Consumer-Based Brand Equity Within the Insurance Industry : Attitudes Towards Corporate Social Responsibility

Abstract: Modern technology has provided for greater company transparency and media coverage, which among other has led to customers being able to increasingly demand corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives from companies. Companies should however not consider CSR as a constraint, but rather as a way to create competitive advantage, generating positive outcomes. One of which could be consumer-based brand equity (CBBE), however, the implementation of efficient CSR strategies is a difficult task, where research has somewhat disregarded the customer aspect of CSR, which can drive CBBE. Hence, this research has focused on the customer attitudes towards CSR and how this impacts CBBE, as well as brand trust. The data for the survey was gathered through a convenience sample, which after data cleanup consisted of 106 respondents. The results of the data analysis suggested the impact which customer attitudes towards CSR can have on both CBBE and brand trust, within the context of the insurance industry, used for this paper, due its linkage to CSR, as described later on. Keywords Customer Attitudes, Brand Affection, Brand Trust, Brand Equity, Consumer-Based Brand Equity (CBBE), Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Insurance Industry.