The effect of corporate social responsibility on trustful relationship, supportive communication intention, and brand loyalty of ethnic halal restaurants

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships among CSR activities, brand trust, supportive communication intention, and brand loyalty in a halal restaurant franchise. This study attempts to understand the brand loyalty formation among foreigners visiting a halal ethnic restaurant franchise in South Korea. This study can contribute to the body of empirical evidence showing that CSR activities for different stakeholders can increase brand loyalty mediated by trust. Data were collected from an online survey platform, and visitors were recruited in one of the largest halal franchise restaurants in Korea. This study used a convenience sampling technique, and 225 questionnaires were used for final analysis. Structural equation modeling was likewise used in this research. The results reveal that CSR activities include four constructs: for communities, employees, the environment, and customers. These four dimensions reflect voluntary activities for core stakeholders and are positively associated with enhancement of trustful relationships between customers and restaurants. Among four CSR dimensions, CSR activities to employee are the most influential dimension, followed by CSR to community and to environment. However, the insignificant effect of CSR activities to customers on trust is found. Furthermore, trust positively influences supportive communication intention and brand loyalty. The proposed model of this present study can shed light on how to enhance brand loyalty and sustain trustful and emotional value of an ethnic restaurant franchise. The results can provide important implications for planning CSR engagement from a practical and managerial perspective in the restaurant industry.