THE IMPACT OF CHINESE E-COMMERCE CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY ON CONSUMERS’ PURCHASING INTENTION—THE MEDIATING ROLE OF MOTIVATIONAL ATTRIBUTION
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Abstract
In the context of the booming digital economy, the rapid flow of information has caused significant changes in the marketing situation, so attention should be paid to the research conducted on customer psychology and behavior from the traditional business environment to the e-commerce situation. The relationship between e-commerce enterprises’ social responsibility and consumers’ purchase intention is an issue worth focusing on. However, at present, the research on CSR in the context of e-commerce is incomplete, especially from the perspective of the consumers.
Based on the review and summary of the relevant literature at home and abroad, in this paper, a theoretical research model of the internal mechanism of e-commerce corporate social responsibility on consumers’ purchase intention based on the intermediary role of motivational attribution was constructed. In this empirical study, the sample data were collected through a questionnaire survey, and then the structural equation modeling and other data were analyzed. The following conclusions were drawn: First, e-commerce CSR has a positive impact on consumers’ purchase intention. Second, motivational attribution plays a partially mediating role in the relationship between e-commerce CSR and consumers’ purchase intention. Specifically, when consumers attribute the motivation of e-commerce enterprises’ CSR performance to social benefits rather than their own interests, e-commerce enterprises’ CSR has an indirect positive impact on consumers’ purchase intention through motivational attribution. This study enriches the research on the corporate social responsibility impact mechanism of the related theory and extends the boundary of the e-commerce situation with regard to consumer psychology and behavior research. This can facilitate the development of e-commerce enterprise social responsibility strategies to provide theoretical guidance, on the one hand, to promote e-commerce enterprises to actively fulfill the social responsibility and promote their active response to the consumers, while on the other hand, promoting the sustainable development of enterprises and society in the e-commerce environment.
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