Differences in CSR Authenticity Evaluation Between Cultures: Lessons Learned from Korean and US Consumers: An Abstract

Authenticity and consumers’ quest for authenticity have been viewed as a new business imperative in contemporary marketing (Gilmore and Pine 2007). While it has been proposed that various attributes (e.g., congruency, transparency) influence stakeholders’ perceptions of CSR authenticity (Beckman et al. 2009), there has been little understanding in regard to what components contribute to consumer evaluations of CSR authenticity in different cultures.

As such, drawing on the CSR and authenticity literature, the current research aims to explore some CSR evaluation differences between Korean and US consumers as a means of understanding how different cultures evaluate CSR authenticity. Using focus groups and semi-structured interviews with Korean and US consumers, the current research proposes CSR authenticity as a powerful, theoretical construct capable of understanding different consumers’ CSR evaluations across cultures—advancing knowledge of how consumers’ CSR authenticity evaluations vary across cultures.

The findings showed that various attributes influenced Korean and US respondents differently in their CSR authenticity evaluations. While congruence and transparency positively influenced Korean respondents’ CSR authenticity evaluations, these attributes did not have a favorable impact on US respondents, primarily due to the lack of transparency of the US sport entity and the perceived manipulation of its CSR programs. The findings also showed that personal connection to a social cause had a positive impact on US respondents’ CSR evaluations however, this was not observed among Korean respondents. The current research between Korean and US respondents adds empirical evidence of the cultural differences regarding consumers’ CSR authenticity evaluations in different cultures. In doing so, the current research fills the knowledge gap in CSR authenticity literature and helps organizations to adequately respond to consumers’ pursuit of authenticity and also maximize their CSR endeavors to increase the well-being of consumers and their long-run benefit to society in different locations.