¹Faculty of Economics, Department of Marketing, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain

Abstract

The paper focuses on the mediating role of consumer identification with a company in the effect of corporate social responsibility (CSR)-based perceived identity on consumer behaviour. More specifically, it deals with the direct and indirect influences of identification with a socially responsible company on purchase intent, through two affective variables – attitude and affective commitment to the company. After the literature review that supports the hypotheses, an empirical study was carried out to test the proposed model. Findings show that CSR-based consumer-company identification influences purchase intent through the mediator role of company attitude and company commitment. This involves important academic and managerial implications that are also presented and discussed in the paper.