Consumer perceived corporate social responsibility and electronic word of mouth in social media: mediating role of consumer–company identification and moderating role of user-generated content

This paper intends to examine the role of CSR communication on social media in building consumer company identification (C–C identification) and electronic word of mouth (EWOM) in Indian banking context. Specifically, this study addresses the following three research questions: First, how does consumer perceived CSR orientation of Indian public sector banks in social media (CPBCSRSM) help in spreading positive EWOM and building consumer C–C identification? Second, what are the mediating effects of C–C identification between CPBCSRSM and EWOM? Third, how does user-generated content (UGC) moderate the influence of CPBCSRSM on EWOM? The author analyzed the data obtained from 648 banks’ consumers who evaluated consumers’ perceived CSR initiatives of those Indian public sector banks which have presence on social media, by using CFA and SEM techniques through SPSS and AMOS. The findings indicate that CPBCSRSM and C–C identification have direct effects on EWOM. The findings also indicate the mediating role of C–C identification and moderating role of UGC between CPBCSRSM and EWOM. Our study significantly contributes to marketing and CSR literature, by adding to limited knowledge on banks’ CSR orientation and its communication in social media. The study enriches the extant literature by filling gaps such as improving the generalizability of the findings, providing an integrated framework and using multiple social media platforms in an emerging economy. Our findings will provide a significant forward step to banking professionals regarding the factors influencing EWOM and the role of CSR communication in social media. This study highlights to the policymakers of Indian public sector banks that they need to focus on CSR communication in social media for better consumer engagement, C–C identification, encouraging a favorable UGC and EWOM.