We propose to extend the research in responsible luxury by identifying situations where Corporate Social Responsibility(CSR) could actually promote luxury brands evaluation. By using social consensus as one of the determining factor, we argue that when CSR with higher social consensus is communicated through right channel, this information can have positive influence on brand evaluation. This research could contribute to literature on consumer responses to CSR, and to responsible luxury in particular and demonstrate how social consensus and CSR information of luxury brands affects consumers’ evaluations of luxury brands. Our research highlights that responsible luxury brands should carefully evaluate how their CSR communication strategy affects brand evaluations.

Corporate philanthropic activities, such as charitable donations, have become one of the main business practices worldwide. However, academicians have paid relatively scant attention to verifying the effectiveness of corporate philanthropy (CP) in terms of a firm’s performance. Therefore, this study aims to reveal the influence of CP on consumer loyalty that leads to a firm’s ultimate financial success. In addition, this study aims to investigate mechanisms through which CP influences consumer loyalty, as yet largely unexplored field. Results reveal that CP has an impact on consumer loyalty that is sequentially mediated by gratitude, trust, and finally commitment. This research contributes to expanding the scope of CP research verifying the effectiveness of CP on consumer loyalty.

Purpose – This study explores the role of construal levels in predicting online consumer behavior on a retail website. It builds on the conceptualization that simply browsing a website and making actual purchases can be an outcome of how abstractly or concretely one thinks about that experience. This study examines the differential effects of intermediary websites’ attributes and seller’s product offerings in predicting frequency of visits and actual purchases. Research design, data, and methodology – Data were collected from 188 undergraduate students in a large university of Korea. Hierarchical regression model was utilized to test the proposed effect of website characteristics and seller attributes on visit and purchase. Results – We propose and find that online shopping website visits and purchase frequency have different antecedents. The results reveal that website visit frequency and purchase have different predictors and this can be explained through construal level theory. Specifically, we find purchase frequency is predicted more by website image and financial benefits can be more predictive in actual purchases. Conclusions – Consumer behavior on the internet can be delineated into website visits and actual purchases. First, uplifting the image of the website itself is much more important than just making offerings cheaper. Online shopping website should try to match its features to mental representations that customers go through from just visit (abstract) to purchase (concrete).