A company-CSR fit as antecedents of organic cosmetic product purchase intention, the buffering effect of CSR belief: a moderating role of health consciousness

ABSTRACTPredictors of organic cosmetic product purchase intention have been widely investigated. However, a company-CSR fit triggered from this business area has not been examined in purchase intention. In addition, company-CSR fit-driven positive CSR perception in several business areas such as tourism, banking, and pharmacy has been found to serve a buffer in a service failure. Whether CSR belief derived from a company-CSR fit in the organic cosmetic product business still generates the buffering effect. This study examines the buffering effect of CSR belief driven by the company-CSR fit in the context of service failure on brand attitude and purchase intention for organic cosmetic products. In addition, this study proposes a moderating role of health consciousness that could influence the buffering effect of CSR belief on brand attitude after a service failure. Using data from a sample of 257 respondents on Amazon Mechanical Turk, the study uses SmartPLS 3 to perform the partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The results indicate that a company-CSR fit driven-CSR belief generates a buffering effect on brand attitude, resulting in the maintenance of purchase intention after a service failure. Results further show that health consciousness moderates this buffering effect on brand attitude. Particularly, consumers with high levels of health consciousness strengthen this buffering effect, while the buffer of CSR belief does not have an effect on consumers with low levels of health consciousness. These findings bring theoretical contributions and practical implications for the organic cosmetic product business.KEYWORDS: CSR beliefservice failurehealth consciousnesseco-friendly consumptionbuffering effect Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Additional informationFundingThe authors received no direct funding for this research.Notes on contributorsChi-Cheng LuanChi-Cheng Luan is currently Assistant Professor in the Department of Management Science, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (NYCU). Before the work at NYCU, he served as the Visiting Assistant Professor at Philadelphia University in the United States. The aim of his study is socially responsible consumption about how situational/environmental factors and individual difference characteristics may influence socially responsible behavior. The topics include discussing the effect of virtual reality application on socially responsible consumption and the effect of corporate social responsibility on consumer evaluation.Hoa PhamThiHoa PhamThi (PhD, Institute of Service Science, National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan) is a lecturer of Department of Marketing in University of Economics of Ho Chi Minh City, International School of Business, Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam. Her research interests focus on sustainable consumption, customer experience journey, and smart retailing in era of digitalization. Her work has been published in Service Business, Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management: An International Journal.Nellie UlyssesNellie Ulysses (Master student, Department of Management Science, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taiwan) defended her master thesis on CSR initiatives for green consumption in 2020. This article is part of her master thesis.