THE IMPACT OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY ON CONSUMER BEHAVIOR � A COMPARISON OF ROMANIAN AND DUTCH CONSUMERS

Abstract

From the CSR pyramid, which represents the triple bottom line of enviroment, society and corporate governance, it is important to emphasize the society aspect, which, from the perspective of businesses, refers to the consumer. Undoubtedly, consumer demand greatly influences the operation of companies. Therefore, in our research, we aim to gain insight into how consumers perceive corporate social responsibility. We are interested in understanding the level of awareness of the CSR concept among consumers, whether there is a clear understanding of corporate responsibility, and whether there is a demand from consumers for responsible business practices. If the answer is positive, we want to explore how this demand reflects in their purchasing decisions. Furthermore, we want to investigate the familiarity of the social responsibility concept among Romanian consumers and its impact on their purchasing decisions. To carry out this study and gather the necessary information, we decided that a questionnaire survey would be the most appropriate approach, which we conducted among both Romanian and Dutch residents. The same set of questions was presented to both Romanian and Dutch participants. We chose to conduct the research in the Netherlands as well because the country is known for being one of the most progressive in terms of CSR. Hence, we were keen to explore the level of awareness of the concept among Dutch consumers and identify any differences or similarities between the two target groups concerning CSR.