Examine the Strategic Role of CSR in Cultivating Customer Satisfaction: Evidence from Restaurant Sector
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.48165/pjhas.2026.12.1.1Keywords:
Environmental CSR, Economic CSR, Legal CSR, Ethical CSR, customer satisfactionAbstract
Background: The study aims to investigate how Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) influences the level of customer satisfaction in the restaurant industry providing empirical evidence on how socially responsible practices shape customer experiences and satisfaction. Objectives: The study has two objectives: First, to examine the personal and the group effect of economic, legal, ethical, and environmental CSR dimensions on customer satisfaction among the restaurant consumers. Second, to measure the relative power of each of the CSR dimensions (economic, legal, ethical, and environmental) in driving customer satisfaction results in the restaurant industry. Methodology: A quantitative approach was used whereby a questionnaire was administered to customers through structured questionnaires in different restaurants in Lucknow with 369 respondents. The data were discussed with the help of Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and multiple regression. Results: The research confirms the fact that dimensions of CSR play major role in customer satisfaction. Economic CSR is the most impactful with respect to customer satisfaction, followed by environmental, ethical, and legal CSR. The sample size of the research included 369 respondents, where the Kaiser Meyer-Olkin value of adequacy of sampling is 0.826 and the test of Bartlett of sphericity is significant (ƛ2 = 4206.580, df = 105, p < .001). The regression model indicated that it explained 40.7% of the variance in customer satisfaction (R2 = .407), with the economic CSR being the strongest predictor (β =.281, p =.001) where the environmental CSR (β =.257, p =.001), ethical CSR (β =.168, p =.001), and legal CSR (β =.130, p =.012) come behind it. Conclusion: The study has empirically demonstrated that CSR is a strategic source of customer satisfaction in restaurants, which can offer managerial implication of prioritizing CSR activities. CSR as a strategic driver for enhancing customer satisfaction in the restaurant sector context are validated from the study.References
Azimi, M., Sadeghvaziri, F., Ghaderi, Z., & Hall, C. M. (2023). Corporate social responsibility and employer brand personality appeal: Approaches for human resources challenges in the hospitality sector. Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, 1–27. https://doi.org/10.1080/19368623.2023.2258865
Bian, J., Liao, Y., Wang, Y.-Y., & Tao, F. (2021). Analysis of firm CSR strategies. European Journal of Operational Research, 290(3), 914–926. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejor.2020.03.046
Bridges, E., Schramm, M., & Roy, A. (2019). Consumer choices among service brands offering ethical attributes. Service Industries Journal, 39(15–16), 1167–1189. https://doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2018.1502752
Carroll, A. B. (1991). The pyramid of corporate social responsibility: Toward the moral management of organizational stakeholders. Business Horizons, 34(4), 39–48.
Carroll, A. B. (2016). Carroll’s pyramid of CSR: Taking another look. International Journal of Corporate Social Responsibility, 1(1), 3. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40991-016-0004-6
Cristobal-Cipriano, C. M., Arroyo, J., & Romualdo, A. (2022). Corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs in Sarangani Province: Promotion of the triple bottom line framework of sustainability. Journal of Environmental Science & Economics, 1(2), 67–77. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6525999
Farmaki, A. (2019). Corporate social responsibility in hotels: A stakeholder approach. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 31(6), 2297–2320. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-03-2018-0199
Farrington, T., Curran, R., Gori, K., O’Gorman, K. D., & Queenan, C. J. (2017). Corporate social responsibility: Reviewed, rated, revised. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 29(1), 30–47. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-05-2015-0236
Ferrell, O. C., Harrison, D. E., Ferrell, L., & Hair, J. F. (2019). Business ethics, corporate social responsibility, and brand attitudes: An exploratory study. Journal of Business Research, 95, 491–501.
George, D., & Mallery, P. (2003). SPSS for Windows step by step: A simple guide and reference (4th ed.).
Ghaderi, Z., Mirzapour, M., Henderson, J. C., & Richardson, S. (2019). Corporate social responsibility and hotel performance: A view from Tehran, Iran. Tourism Management Perspectives, 29, 41–47. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2018.10.007
Ghaderi, Z., Omidvar, M. S., Hosseini, S., & Hall, C. M. (2025). Corporate social responsibility, customer satisfaction, and trust in the restaurant industry. Journal of Foodservice Business Research, 28(6), 1215–1246.
Gössling, S., & Hall, C. M. (2022). The sustainable chef: The environment in culinary arts, restaurants, and hospitality. Routledge.
Guzzo, R. F., Abbott, J., & Madera, J. M. (2020). A micro-level view of CSR: A hospitality management systematic literature review. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 61(3), 332–352. https://doi.org/10.1177/1938965519892907
Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., & Anderson, R. E. (2010). Multivariate data analysis (7th ed.). Pearson Prentice Hall.
Hanaysha, J. R. (2017). Impact of social media marketing, price promotion, and corporate social responsibility on customer satisfaction. Jindal Journal of Business Research, 6(2), 132–145.
Haron, R., Abdul Subar, N., & Ibrahim, K. (2020). Service quality of Islamic banks: Satisfaction, loyalty, and the mediating role of trust. Islamic Economic Studies, 28(1), 3–23.
Hennig-Thurau, T., Gwinner, K. P., Walsh, G., & Gremler, D. D. (2004). Electronic word-of-mouth via consumer-opinion platforms: What motivates consumers to articulate themselves on the internet? Journal of Interactive Marketing, 18(1), 38–52.
Hwang, J., & Lyu, S. O. (2020). Relationships among green image, consumer attitudes, desire, and customer citizenship behaviour in the airline industry. International Journal of Sustainable Transportation, 14(6), 437–447. https://doi.org/10.1080/15568318.2019.1573280
Hwang, J., Kim, I., & Gulzar, M. A. (2020). Understanding the eco-friendly role of drone food delivery services: Deepening the theory of planned behaviour. Sustainability, 12(4), 1440. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12041440
Ibrahim, N. A. F. (2017). The relationship between corporate social responsibility and employer attractiveness in Egypt: The moderating effect of the individual’s income. Contemporary Management Research, 13(2). https://doi.org/10.7903/cmr.17430
Islam, T., Islam, R., Pitafi, A. H., Xiaobei, L., Rehmani, M., Irfan, M., & Mubarak, M. S. (2021). The impact of corporate social responsibility on customer loyalty: The mediating role of corporate reputation, customer satisfaction, and trust. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 25, 123–135. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2020.07.019
Kaur, P., Talwar, S., Madanaguli, A., Srivastava, S., & Dhir, A. (2022). Corporate social responsibility (CSR) and hospitality sector: Charting new frontiers for restaurant businesses. Journal of Business Research, 144, 1234–1248. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.01.067
Kim, E., & Ham, S. (2016). Restaurants’ disclosure of nutritional information as a corporate social responsibility initiative: Customers’ attitudinal and behavioural responses. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 55, 96–106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2016.02.002
Klaysung, C., Klaysung, S., & Promsiri, T. (2022). Corporate social responsibility (CSR) relationship between customer trust and customer satisfaction on customers’ loyalty in retail business in Thailand. International Journal of Health Sciences, 6(3), 83–95. https://doi.org/10.53730/ijhs.v6ns3.5227
Lee, S., Han, H., Radic, A., & Tariq, B. (2020). Corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a customer satisfaction and retention strategy in the chain restaurant sector. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Management, 45, 348–358. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhtm.2020.09.002
Leninkumar, V. (2017). The relationship between customer satisfaction and customer trust on customer loyalty. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 7(4), 450–465.
