Does Brand Truth-Telling Yield Customer Participation? The Interaction Effects of CSR Strategy and Transparency Signaling

Customer participation in brand environmental responsibility is necessary for enterprises and consumers to co-create value. However, it is not yet clear why some corporate social responsibility (CSR) communications are more effective in attracting higher customer participation in a digitally transparent environment. Based on signal theory and social identity theory, this study examines the impact of the interactive effect of CSR strategy (proactive vs. reactive) and transparency signals (high vs. low) on customer trust (perceived integrity and perceived competence), customer–brand identification, and participation intention in brand environmental responsibility. We conduct a 2 × 2 study with 140 respondents. The findings reveal a significant interaction effect of CSR strategy and transparency signals on perceived integrity, perceived competence, and participation intention in brand environmental responsibility. Mediation analysis reveals that the impact of CSR strategy on participation intention is serially mediated via perceived trust and customer–brand identification and varies across different transparency levels.