Corporate Social Responsibility in Branding : A Study of The Body Shop's Visitor's Attitudes and Purchase Decisions

Abstract: Title Corporate Social Responsibility in Branding - A study of The Body Shop's visitors' attitudes and  purchase decisions Authors Sara Lundgren El-Salhy & Amanda Lundmark Seminar Date 2009-06-02 Level C-level Thesis Tutor Malin Näsholm Keywords CSR, The Body Shop, Corporate Identity, Corporate Image, Associations, Attitudes, Purchase Decision Problem Previous research suggests that by using well known CSR as a branding tool, companies can create positive consumer attitudes, and these attitudes are assumed to lead to positive purchase decisions. This study aims to test this connection, when CSR is well known, by answering the following problem question: What are the opinions and attitudes among The Body Shop Umeå's visitors towards The Body Shop and CSR, and how do they perceive the company regarding CSR? Are their purchase decisions affected by these opinions and attitudes? Purpose To explore the importance of a well-known CSR; to find what attitudes consumers have towards CSR and a company with well-known CSR, and to look at these attitudes' relation to the consumers' purchase decision. Methodology A quantitative, deductive study is conducted, where the theory is tested. The data is collected by handing out self-completion questionnaires to The Body Shop visitors in Umeå. Results & Conclusion This study shows that The Body Shop visitors in Umeå think that CSR is important when buying cosmetics. The respondents have positive attitudes towards The Body Shop and these positive attitudes can be connected to The Body Shop's CSR. The positive attitudes can also be connected to positive purchase decisions. A conclusion that can be drawn from these findings is that well known CSR can be connected to positive purchase decisions, if the CSR is trustworthy. This conclusion can, however, only be generalized to the population for this study; the visitors to The Body Shop's store in Umeå. Number of Pages 57 Number of References 40