Thesis (Ph.D.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2015

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Management, School of Management

Prior research , mostly with in developed countries , has identified that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) can contribute towards customer behavior, yet, to date , researchers have provided limited specific information on if, and to what extent, CSR itself influence s service quality and loyalty relationships that serve to establish and maintain a firm{u2019}s profitability. Expanding the corpus, this research develops and empirical ly tests a conceptual framework which predicts the effects of CSR perceptions on a well - established customer behavior relationship path of Perceived Service Quality ( PSQ ) - trust - and loyalty intentions . This research evaluates the explicit contribution of CSR towards customer perceptions and validates the relevance for expanding a customer behavior model to include CSR characteristics. Although, t his research is stimulated by a scarcity of customer behavior related empirical CSR re search with in developing countries, t he purpose of this research is three fold . These include (1) whether and to what extent CSR perceptions influence the well - established relationship path of PSQ - trust - loyalty intentions (2) whether and t o what extent this relationship path, i.e. PSQ - trust - loyalty intentions , remains valid in the retail banking industry of Pakistan , and ( 3) whether and to what extent constraint - based relationship variables , such as perceived switching costs and continuance commit ment , affect customer loyalty intentions . Five banks were selected as relevant for this research. They are considered active in CSR activities , and use CSR as an explicit marketing tool . Using quota sampling with respect to these five eligible banks, 408 customers participated in the satisfactory completi on of a quantitative survey . The a nalysis verified the relevance of the hypothesized model; tested primarily through Partial Least S quares base d Structural Equation Mode ling (i.e. PLS - SEM) . The results of this study contribute to the literature base by confirming CSR is perceived as serv ing as a relevant and important direct determinant of PSQ, trust and loyalty intentions within the context of the retail banking industry . CSR should therefore be fundamentally considered alongside core business values in order to develop customer retention strategies. This study highlights that CSR should be recognised a s a relevant consideration for marketing professionals who are seeking to enhance PSQ - loyalty relationships. Secondly, the outcomes of this study also confirm ed that the role of trust within the path of PSQ - trust - loyalty intentions is recognised as being significant w ithin the context of this industry. On the other hand, constraint - based relationship variables , such as perceived switching costs and continuance commitment , do not actually illustrate any significant impact on customer loyalty intentions . This implies that , with better perceptions of service quality and trust , constraint - based relationship variables such as continuance commitment and switching costs , do not appear to harm customer loyalty intentions . Therefore, this research suggests that const raint - based relationship marketing strategies can safely be strengthened simultaneously without necessarily damaging other customer loyalty benefits in Pakistan .