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How to Reap the CSR Fruits: The Crucial Role Played by Customers

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The Palgrave Handbook of Corporate Social Responsibility

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Abstract

In times of unprecedented relevance of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), companies need to gain a deeper understanding of actual and prospective customers, shedding light on the antecedents of their behavioral choices as to better address their needs and ambitions, in order to get a competitive edge. By adopting a chronological approach, the present chapter provides an overview of the development of research on responsible consumers over time. From early studies focusing on market segmentation based on socio-demographic and psychographic variables, the focus shifts to sophisticated models based either on cognitive processes or on habits, or on a mixture of both. Given the complexity of the phenomenon and its dynamic and ever-evolving nature, the chapter ends with a discussion of cutting-edge perspectives of analysis that represent the latest advancements of the discipline. These new streams of studies focus on the need to adopt holistic, dynamic, cross-cultural, and trust-based approaches, and pave the way for future research.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Management, Ca’ Foscari University, Venezia, Italy

    Pietro Lanzini

  2. Department of Economics and Management, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy

    Antonio Tencati

Authors
  1. Pietro Lanzini
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  2. Antonio Tencati
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Antonio Tencati .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. De Montfort University, Leicester, UK

    David Crowther

  2. Social Responsibility Research Network, Derby, UK

    Shahla Seifi

Section Editor information

  1. No affiliation provided

    David Crowther

  2. No affiliation provided

    Shahla Seifi

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Lanzini, P., Tencati, A. (2021). How to Reap the CSR Fruits: The Crucial Role Played by Customers. In: Crowther, D., Seifi, S. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Corporate Social Responsibility . Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-22438-7_91-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-22438-7_91-1

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-22438-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-22438-7

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