The ‘Good Samaritan’: The effects of corporate conflict engagement on public satisfaction and their behavioral intentions

In a time marked by rising geopolitical tensions and societal conflicts, the traditional corporate emphasis on maximizing shareholder value is increasingly evolving towards a more public-oriented approach that includes societal and ethical considerations. Should organizations invest in activities that are not their primary responsibilities? Based on conflict management, corporate social responsibility and public relations literature, this study examines different corporate actions undertaken during societal conflicts and how these affect public satisfaction and what effects these may have on three public relations outcomes: reputation, word-of-mouth, and financial support. Using an experimental design with the Finnish public in the context of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, this study demonstrates that proactive corporate engagement in conflict mitigation has direct positive effects on financial support and positive word-of-mouth intentions, though not on reputation. However, when public satisfaction and corporate trust are considered, there are positive effects on reputation and word-of-mouth intentions, but not on financial support. Additionally, people’s ethical orientation and conflict severity perception play a role in moderating these effects. This study contributes to the existing literature in conflict management, corporate social responsibility and public relations in several ways. It enhances theory integration by combining multiple perspectives, providing a comprehensive understanding of societal conflicts and their effects. It contributes to research on societal conflicts by shedding some light into different types of corporate behaviors during societal conflicts and the mechanisms that affect public perceptions of such actions. And it empirically demonstrates that organizations can also gain some public relations outcomes from investing in positive corporate conflict engagement actions.