An Empirical Study On The Impact Of Dairy Corporate Social Responsibility On Consumers’ Purchase Intention

With the blooming domestic economy and growing living standard, the consumption demand for dairy products from normal people maintains in vigorous growth and the dairy industry steps on its way to prosperity as well. However, frequently happened quality problems for the past few years cast great damage on consumers’ confidence in dairy manufacturers. Also, these problems invoke heated discussions on the dairy Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the academic community. Based on the discussed background and from the view of consumers, this article took the dairy CSR as the pointcut, and designs a questionnaire about the effect of dairy CSR on consumers’purchase intention. Also, the author built an equation modeling from the relationships of four latent variables (dairy CSR, consumers’ trust, consumers’ perceived quality of daily products and purchase intention). Through this modeling, the author tries to study whether the dairy CSR would have direct influence on consumers’ purchase intention, and whether it would have indirect influence on consumers’ purchase intention by the two mediated variables:consumers’trust and consumers’ perceived quality of dairy products. By the related research, this article is supposed to urge the dairy manufacturers to implement their social responsibility with the assistance of consumers, and facilitate the sustainable development of the dairy industry.There are six sections discussed in this article: Section1:introduction. Research background, research goal and importance were introduced, and research content/methods were discussed. Also, the research conception and technical route were raised.Section2:literature review. By the summary of related literature home and overseas, concepts such as CSR, dairy CSR, consumers’trust, consumers’perceived quality of dairy products and purchase intention were described. Also, abstract was made on the research papers about whether dairy CSR would have influence on consumers’purchase intention.Section3:theoretical hypothesis and the construction of theory of structural equation modeling. Specific to the related theoretical research home and overseas, five hypotheses about the direct/indirect influence on consumers’purchase intention from dairy CSR were proposed. Based on the relationship of latent variables, two structural equations were used to build our theoretical model.Section4:questionnaire development and research design. The study referred to related research home and overseas and the pre-survey questionnaire was developed. Afterwards, a pre-survey was conducted in a small scale. The questionnaire was refined based on the pre-survey results, which led to the formal questionnaire.Scetion5:empirical research and analysis.400copies of questionnaire were issued and344validated were received, from which factor analysis on variables and hypothesis testing on the structural equation modeling were conducted. First, the data provided by our survey were processed by SPSS17.0for descriptive statistical analysis and validity test. Secondly, on the condition of ideal validity, AMOS20.0was used to build the structural equation modeling, which cast regression and path analysis on the original structural equation modeling following the routes’dairy CSR—purchase intention’ and ’dairy CSR—consumers’trust and perceived product quality—purchase intention’. Also, test of goodness for fit was conducted. The original structural equation modeling was revised based on the test results, and further analysis was carried out as well. Finally, the empirical research verified the proposed research hypothesis.Section6:research conclusion and suggestions. Based on the analysis results of structural equation modeling, research conclusion was reached, and related suggestions were proposed on how to improve the dairy CSR from aspects of the government, dairy industry and consumers.Conclusions of the study are listed below:1.Dairy CSR has direct and positive influences on consumers’ purchase intention. 2.Dairy CSR has direct and positive influences on consumers’trust and perceived product quality.3.Consumers’ trust and perceived product quality have direct and positive influences on their purchase intention.4.Dairy CSR has indirect and positive influences on consumers’ purchase intention, and the indirect influence is greater than the direct one.5.Consumers’ trust and perceived product quality serve as the media for the influences from dairy CSR to consumers.