Introduction Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become a necessary tool for firms to develop competitive advantage (Duarte, 2010) as CRS is increasingly valued and demanded by stakeholders (consumers, investors, employees, etc) who see it as representing the civic behaviour of the companies (Prior, Surroca, & Tribo, 2008)..This study looks at the relationship between CSR and customer retention (CR) to answer the question: how does CSR influence CR? The study tries to answer the question by exploring the relationship between CSR and CR toward developing a process model to show how CSR leads to CR, using path diagrams and structural equation modeling. Data was collected through a questionnaire that drew from established measurement instruments, supplemented by primary research. Senior executives of three telecom firms in Ghana were sampled for in-depth interviews towards building a pool of relevant items for questionnaire development. Data from 681 completed questionnaire responses were subjected to structural equation modelling (SEM) to estimate the relationships among relevant constructs and variables. Findings/Conclusions The findings showed a direct relationship between CSR and customer retention as well as an indirect relationship between CSR and customer retention through corporate image (CI), perceived service quality (PSQ) and customer perceived value (CPV). The estimates for Goodness-of-fit indices of the CFA show that; GFI=0.934, AGFI=0.912, CFI=0.957, and RMSEA=0.055, indicating a good fit. The standardised estimates for Goodness-of-fit indices of the SEM show that; GFI=0.933, AGFI=0.912, CFI=0.955, and RMSEA=0.055, indicating a model of good fit. The study challenges theoretical notions with respect to the nature of influence that CSR brings to bear on corporate performance and invites further theoretical inquiry into how CSR inform corporate performance. The study provides the basis for further empirical research work in the area of examining the nature and relative importance of CSR criteria that customers consider in evaluating their perception of companies and behavioural intentions. It also serves as bases to stimulate research using data from different geographical settings to give avenue for the generalisation of the model to extend the CSR and CR theories. The study also furnishes managers with the knowledge that CSR is very necessary for customer retention strategies but it is not a means to an end on its own. It therefore suggests the various components in the process should not be underestimated as it has shown that CSR by itself does not lead to corporate performance in terms of customer retention. Firms may therefore want to improve on the intermediary components to increase corporate performance in terms of customer retention.

본 연구는 자동차 산업 내 소비자들의 고객불평행동과 기업과의 관계유지를 실증적으로 분석한 연구이다. 특히, 기업의 불평관리에 대한 소비자들의 인지된 공정성과 제품 원산지의 조절효과를 검증하고자 하였다. 이를 위해 222명의 국산차 소비자들과 232명의 외제차 소비자들을 대상으로 설문조사를 실시하였다. 실증분석 결과, 모든 세 가지 유형 (직접행동, 사적행동, 제삼자행동)의 소비자 불평행동들은 기업과의 관계유지에 부정적인 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다. 조절효과에 있어서는 기업의 불평관리에 대한 소비자들의 인지된 공정성이 높을수록 직접행동과 관계유지의 부정적인 관계를 약화시키는 것으로 나타났다. 또한, 국산차와 외제차를 기준으로 나눈 두 소비자 그룹 간의 원산지 효과 차이는 유의한 것으로 나타났다. 사적행동과 관계유지의 부정적인 관계는 국산차 소비자들보다 외제차 소비자들에게서 더 약한 것으로 나타났다. 본 연구의 실증결과는 서비스 마케팅 분야에서의 이론적 시사점뿐만 아니라 실무자들에게 유용한 시사점을 제공할 수 있을 것으로 기대된다.