moderation is present when the relationship between an independent and dependent variable is influenced by a third variable, the moderator (Field, 2009). The third model tested hypothesis 8 and 9. The regression model was significant, R²= 0.416, F(14,166) = 4,078, p< 0.001. The regression model showed a marginally significant result for the interaction Community x Female, B = 0.415, t = 1.964, p = 0.051. Thus, the relationship between a
consumer’s CSR perception about community issues and the intention to purchase Fair rade products is stronger for a female consumer. Thus, hypothesis 8a was confirmed. Furthermore, the regression model showed a significant result for the interaction Supplier x Female, B = -0.487, t = -2,027, p = 0.044. This result means that the relationship between a consumer’s CSR perception about supplier issues and the intention to purchase Fair Trade products is not stronger for a female consumer. On the contrary, this result indicates that this relationship is stronger when the consumer is male, which is inconsistent with the proposed hypothesis 8g. Thus, hypothesis 8g was not confirmed. The regression model showed no other significant results, therefore no other hypotheses could be confirmed. The results of the MRA can be
51 Table 4.7. Results of Regression Analysis (n = 196)
Dependent Variable: Purchase Intention
Independent Variable Model 1 Model 2 Model 3
Control variables
Dutch nationality -0.381** -0.108 -0.049
Age 18 till 29 -0.054 0.006 -0.169
Age 30 till 49 0.355 0.347 0.194
Age 50 till 64 0.146 0.355 0.165
Secondary vocational education -0.258 -0.123 -0.137
Higher professional education 0.059 0.030 0.108
Main effects Shareholder -0.062 0.058 Customer 0.016 0.016 Environmental 0.459*** 0.506*** Employee 0.037 -0.032 Community 0.157 0.143 Societal 0.036 0.029 Supplier 0.195† 0.078 Moderator effects Female 0.265* 0.295* National culture 0.126 0.255 Interaction effects Female x Shareholder 0.137 Female x Customer 0.055 Female x Environmental -0.099 Female x Employee -0.107 Female x Community 0.415† Female x Societal -0.077 Female x Supplier -0.487*
Collectivist Culture x Shareholder 0.250
Collectivist Culture x Customer 0.114
Collectivist Culture x Environmental -0.312
Collectivist Culture x Employee 0.201
Collectivist Culture x Community -0.272
Collectivist Culture x Societal -0.031
Collectivist Culture x Supplier -0.079
F 3.396** 7.112*** 4.078***
R² 0.097 0.372 0.416
Adjusted R² 0.069 0.320 0.314
52
5. Discussion and Conclusion
The objective of this research was to examine whether consumer CSR perceptions have an effect on a consumer’s intention to purchase Fair rade products in the supermarket. Moreover, the aim was to examine if consumer CSR perceptions differ for men and women, and if these perceptions are different for consumers from individualistic and collectivistic cultures. The overall results of this study show that consumer CSR perceptions about environmental and supplier issues have a positive effect on the intention to purchase Fair Trade products in the supermarket. The relationship was strongest for CSR perceptions about environmental issues. Furthermore, the results showed that non-Dutch consumers have a higher intention to purchase Fair Trade products compared to Dutch consumers. This might be because the Netherlands is a country with a highly individualistic culture (Hofstede, 2001). A similar result was found for female consumers, who have a higher intention to purchase Fair Trade products, compared to male consumers.
Empirical evidence was found for gender differences in two consumer CSR perception dimensions. The positive relationship between consumer CSR perception about community issues and the intention to purchase Fair Trade products was moderated by gender, such that the relationship was stronger when the consumer was female. Thus, female consumers were found to have more concern for community issues, compared to male consumers. This finding is in line with previous research, that suggests that women are more concerned about CSR and more socially responsible than men (Del Mar Alonso-Almeida et al., 2015; Berényi and Deutsch, 2017; ue -Burguete et al., 2017).
53 inconsistent with the proposed hypothesis which suggested that this relationship would be stronger for a female consumer. A possible explanation for this finding is that men are justice oriented (Gilligan, 1982). Because men are justice oriented, following the rules, laws and contracts are important to them. As supplier issues concern matters such as fair negotiation and fair terms and conditions, thus matters concerning contracts and rules, it seems fitting that men find supplier issues more important than women whoare care oriented. This finding does not only show that gender differences can exist on different CSR perception dimensions, but also that male consumers find a specific dimension more important than female consumers. This is in contrast with some of the current CSR literature, that claims that women show more concern for CSR and are more socially responsible than men (Del Mar Alonso-Almeida et al., 2015; Berényi and Deutsch, 2017; ue -Burguete et al., 2017). Therefore, this study contributes to the literature by providing support for the claim that gender differences in CSR perception exist and that these differences can vary for each CSR dimension. Additionally, this study may be a contribution to the existing literature by providing evidence that men find the CSR dimension supplier more important than women. This is in contrast with the current literature and hence provides a new insight. Empirical evidence for differences between national cultures was not found for any of the CSR perception dimensions.
