To Be Related or Unrelated? The Role of CSR in Purchasing Decisions

Abstract: Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is gaining importance in the supply chain and purchasers are increasingly being asked to integrate environmental issues in their purchasing decisions. Still there is limited research in what type of supplier CSR activities that the buyers prefer. Through case scenarios this experiment investigated the influence of CSR and types of products on participant responses. By using different categories of environmental CSR as well as search, experience and credence goods, the results indicated that both CSR category, whether it is related or unrelated, and type of product do have an effect on supplier choice.