Exploring the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives on consumer loyalty in the FMCG sector (based on the SOBC framework): The role of brand passion and brand advocacy

Abstract

The fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry is one of the biggest and most competitive sectors in the global economy, where corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been highlighted as a potential determinant of organizational success. In this study, we investigate the differences in how each CSR dimension's activity primarily influences customers' harmonious brand passion and obsessive brand passion within the FMCG sector, employing the Stimulus-Organism-Behaviour-Consequence (SOBC) framework as a theoretical basis. The study conceptualizes economic CSR, social CSR, and environmental CSR as the stimuli, with harmonious and obsessive brand passions as organismic internal states, brand advocacy as the behavioural response, and brand loyalty as the ultimate consequence. The proposed model was tested using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) based on survey data collected from 250 Vietnamese adults, with brand trust included as a moderating variable. Empirical findings indicate that harmonious passion can be fostered through the three CSR aspects while obsessive passion is only determined by the economic dimension of CSR. Additionally, both harmonious and obsessive brand passions were found to positively influence brand advocacy, highlighting its critical role in translating consumer emotions into supportive behaviours. Furthermore, the findings reveal that brand advocacy partially mediates the impact of harmonious brand passion on brand loyalty, while it serves as a full mediator in the interaction between obsessive brand passion and brand loyalty. Finally, the findings confirm that brand trust positively moderates the impact of harmonious brand passion on brand advocacy, while no such moderating effect is observed for obsessive brand passion. This study adds to the current literature by elucidating the three-dimensional influence of CSR on brand loyalty via brand passion and brand advocacy, offering actionable insights for businesses aiming to foster consumer loyalty through CSR initiatives