Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2010, Human Ecology: Fashion and Retail Studies

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is no longer an entirely voluntary option for retailers. Instead, retailers have been under increasing pressure from various stakeholders and extraneous parties (e.g., the government) to embrace it. The biggest challenge facing retailers today is not whether or not to implement CSR practices, but how. Acknowledging research gaps and practical significance, this dissertation highlights how retailers can reap the benefits from their commitment to CSR within a spillover effect context. It proposes a conceptual framework based upon the Stimulus-Organism-Response framework (Mehrabian & Russell, 1974) and the Expectancy-Value theory (Fishbein & Ajzen 1975) to systematically demonstrate an underlying mechanism of spillover effects and an asymmetrical negativity bias created by CSR communication messages. Specifically, two essays examine: 1) whether or not (and to what extent) CSR communication messages influence consumers' perceptions about a retailer, 2) whether or not the perceptions about the retailer are spilled over onto the evaluation of the retailers' private brands (CSR-PBs, essay one) and loyalty programs (CSR-LPs, essay two) that convey the retailer's CSR orientation, 3) whether or not the spillover effects differ depending on the valence of CSR communication messages, and finally 4) whether or not a consumer characteristic, ethical consumerism, creates differential effects on cognitive, affective, and behavioral responses to the retailers' CSR-PBs and CSR-LPs. To test the proposed model within CSR-PB and CSR-LP contexts, two web-based experiments were performed with university employees (essay one) and with general US consumers (essay two). The results supported that positive and negative information about a retailer's CSR influenced consumers' beliefs/attitudes toward the retailer, but the strength of the impact was greater among consumers who learned of the negative information. Next, the results showed that beliefs an (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Leslie Stoel PhD (Committee Chair); Jae-Eun Chung PhD (Committee Co-Chair); Jay Kandampully PhD (Committee Member); Patricia West PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Behavioral Psychology; Behavioral Sciences; Communication; Marketing; Psychology; Sustainability