Investigating the mediating role of corporate reputation on the relationship between corporate social responsibility and multiple stakeholder outcomes

Abstract

In today's highly volatile environment, companies strive to leverage the perceptions of their multiple stakeholders more than ever before with the aim to build a sustainable competitive advantage. Accordingly, corporate social responsibility and corporate reputation concepts are of vital importance for both academicians and practitioners, concerning their potential impact on internal and external stakeholders. Recognizing the intensified significance of a multi-stakeholder perspective, the current study attempts to contribute to the literature through examining the mediating role of corporate reputation on the relationship between corporate social responsibility and various outcomes of customers, employees, and investors as the key stakeholders. Based on a reputational ranking of companies conducted by a national magazine since 2001, nine companies were selected from service and manufacturing industries and an online questionnaire was conducted to a multi-stakeholder sample consisting of customers, employees and investors. The results showed that corporate reputation fully mediates the relationship between corporate social responsibility and organizational commitment, employee satisfaction, investor loyalty, purchase intention, and intention to seek employment. On the other hand, there existed partial mediation on the relationship between corporate social responsibility and customer perceived value, customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, customer switching cost, customer commitment, turnover intention, intention to invest, and intention to spreadword-of-mouth. The results have important implications for practitioners who seek to manage their relationships with multiple stakeholders through their engagement in corporate social responsibility activities and efforts to enhance their companies' reputational status.