Corporate Social Responsibility Towards Purchase Intention Across Regional Identity: A Comparison Between South Asia and Southeast Asia During COVID-19

ABSTRACT

The study attempted to explain the role of regional identity on the relationship between perceived corporate social responsibility (PCSR) and purchase intention through customer satisfaction and brand loyalty in South and Southeast Asian regions during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. A quantitative research was conducted with a survey including a sample of 3,870 regular retail customers from six countries in South and Southeast Asia. The data were analysed to test the hypotheses using SmartPLS. It found a significant and positive chain relationship between PCSR, satisfaction, brand loyalty and purchase intention in all six countries. In a comparative analysis, regional identity significantly, strongly and positively moderated the relationship in India and Pakistan except Sri Lanka while regional identity significantly and positively but weakly moderated the relationship in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. The study is the first investigation to discover dynamic role of customers' regional identity in making impactful CSR in a pandemic. It also made several theoretical and managerial implications with future research insights on retail consumer behaviour.