earticle

영어

When evaluating a corporate social responsibility (CSR) campaign, consumers may interpret the campaign information as either an indicator of normative intention (e.g. to pursue greater social good) or an indicator of strategic intention (e.g. to increase corporate benefit). On the basis of construal level theory, we examine the effect of psychological distance on CSR perception and company evaluation. We show that the CSR message–perceived normative intention relationship is more pronounced when a CSR activity is evaluated as a far rather than near location, whereas the reverse holds true for the CSR message–perceived realistic intention relationship. Consequently, participants evaluate the CSR message more favorably from a distance than when a CSR activity is near. Study also examines the underlying cognitive processes in detail. Lastly, we report the results and provide the implications for CSR messages regarding distance perspectives.