THE IMPACT OF CSR PERCEPTIONS ON MUTUALISTIC VALUES AND THEIR IMPACTS ON BRAND LOYALTY AND RESISTANCE TO NEGATIVE INFORMATION

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices are critical to strengthen the relationships between mutualistic banks and their customers. This study aims to identify the impacts of customer perceptions of CSR (the ethical and commercial dimensions) on the perceptions of mutualistic values and their impacts on brand loyalty and resistance to negative information. Mutualistic values (MV) are analysed because mutualistic institutions base their activities not only on the intention to maximise profit but also on adding social value. The research uses data collected through a structured questionnaire from a sample of 391 customers of mutualistic banks in Portugal. In order to operationalize the variables, scales used in existing studies were adapted. Besides that, a new scale to measure MV has been developed. Structural Equations Modelling (SEM) was used to test the investigation model and to provide answers to the proposed hypotheses. The results show that CSR perceptions impact on mutualistic values and that both impact on brand attitudes like loyalty and resistance to negative information. The commercial dimension of CSR seems to have a more relevant impact.