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1 Introduction

The rationale of this study is to investigate the relationship between companies’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities as a marketing strategy and consumers’ purchase behavior orientation towards these companies’ products and services. The main aim of the study is to explore the role of companies’ CSR activities in the purchase orientation of the consumers for the products of these companies. Based on the previous literature sources and empirical research findings about the relevant subject, it is assumed that the consumers’ purchase behavior orientation would be one of the consequences of the companies’ CSR activities that are done as a marketing strategy. Therefore it is found meaningful to investigate how companies’ CSR activities relate with the consumers’ purchase orientation towards the companies’ products.

In this study we handle the issue of corporate social responsibility first of all, being the independent variable, which has become one of the recently outstanding concepts in corporate management with the change of public priorities. It is obvious that public opinion makes a shift and goes away from thinking that a company’s financial and legal responsibilities are the prevailing and most important responsibilities towards a concern for ethical responsibilities with a strong impact.

In this respect, the main purpose of this study is to develop a customer response framework to social responsibility activities of the corporations in the context of customer purchase behavior and orientation taking into consideration a range of moderating factors. It is expected that this study will provide marketing managers as well as company managers a coherent understanding of customer perceptions, motives, attitudes and behavior regarding social responsibility.

2 Literature Review

It is recognized that while corporate social responsibility (CSR) is an important issue for the organizations, most of the research studies about CSR were done in different types of business and industries. The role of the holding groups’ businesses in an increasingly dynamic context in Turkey is now being questioned, including how companies’ socially responsible approaches that operate under these holding groups might affect the perception and orientation of the consumers.

In Turkey, the leaders of the social responsibility concept has been holdings such as Koç, Sabancı, Eczacıbası, Yasar, Dogan Holding with their charities and projects and then other companies have followed the trend (Büyük 2006, p. 2). These companies have realized the short term and long term benefits associated with being socially responsible, therefore they invest large amounts of their budget for such projects and campaigns.

According to a research conducted in 2004 among 1665 Turkish consumers by GFK a marketing research company, consumers think that priority for social responsibility projects must be given to mainly education and health, followed by environmental issues (Artiegitim 2005, p. 2). Sabancı Holding, Koç Holding, Arçelik, Ülker, Turkcell, Eczacıbası, Bosch, and Dogan Holding were placed at the top of the list of the most admired companies that have social responsibility projects.

Furthermore, another research study conducted in 2005 by Capital magazine with the contribution of Metro Group The aim was to understand how consumers perceive the social responsibility efforts of companies and to help companies to develop their strategies and establish an effective communication with their consumers. 1,320 Turkish consumers were interviewed. According to the results of the research, Sabancı Holding was placed at the top of the list of most successful companies in almost all areas of social responsibility followed by Koc Holding. Eczacıbaşı was also found to be successful in the education, arts and health areas.

In this context, in the light of the preliminary literature survey, it is proposed that the concept of corporate social responsibility should be described in order to understand the socially responsible attitudes of the three main holding groups of companies in Turkey. Respectively, we believe that it is necessary to examine the literature on Corporate Social Responsibility and the consumer purchase behavior orientation. Therefore, in this section of the study, the corporate social responsibility as a marketing strategy and the consumer purchase behavior will be described conceptually with the previous literature implications.

3 The Concept of Corporate Social Responsibility and its Importance

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been defined differently in the literature. One of the definitions says, CSR is the duty of the organization to respect individuals’ rights and promote human welfare in its operations (Manakkalathil and Rudolf 1995). As cited in the Article of Sen and Bhattacharya, CSR has also been decsribed as prosocial corporate endeavors (as cited in Murray and Vogel 1997) or corporate social performance (Turban and Greening 1997), it has traditionally been conceptualized broadly as “both managerial obligation to take action to protect and improve both the welfare of society as a whole and the interest of organizations” (Davis and Bolmstrom 1975, p. 6). Although there are many conceptualized views of Corporate Social Responsibility in the literature, but the definition adopted by Brown and Dacin as the company’s “status and activities with respect to its perceived societal obligations”(Dacin and Brown 1997) interests this author.

Today, it is generally accepted that organizations have many responsibilities. In addition to legal and financial responsibilities, they also have social, environmental and ethical responsibilities towards their stakeholders. For instance, retailers use many social responsibility activities to attract customers and to fulfil their ethical duties. Social responsibility activities may come in many guises e.g. making donations to charities, managing sports activities or financial sponsorhip of sporting events, healthcare and educational institutions. The forms of business activities in this area can be divided into business sectors for example retail, chemicals (including pharmaceuticals), construction, high technology, banking, utilities, business services, etc. Similarly, we can view social performance according to its effectiveness on communities, the environment or employees’ welbeing (Brammer and Pavelin 2004).

After 2000s, it was realized that global corporations should have formulated strategies which would have reduced the adverse impacts of corporate activities on the environment (Valentine and Fleischman 2007; Quaak et al. 2007 ; Maignan and Ferrell 2004). Such strategies would have alleviated the resulting social, ecological and economic problems currently affecting our world. Besides, it was also also indicated that companies had responsibilities for taking corrective actions about these problems and CSR should have contributed to reducing community problems, create value for society, and improve social concerns of the individuals within a community, Quaak et al. 2007, p. 293.

While there is no generally accepted definition of corporate social responsibility, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) has defined CSR as “the commitment of business to contribute economic development, working with employees, their families, the local community and society at large to improve quality of life” (WBCSD 2000). Another definition of corporate social responsibility says that it is “the degree of moral obligation that may be ascribed to corporations beyond simple obedience to the laws of the state” (Kilcullen and Kooistra, 1999, p. 158). This definition suggests, corporations have a duty not to cause damage or harm to others. Furthermore, according to Carroll’s “pyramid of corporate social responsibility”, a hierarchy of responsibilities involving economic, legal, and more socially oriented ones of ethical and philanthropic responsibilities were implied (Carroll 1991, p. 40).

Carroll (1991) mentioned that CSR involves “economic, legal, ethical, and discretionary expectations that society has of organizations at a given point in time”. Therefore, several programs and projects that which companies put in place in response to these basic expectations were developed in order to meet their economic and social obligations stakeholders and the general society. This action of course gives the organization the opportunity to be more value oriented or gives it a morally-based foundation within its community (Valentine and Fleischman 2007, p. 159; Swanson 1995, p. 43; Wood 1991, p. 692).

On the other hand, CSR activities may be motivated by self-interest, societal pressures based on institutional economics, or by a desire to assist stakeholders when such help is not required and lies outside of traditional profit-making motives (Valentine and Fleischman 2007, p. 159; Swanson 1995). Besides, CSR efforts “focus on establishing legitimacy” (Wood, 1991, p. 692) and “fit between society’s expectations of the business community and the ethics of business” (Valentine and Fleischman 2007, p. 159) to enhance the organization. This is especially so in situations where social responsibility creates a crucial relationship “based on give and take between stakeholders and companies” (Tuzzolino and Armandi, 1981, p. 22). Therefore, in this study, relevant assumptions were based on the stakeholder theory that is considered for integrating the relationship between the social responsibility of companies and individuals’ purchase behavior orientation.

Besides, Maignan and Ferrell (2004) have taken an overview of the evolving perspectives about CSR. In its earliest views, CSR was characterized by a sense of social obligations, “to follow those lines of action which are desirable in terms of the objectives and values of the society” (Bowen 1953, p. 6 as cited in Balmer et al. 2007, p. 9). Later, Carroll (1977) provided contributions to this idea and proposed a model involving four different categories of CSR that are described as economic, ethical, legal, and philanthropic responsibility.

According to these theorists’ implications, corporations’ social responsibility expects them to create economic value for the stakeholders (Balmer et al. 2007, p. 10). In addition, corporations are legally required to comply with existing laws. The ethical responsibilities of a corporation mean that, that corporation should engage in what is right, just, and fair, despite the fact that it is not necessarily bound with any of its existing legal framework. Besides they are the responsibilities, which come from specific cultural contexts (Balmer et al. 2007, p. 10). Philanthropic or discretionary responsibilities, arise out of the philosophical, ethical tradition of being concerned with what is good for society as a whole, and provide a justification for companies to improve the quality of life for different stakeholders, society, and the environment (Balmer et al. 2007, p. 10; Swanson 1995, p. 50)

Additionally, Buchholz (2004, p. 131) has argued for another category and within the framework of this contemporary CSR view, that companies’ stakeholder obligations require them to focus on various societal concerns (Buchholz 2004). Buchholz and Rosenthal (2005, p. 144) explained the relational understanding of managing for stakeholders as follows:

“While a company must be able to compete to survive, survival requires growth, growth requires enhancement of a relational web, and the direction growth takes evolves through the self direction of the company’s community dynamics. Moreover, community growth cannot be measured in economic terms alone, because it involves the enrichment of human life in its entirety. The moral meaning of the company is rooted in the community dynamics by which life thrives and in which the experience of value and its sustainability emerges” (Buchholz and Rosenthal 2005, pp. 144–145).

In this context, it can be mentioned that today, organizations have many responsibilities apart from their legal and financial responsibilities; social and ethical responsibilities are also very important in corporate and marketing management, especially multinational companies which use many socially responsible activities to attract customers and to fulfil their ethical duties. Socially responsible activities include philanthropic activities and may be in the form of donations to charities, managing sports activities or financial aids to sporting events, health or education institutions.

Actually, it was stated that “compamies in retail industry displayed higher rates of social responsibility when compared to those in other industries” (Lerner and Fryxell 1988). Therefore, we can assume that corporate characteristics like the type of business activity play a very important role in the corporate social responsibility and consumers’ perceptions and purchase orientation relationships. In addition, a company’s industry, its size may also have a role in impacting on the nature of the relationship between social performance and corporate reputation (Brammer and Pavelin 2004). Large companies are first of all more commercially vulnerable to adverse reactions, larger companies are more diversified across the geographical areas, so they are subject to demands for social responsiveness and lastly large organizations are more accountable to individuals and local communities (Lerner and Fryxell 1988). Thus we will take the size of organization and the characteristics of the organizations into account while evaluating the corporate social responsibility activities in this study.

4 The Concept of Consumer Purchase Behavior

According to statements made by Rodríguez-Pinto et al. (2008, p. 154), companies do business in a dynamic and changing environment full of competition, uncertainities, and rapid technological change. At this point, the effective positioning of products, the effective determination of the factors influencing consumer behaviors, and the effective understanding of consumers’ perception of CSR dimensions in the market can be considered as the critical factors for the achievement of the success of these companies.

Investigating the factors influencing consumer behavior is based on the principle of dealing with necessities. Briefly, identifying the factors influencing consumer behaviors is the process of demonstrating the different dimensions that impact the buying behaviors of the consumers. Moreover, identifying the factors influencing consumer behaviors is the process of identifying the potential customers and their specific characteristics and determining the likely factors that influence their purchase behavior. The key to a successful identification is the ability to capitalize on similarities within a consumer category that are important from a marketing point of view (Piercy and Morgan 1993, p. 123). The aim of this process or period is to build up a marketing mix and brand management program that will adjust better to individuals’ needs ad perceptions in choosing a market section.

In marketing and management literature it is often mentioned that giving importance to understanding corporate social responsibility perceptions throughout the customer relationships and building the social marketing and customer relations processes on the basis of these considerations are essential for the companies to identify the customers’ perceptions, expectations, and various consumer behavior patterns (Kotler and Zaltman 1971, p. 5; Drumwright and Murphy 2000, p. 164).

There are a number of studies about the influence of CSR perceptions on consumer behavior which show that different people react differently to products and services and the social responsibility activities of companies (Drumwright and Murphy 2000, p. 164).

It is indicated that; it is certainly reasonable to inquire about the consumers’ shopping behaviors, such as the motivations underlying where they shop and why they shop and what they buy (Sidin et al. 2008, p. 7). Many factors interplay to affect consumers’ decision making process that can directly influence their purchase behavior (Sidin et al. 2008, p. 7)

Therefore, according to previous studies of the literature, it is recognized that research studies have linked several individual perceptions in the studies related to consumer behavior such as purchasing, societal influence, changes in attitude, company preferences, concerns about a company’s identity and/or corporate activities, etc. (Mowen and Speers 1999; Keaveney and Parthasarathy 2001; Keh and Xie 2008). At this point, it is assumed that in order to understand why consumers behave the way they do, it is important to look at what factors influence individuals in their subsequent behaviors. As the researchers have addressed, it can be claimed that there is the relevance of companies’ perceived corporate social responsibility activities as part of their marketing strategy in determining the consumer behavior patterns. Therefore, it can be proposed that there is an association between consumers’ perceptions of corporate social responsibility activities and consumer purchase behavior orientations.

5 The Conceptual Framework of the Study

Depending on the preliminary literature survey and based on the literature implications about the subject the proposed conceptual framework of this study was given in order to understand the proposed relationships between the concepts. According to our proposed framework the CSR activities of the company as a marketing strategy can be assumed to be a determinant of consumers’ purchase behavior orientation which is relevant for the specific unit of context and unit of analysis. Therefore, a survey will be conducted in order to understand how the consumers perceive and respond to the communicated CSR activities of the case company.

It should be implied that corporate social responsibility is one of those corporate initiatives practiced by marketers throughout the marketing management process. It was once noted that, societal marketing calls upon marketers to build social and ethical considerations into their marketing practices (Kotler and Zaltman 1971, p. 5). Therefore, in the next section, corporate social responsibility will be taken as a dimension of societal marketing in this study and corporate social responsibility will be reflected in marketing practices by companies adopting a societal marketing focus.

Since profit seeking organizations aim of profit works in collaboration with the desire to contribute towards social welfare is taken into consideration which is rather different when it comes to not-for-profit organizations, societal marketing fits the corporate social responsibility activities context emphasized in this study.

In the literature, there is evidence which suggests that the collaboration of the role of other moderating and mediating variables within the conceptual framework of CSR and consumer purchase behavior. For instance, some studies have found corporate reputation as a mediating factor that affects the relationship between CSR activities of the companies and the individuals’ purchase orientation (Zeithaml, Parasuraman and Berry 1996; Morgan and Hunt 1994; Capozzi 2005). Additionally, it was noted that the individual perceives companies’ CSR projects with the mediating role of some factors like customer loyalty, commitment etc. Thus, if customers think that a company is reputable, they then feel committed to it and they show they demonstrate this through purchase behavior. (Zeithaml et al. 1996; Morgan and Hunt 1994; Capozzi 2005)

To further support this argument, Bartikowski and Walsh suggest in that, depending on the contingency theory that people prefer the presence of harmony between their beliefs, attitudes and behaviors in order to avoid any discomfort in their feelings. Thus, if customers have a good perception about a company, they have commitment to that company and they continue their purchase (Bartikowski and Walsh 2009). Moreover, Morgan and Hunt (1994) claimed that customer commitment as a mediating factor increases efficiency, productivity and effectiveness. Furthermore, Raj (1982) notes that customer loyalty is a sign for the future purchase behavior of the customers (Bartikowski and Walsh 2009). Thus, it can be suggested that all these clues and factors mean that if customers have a positive perception about a company and about its products, services and social responsibility activities, they are likely to be loyal and committed to that company and would be more willing to purchase these companies’ products and services.

After an analysis of the literature we diverted our attention to the role of different factors, how the CSR activities of companies have contributed to customers behavioral patterns.

In this context, based on the literature examination, it can be suggested that corporate social responsibility activities have been an important factor to be analyzed by researchers. Especially, the effects of CSR on consumer behavioral patterns are worthy research in order to illuminate the path of the managers of companies and to motivate them to organize and put in place CSR activities to improve the reputation of the company and to make financial gains through increased consumer purchasing habit or behavior towards their products or services.

Becker-Olsen et al. (2005) state that consumer expectations would most likely be related to companies CSR profile. These scholars have noted an increase in this over the past 5–10 years. First, the number of companies with social responsibility programs grew, second, more companies continue to communicate their efforts with the public and thirdly, consumer groups continue to promote companies’ wrongdoings and have called for large-scale boycotts (Becker-Olsen et al. 2005). İt is also stated that there is managerial and empirical evidence that companies with insufficient CSR records experience negative results (Becker-Olsen et al. 2005).

Interestingly, there is another study result in the literature, that shows that more than 80 % of respondents believe that companies should engage in social initiatives and 76 % felt those initiatives would be beneficial to these companies, later it was also found that 52 % of respondents would boycott irresponsible acts by companies in terms of their CSR activities, if they would find any alternative companies (Becker-Olsen et al. 2005).

By looking at the literature it can be found that, according to the social identity theory, buyers are willing to identify or build connection with highly-reputable sellers, which can facilitate their self-definition process Keh and Xie 2008

In this respect, it can be mentioned that in the literature, there is a body of research findings that constitute a basis for the relationship between the companies’ social responsibility and the community’s perceptions, intentions, preferences and purchase orientation towards these companies’ products and services as there are evidences that indicate the analysis of corporate social responsibility projects and consumer behaviour (Tench et al. 2007; Li 2007; Chung and Poon 1996). Therefore, it was mentioned by studies that corporations perceive social responsibility as a marketing strategy and perceive how their socially responsible manners and attitudes towards the social and environmental issues will influence the individuals’ preferences and purchase orientation.

Therefore, depending on the literature it can be said that, according to the social identity theory, the consumers have orientation and preferences towards highly reputable companies’ products and services (Keh and Xie 2008).

At this point, in this study a conceptual model was developed after reviewing the literature on corporate social responsibility, marketing strategy and consumer purchase behavior. The model was developed in order to examine the hypothesized relationship between the independent and dependent variables of concern. This hypothesized relationship will be tested on data collected from the participants of the survey.

Accordingly, the proposed conceptual framework of this study can be presented as a model in Fig. 3.1.

Fig. 3.1
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The proposed conceptual framework of the study

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Figure 3.1 gives the proposed conceptual framework of the study noted in this chapter. In this context, the study’s intentions and previous research studies help to indicate the hypotheses of this study. Thus, the following hypotheses (H) which have been constructed in order to measure the relationship between the variables can be proposed. Upon the proposition of “the overall perception related to the CSR activities of the relevant company involving the factors namely philanthropy, community, youth education, youth health and environment is related with the consumers’ purchasing preferences”, Hypothesis 1 was generated.

Hypothesis 1

At least one of the CSR perception factors has a relationship with the consumers’ purchase behavior of the products and services of the company.

In order to test whether the CSR factors have a relationship with the purchase behavior orientation, the following hypothesis was generated.

Hypothesis 2

A company’s CSR activities as a marketing strategy has a positive relationship with the consumers’ purchase behavior orientation.

6 The Research Methodology

6.1 The Aim of the Research

This study aims to investigate the relationship between the corporate social responsibility activities of chosen company’s and customers’ purchase behavior. In this study, we have used two main variables to conduct our research. Thus, the focus of the study was on a special holding group famous with its endless reputable corporate social responsibility activities in Turkey, namely Sabancı Holding Group was taken as our subject, in our attempt to measure these variables and their relationships with each other, if any.

Within the framework, the research was seeking to examine the importance of corporate social responsibility activities as a par marketing strategy in the context of Turkey. Further, it sought to identify the consumer perceptions and expectations as well as the main CSR projects of Turkish companies. Therefore, the main purpose of the survey was to measure consumers’ perceptions of the relevant company’s CSR activities and customers’ purchase behavior orientation towards the company’s, brands, and products and services of the Holding group. Thus, measurement was based on the dimensions of perceived corporate social responsibility activities and consumers’ purchase behavior orientation.

6.2 The Sample

In this study, convenience sampling was used. The study was conducted in Turkish Context. The data about the consumer purchase behavior orientation were gathered from individuals working in the academic sector (universities) in Istanbul.

Holding companies which have CSR projects in Turkey were investigated through secondary sources such as company records, industrial publications, annual marketing research reports, etc.

6.3 The Procedure

The primary data was collected through questionnaire (Bryman and Bell 2007). Questionnaires were distributed to participants working in two public universities of Istanbul who were believed to be potential customers of the selected holding groups of companies. Thus the survey was cross-sectional. Later, these questionnaires were returned by hand to the researcher by these individuals—the subject. The study was applied to individuals working in two big government universities in Istanbul. The preconditions for the study were that those individuals filling in the questionnaires must be customers of the selected holding group of companies.

6.4 The Measures and Data Analysis Methods

The data were obtained through the official web pages of the Holding company, other official web pages that contain news and information about the relevant company’s socially responsible behaviors and facilities relevant to the issues. Besides, the data were obtained by searching the news and facilities archives of the company.

Moreover, a structured questionnaire was used in the survey. The survey instrument was in three different parts, measuring different variables of the research model. The objective was to examine individuals’ perception of the holding groups’ corporate social responsiveness; in order to allow the relationship between these variables to be seen after the survey.

Individuals’ perception of the relevant company’s social responsiveness and CSR projects will be measured by the corporate social responsibility items developed by Mohr and Webb (2001 ) which were also used by Walker (2009 ) in a dissertation. The items were modified in order to turn them into a perceived social responsibility scale and an additional subscale was added concerning the holding groups’ corporate social responsibility campaigns. The subscales were identified as philanthropy, community, youth education, youth health and environment.

The second part of the questionnaire aims to measure the purchase behavior orientation of the individuals towards the products and services of these holding companies. Thus, the last variable of the model, purchase behavior orientation is considered to be the dependent variable. The items are used in a dissertation written by Xu (2009). The purchase behavior orientation was measured to test the hypotheses claiming that the corporate social responsibility perceptions influence the purchase orientation of the customers positively.

The third part of the research study aims to measure the demographical data of the participants.

Within the data analysis method, firstly, frequency analysis and descriptive evaluations were used to describe the participants according to demographic characteristics. After that, various statistical methods such as factor analysis and reliability analysis, Regression Analysis were used through computer statistical package for social sciences (SPSS).

7 Research Findings and Results

7.1 Frequency Distributions of the Participants

Descriptive information about the sample is displayed in the following tables. Table 3.1 provides information about gender characteristics; Table 3.2 provides age characteristics; Table 3.3 gives the educational level; Table 3.4 presents the/occupation status; and Table 3.5 provides the marital status of the respondents.

Table 3.1 Gender of the respondents
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Table 3.2 Age of the respondents
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Table 3.3 Education level of the respondents
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Table 3.4 Position/occupation levels of the respondents
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Table 3.5 Marital status of the respondents
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As noted in table above, 50 % of the respondents consisted of females and 50 % consisted of males. The results show that majority of the respondents (76 %) fall into the 22–35 age group, thus it can be said that a younger demographic profile participated in the survey.

As depicted in Table 3.3, all of the respondents (100 %) are university graduates. Doctorate graduates consist of 25 %. It’s seen that in general terms that education demography of the participant was high. The reason was because the survey was conducted among the university lecturers, research assistants, associate professors and professors. As further noted in Table 3.4, 52.3 % of the respondents work as research assistants and lecturers in the relevant university whereas 11.3 % are associate professors and 5.3 are professors.

In Table 3.5 it is seen that married and single participants are equal within the research context as half of the sample are married (50 %) and half are single.

8 Descriptive Analyses of the Participants

Descriptive analyses were conducted on the research dependent and independent variables in order to explain the mean and standard deviation of the variables.

Respondents were asked the importance of each variable mentioned in the Table 3.6 while they made a purchase. The responses were measured by a 5-point Likert scale ranging from very important to not important at all. Table 3.6 shows the means and standard deviation values of the importance of purchase criteria of the respondents while buying a product. As it is seen in Table 3.6, among all items, quality came out to be the most important criteria while making a purchase with the highest mean score o 4.72 followed by previous experience and price. In terms of importance, the social responsibility activities of the company was ranked 5th.

Table 3.6 Considering your purchase criteria while buying a product, how important or unimportant are the following criteria for you?
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Respondents were asked their level of agreement or disagreement with social responsibility efforts of companies and their own attitude towards social responsibility on a 5-point Likert scale. The negative statements’ answers were recoded to obtain positive statements. The range of the responses’ mean values has changed between 2.50 and 4.72. The statements “A company which acts with the aim of contributing to society has a positive image for me” and “Social responsibility projects are among the principal duties of companies” got the highest mean scores (4.72 and 4.59 respectively). This statement also obtained the low standard deviation values (0.571 and 0.771) which imply that respondents agreed upon these statements.

9 Analysis of Data

9.1 Reliability Analysis

Cronbach alpha method was used for the reliability analyses for the “Perceptions of Company’s Corporate Social Responsibility profile” and consumer purchase behavior scale and scientifically high internal consistency was found for the present study. The Cronbach alpha is 0, 859 for the perception of CSR scale and 0, 866 for the consumer purchase behavior scale. Thus, the scales are found reliable.

9.2 Factor Analysis

Factor analysis was performed for both of the perception of CSR and the purchase behavior questionnaires.

9.2.1 Factor Analysis of the Perception of Corporate Social Responsibility Responsiveness Questionnaire

As was mentioned in the previous section, individual’s perception of the company’s social responsiveness and CSR projects were measured by the corporate social responsibility items (Interval—Q26–Q33). The items were been modified by the researcher in order to turn it into a perceived social responsibility scale and an additional subscale was added concerning the relevant holding group’s (Sabancı Holding) corporate social responsibility activities/projects/campaigns. The subscales used were philanthropy, community activities, youth education, youth health and environmental issues.

In order to understand how variance can be partitioned, component analysis was performed on data set. This statistical method was chosen in order to explain as much of the variance as possible using the fewest number of components. The total variance explained in the study can be seen in the Table 3.9. In the study, Kaiser R rule, which is the most widely used rule and basically proposed to drop all components with eigenvalues under 1.0, was used to decide how many factors to retain.

At this point, in our analysis, Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy of the Perception of CSR questionnaire was found as 0.806 which is over the acceptable level (>0.50). This indicates that the sample was adequate in order to apply factor analysis. The Bartlett Test of Sphericity was found to be 0.000 which represents a meaningful factor analysis.

After the factor analysis of 8 items which was used in order to assess the CSR perceptions of the individuals, it has been found that the 3 factors explained 76.442 % of the total variance. In this study, after the factor analysis it has been found that the 3 factors explained the total variance as presented in Table 3.9.

The items which have loadings of less than 0.50 and which have low reabilities have been extracted from factor analysis.

These 3 factors are named as Community (Q26, Q27, Q28), Youth education and health (Q29, Q30, Q31), and Environment (Q32, Q33). The CSR perceptions Factor Analysis Report can be seen in Table 3.7.

Table 3.7 Perception of CSR Activities Factor Analysis Report
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9.2.2 Factor Analysis of the Consumer Purchase Behavior Questionnaire

Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy of the consumer purchase behavior questionnaire was found as 0.833 which is over the acceptable level (>0.50). So the sample was adequate to apply factor analysis. The Bartlett Test of Sphericity was found to be 0,000 which represents a meaningful factor analysis.

After the factor analysis of 3 items (Q34–Q35–Q36) which were used in order to assess the intention to purchase of the respondents, it has been found that one factor explained 64.330 % of the total variance. As a result of factor analysis, none of the items which are related with consumer behavior have been excluded, so 3 items were used for assessing that variable. The consumer purchase behavior Factor Analysis Report can be seen in Table 3.8.

Table 3.8 Consumer Purchase Behavior Factor Analysis Report
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At this point, according to the results of the factor analysis, while testing the hypothesis, all factors have been put into analysis on their own. As the factors “Community”, “Youth education and health”, and “Environment” exactly fit the scale used for CSR concern in the design of the questionnaire, two factors –philanthropy and community- have been merged to measure “CSR activities concerning community” as we have named; and two other factors -youth education, youth health- have been merged to measure “CSR activities concerning youth education and health” as they were named. Consequently Fig. 3.2 shows the modified research model of perceived CSR activities and intention to purchase after the factor analysis.

Fig. 3.2
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Modified research model of perceived CSR activities and intention to purchase after the factor analysis

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9.2.3 Regression Analysis

Table 3.9 shows the model summary of regression analysis and Table 3.10 presents the regression analysis outcomes of CSR perception and consumer purchase behavior. In Tables 3.9 and 3.10, it can be seen that, R Square is 0.627, F is 33.771 and Significance level is 0,000. Table 3.11 presents the coefficients of regression analysis. According to the results of Table 3.11, it can be mentioned that the regression results show that the independent variables jointly explained 62,7 % of the variance in the dependent variable, consumer purchase behavior orientation. (F = 33,771, p < 0, 05).

Table 3.9 Model summary of regression analysis
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Table 3.10 Regression analysis of CSR perception and consumer purchase behavior
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Table 3.11 Coefficients of regression analysis
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As a result, it can be implied that, the purchase behavior was significantly explained by all three independent variables—community, youth education and health, and environmental concern - as assumed in the generated hypothesis of this study.

9.2.4 Independent Samples T-Test

In order to see the effects of one’s gender on his/her purchase behavior, Independent Samples T-Test is conducted to search the difference in the purchase behavior orientation of the participants belonging to their gender.

Independent Samples T-Test was conducted in order to test whether there is a difference between males and females in terms of purchase behavior orientation. Table 3.12 shows the purchase behavior summary results according to the gender factor. Table 3.13 provides the independent sample T-Test results of gender and purchase behavior.

Table 3.12 Males and females purchase behavior summary
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Table 3.13 Independent sample T-Test of gender and purchase behavior
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According to the results of the above Tables 3.12 and 3.13, it can be suggested that the F value of 0,060 is not significant (p = 0,807 > 0, 05). Thus, results of the T-Test showed that there was no difference between the males and females in terms of purchase behavior orientation.

Table 3.14 shows the purchase behavior summary results according to the marital status factor. Table 3.15 presents the independent sample T-Test results of marital status and purchase behavior.

Table 3.14 Marital status and purchase behavior summary
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Table 3.15 Independent sample T-Test of marital status and purchase behavior
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According to the results of above Tables 3.14 and 3.15, it could be seen that the F value of 0.089 is not significant (p = 0.766 > 0.05). Thus, the results of the T-Test showed that there was no difference between married consumers and single consumers in terms of purchase behavior orientation.

Furthermore, in order to see the effects of occupation/position and educational level of the participants on purchase behavior, One-Way ANOVA was conducted. Table 3.16 shows the consumer purchase behavior results according to the current position factor. Table 3.17 provides the consumer purchase behavior results according to the educational level of the respondents.

Table 3.16 One-way ANOVA between current position and consumer purchase behavior
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Table 3.17 One-way ANOVA between education level and consumer purchase behavior
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As it is seen on Table 3.16, according to One-Way ANOVA test findings, the F values of 1.574 is not significant (p = 0.197 > 0.05). Thus, the purchase behavior of the participants doesn’t vary according to the current occupation/position worked in the relevant sector.

As it is provided on Table 3.17, according to One-Way ANOVA test results, the F values of 1.566 is not significant (p = 0.,201 > 0.05). Hence, the consumer purchase behavior of the respondents doesn’t vary according to their education level.

9.2.5 Results of Hypothesis Testing

In order to test Hypothesis 1 and its sub-hypothesis, Multiple Regression Analysis was conducted.

  • H0: The three independent variables (Community concerns/Youth eductaion and health concers/Environmental concerns) will have no significant relationship with the consumer’s purchase behavior of the products and services of the relevant company.

  • Ha: At least one of the CSR perception factors has a relationship with the consumer’s purchase behavior of the products and services of the relevant company.

According to the results of the Tables 3.11 and 3.12, it could be seen that significance level of the regression model was 0.000. Hence, at least one of the CSR activities perception factors has a relationship with the consumer’s purchase behavior of the relevant company’s products and services. Therefore, H0 is rejected and Ha is accepted.

  • Sig. = 0.000 < 0.05 reject H0; Accept Ha

As Hypothesis 1 has been supported and it has been found that at least one of the CSR activities perception factors has a relationship with the consumer’s purchase behavior, the significance levels of the each independent variable in the regression model should be examined.

  • H0: The consumers’ CSR activities perceptions do not have a positive relationship with the purchase behavior of wine brands.

  • Ha: The company’s CSR activities as a marketing strategy has a positive relationship with the consumers’ purchase behavior orientation.

Sig. = 0,028 < 0.05 reject H0; Accept Ha

In this context, according to the findings and the results, it can be suggested that Hypothesis 2 has been supported at the 0.05 significance level (Youth education and health concerns: Beta = 0,116, t: 2.217, p = 0.028; Community concerns: Beta = 0.213, t: 2.911, p = 0.004; Environmental concerns: Beta = 0.232, t: 3.808, p = 0.,000). Therefore, it can be indicated that there is a positive relationship between the consumers’ CSR activities perceptions with the purchase behavior of the relevant company’s products and services.

As it was indicated before, independent variables perceived community concerns, perceived youth education and health concerns, and perceived environmental concerns are found to explain the 62.7 % of the variance in the dependent variable consumer purchase behavior. (F = 33.771, p < 0.05).

10 Conclusion and Discussion

The findings in the present study demonstrate that perception of company’s perceived CSR attributes is a contributing factor towards the purchase of identified company’s products, services, and brands among the Turkish consumers. In other words, perceptions of the company’s CSR attributes can impact on consumers’ purchase behavior towards the products and services produced and sold by the relevant company in Turkish context. Perception of CSR activities concerning community, perception of CSR activities concerning environment, and perception of CSR activities concerning youth education and health are found to have positive significant relationships with consumer purchase behavior orientation of the company’s products and services.

Among the factors of the perceived CSR activities, community concern is found to be one of the factors that support consumer purchase behavior orientation towards the company’s products. A significant positive relationship was found between the perceived community concerns and consumer purchase behavior in the context of Turkey. Previous studies also suggest that consumers will be more oriented towards the purchase of certain brands and products if they perceive their associations and have awareness about that company’s CSR efforts and activities related with community and society (Mowen and Speers 1999; Keaveney and Parthasarathy 2001; Keh and Xie 2008).

Therefore, it can be implied that consumers’ positive perceptions of a company’s CSR responsiveness related to community issues and problems can lead to their purchase behavior or intentions to purchase the relevant company’s products. For that reason, it can be suggested that companies that want to have greater consumer preferences towards their products, services, and brands should engage in relationship-oriented behaviors like, creating social awareness, social responsiveness, and social responsibility projects (Drumwright and Murphy 2000; Eves and Cheng 2007; Valentine and Fleischman 2007).

As a result of our research, the multiple regression findings have indicated a significant positive relationship between perceived CSR activities concerning youth education, health and environmental issues and consumer purchase behavior. Thus, it can be said that perceived CSR activities concerning youth education and health of a company increases the purchase orientation level of the consumers towards the products of that company in Turkish context. This finding is consistent with previous findings. Balmer et al. (2007) and and Deresky (2000) have also indicated that the perceived CSR responsiveness and efforts concerning societal problems, health and education, and environment impacts the consumer purchase behavior in a positive way. Brammer and Pavelin (2004) have stated that perceived CSR activities of any company may lead to the preference and purchase of a certain product of a company. Therefore, it can be suggested that the consumers will be more oriented and prefer to buy the products which they perceive as having a positive image and CSR concerns about the relevant company.

In that respect, it can be implied that consumers’ positive perceptions of a company’s effective CSR activities can impact their purchase behavior towards the relevant company’s products and services. For that reason, it can be suggested that the producers and companies in Turkey should try to find out the social, educational, and environmental issues which require CSR related actions, and then develop CSR activities around those issues. Itt is further suggested that companies should view CSR matters as a part of their overall corporate strategies both in the short term and long term.

Another important result was obtained when the dependent variable was taken as consumer purchase behavior and independent variables being community concerns, youth education and health concerns, and environmental concerns. The results of the regression analysis showed that predictors of consumer purchase behavior orientation are some of the factors regarding social responsibility, strongest predictor being the environmental concern. Although community concern was a strong predictor of consumer purchase behavior, it came out significantly to predict consumer purchase behavior with a less degree than the environmental concerns. Environmental concerns as a CSR responsiveness and as a marketing strategy being the strongest predictor is as expected since a close relationship exists between social responsibility marketing strategies involving environmental protection and environmental issues that should be applied by companies and consumer purchase behavior.

Although it is not the central concern of this research study (and thus not the subject of formal hypotheses), the current findings reveal that there is no significant difference found between males and females and married and single participants. Thus, it can be mentioned that our study shows that there is no difference between males and females and singles and married individuals in terms of purchase behavior in Turkish context. In contrast to several previous studies about the subject of CSR perception ad purchase behavior, gender, marital status, positional level, and educational level did not have a role in the purchase behavior of the relevant company’s products in the present research undertaken in Turkey. One reason which be could responsible for relates to the samples used in other previous studies were in a common country, common city, region and culture, while the sample used in this present study was consumers in Istanbul and working as academicians in two selected government universities.

Consequently, it is suggested that the findings and the framework of this study is important in terms of explaining the sequence that must be followed while setting marketing strategies regarding corporate social responsibility. The study involves expectations from the company that it should invest in CSR activities and campaigns and it should inform the customers so that knowledgeable and conscious customers would participate be involved in more of purchasing activities. It is believed that in turn, the company will gain a positive image, a positive outlook and increase its purchased intention for its products, brands, and services.