Role of Corporate Social Responsibility in Managing Customer Loyalty: An Empirical Study in Vietnam Retailing Industry

Vietnamese consumers have increasingly concerned about CSR however the linkage between perceived CSR and customer behavior has not been adequately explained in Vietnam context. This paper aims at investigating how Vietnamese customers’ perception of CSR influences their loyalty to retailers as well as testing the mediating roles of relationship quality (customer satisfaction and trust) on such influence. The findings will provide valuable strategic implications for Vietnamese supermarkets in designing effective customer-retention programs. The results of this study are in line with previous researches that support the direct positive effect of perceived CSR on customer loyalty. Moreover, this study demonstrates the paths from perceived CSR on customer loyalty in Vietnam retailing context in which the mediating roles of customer trust and customer satisfaction are affirmed. The possible reason is that consumers associate good CSR with positive evaluation of the retailer’s trustworthiness as well as its products and services that enhance relationship quality and loyalty.