The Missing Link Between Corporate Social Responsibility and Consumer Trust: The Case of Fair Trade Products

Sandro Castaldo, Francesco Perrini, Nicola Misani, Antonio Tencati

Journal of Business Ethics · 2009 · Volume 84 · Issue 1

Abstract

This paper investigates the link between the consumer perception that a company is socially oriented and the consumer intention to buy products marketed by that company. We suggest that this link exists when at least two conditions prevail: (1) the products sold by that company comply with ethical and social requirements; (2) the company has an acknowledged commitment to protect consumer rights and interests. To test these hypotheses, we conducted a survey among the clients of retail chains offering Fair Trade products. The results show that socially oriented companies can successfully leverage their reputation to market products with high symbolic values.

Keywords

consumer behavior, Corporate Social Responsibility, Fair Trade, retail, structural equation models, trust

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