Exploring the relationships between Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Brand Equity (BE) and Corporate Reputation (CR): A Systematic Literature Review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5585/2025.26750Keywords:
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Brand Equity (BE), Customer-Based Brand Equity (CBBE), Corporate Reputation (CR), Systematic Literature Review (SLR)Abstract
Purpose: This study analyzes, through a Systematic Literature Review, the relationships between Corporate Social Responsibility, Consumer-Based Brand Equity, and Corporate Reputation, evidenced by the literature.
Method: We used the SPAR-4-SLR protocol to investigate existing scientific literature and examined scientific articles published in the Scopus and Web of Science databases.
Results: The results highlight the growing importance of these themes in the literature and provide a deeper understanding of the relationships between CSR, RC, and BE and their impacts on company results, providing valuable insights for researchers and professionals dedicated to understanding the interactions between these themes.
Originality: This study addresses a gap in the literature by conducting an SLR that investigates the relationships between CSR, BE, and RC, providing a comprehensive overview of the current state of research in the area and providing important findings for advancing discoveries in the field.
Theoretical Contributions: The findings highlight the importance of an ethical and transparent approach to CSR practices, contributing to a more comprehensive literature on reputation and brand equity management in the contemporary business context.
Managerial Implications: Companies can benefit from integrating CSR as a fundamental part of their business strategy, aiming not only to build a positive reputation but also to create long-term value for the brand and its stakeholders.
Downloads
References
Aggarwal, A., & Saxena, N. (2023). Examining the relationship between corporate social responsibility, corporate reputation and brand equity in Indian banking industry. Journal of Public Affairs, 23(1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1002/pa.2838
Agus Harjoto, M., & Salas, J. (2017). Strategic and institutional sustainability: corporate social responsibility, brand value, and Interbrand listing. Journal of Product and Brand Management, 26(6), 545–558. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-07-2016-1277
Albus, H., & Ro, H. (2017). Corporate Social Responsibility: The Effect Of Green Practices In A Service Recovery. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research, 41(1), 41–65. https://doi.org/10.1177/1096348013515915
Almeida, M. G., & Coelho, A. (2017). Um modelo de relação causal ligando a reputação corporativa e o valor da marca baseado no cliente : A perspectiva do cliente. Academia Revista Latinoamericana de Administracion, 30(2), 249–268. https://doi.org/10.1108/ARLA-09-2015-0253
Alvarado-Herrera, A., Bigne, E., Aldas-Manzano, J., & Curras-Perez, R. (2017). A Scale for Measuring Consumer Perceptions of Corporate Social Responsibility Following the Sustainable Development Paradigm. Journal of Business Ethics, 140(2), 243–262. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-015-2654-9
Andreoli, T. (2023). Educação formal dos consumidores como ação regulatória das práticas de greenwashing e bluewashing. Revista de Educação Ambiental, 28(1), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.14295/ambeduc.v28i1.15150
Andreoli, T., & Nogueira, A. C. (2021). Falsos discursos mercadológicos: greenwashing X bluewashing. Revista Pensamento Contemporâneo Em Administração, 15(2), 69–87. https://doi.org/10.12712/rpca.v15i2.48890
Andreoli, T. P., Crespo, A., & Minciotti, S. (2017). What has been (short) written about greenwashing: a bibliometric research and a critical analysis of the articles found regarding this theme. Revista de Gestão Social e Ambiental-RGSA, 11(2), 54–72. https://doi.org/10.24857/rgsa.v11i2.1294
Andreoli, T. P., Minciotti, S. A., & Batista, L. L. (2024). Attention and Skepticism: Influence on Ad Evaluation with Greenwashing. Brazilian Business Review, 21. https://doi.org/10.15728/bbr.2023.1539.en
Araujo, J., Pereira, I. V., & Santos, J. (2023). The Effect of Corporate Social Responsibility on Brand Image and Brand Equity and Its Impact on Consumer Satisfaction. Administrative Sciences, 13(5), 118. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14106033
Aria, M., & Cuccurullo, C. (2017). bibliometrix: An R-tool for comprehensive science mapping analysis. Journal of Informetrics, 11(4), 959–975. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joi.2017.08.007
Benitez, J., Ruiz, L., Llorens, J., & Castillo, A. (2017). Corporate social responsibility, employer reputation, and social media capability: An empirical investigation. Proceedings of the 25th European Conference on Information Systems, ECIS 2017, 2017, 950–967.
Berliner, D., & Prakash, A. (2015). “Bluewashing” the firm? Voluntary regulations, program design, and member compliance with the united nations global compact. Policy Studies Journal, 43(1), 115–138. https://doi.org/10.1111/psj.12085
Braga Junior, S., Martínez, M. P., Correa, C. M., Moura-Leite, R. C., & Da Silva, D. (2019). Greenwashing effect, attitudes, and beliefs in green consumption. RAUSP Management Journal, 54(2), 226–241. https://doi.org/10.1108/RAUSP-08-2018-0070
Calabrese, A., Costa, R., & Rosati, F. (2016). Gender differences in customer expectations and perceptions of corporate social responsibility. Journal of Cleaner Production, 116, 135–149. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.12.100
Casimiro Almeida, M. G., & Coelho, A. (2017). A causal relationship model linking corporate reputation and customer-based brand equity: A customer perspective. Academia Revista Latinoamericana de Administracion, 30(2), 249–268. https://doi.org/10.1108/ARLA-09-2015-0253
Ceciliano, P. H., Da Costa Vieira, P. R., & Magalhães da Silva, A. C. (2021). The influence of corporate social responsibility on corporate brand equity: a study with structural equation modeling. Independent Journal of Management & Production, 12(4), 815–831. https://doi.org/10.14807/ijmp.v12i4.1380
Chakraborty, A., & Jha, A. (2019). Corporate social responsibility in marketing: a review of the state-of-the-art literature. Journal of Social Marketing, 9(4), 418–446. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSOCM-01-2019-0005
Chaudhry, A. A., & Ramakrishnan, S. A. L. (2019). Corporate social responsibility, brand equity, and shareholder value: Theoretical and conceptual perspectives. International Journal of Recent Technology and Engineering, 8(2 Special Issue 9), 22–31. https://doi.org/10.35940/ijrte.B1006.0982S919
Chersan, I. C., Dumitru, V. F., Gorgan, C., & Gorgan, V. (2020). Green public procurement in the academic literature. Amfiteatru Economic, 22(53), 83–102. https://doi.org/10.24818/EA/2019/53/82
Degenhart, L., Vogt, M., & Hein, N. (2018). Financial Performance Of Relationship With The Corporate Social Responsibility Of Brazilian. Revista Metropolitana de Sustentabilidade, 8(1), 28–51.
Du, S., Bhattacharya, C. B., & Sen, S. (2007). Reaping relational rewards from corporate social responsibility: The role of competitive positioning. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 24(3), 224–241. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijresmar.2007.01.001
Elsbach, K. D., & Van Knippenberg, D. (2020). Creating High-Impact Literature Reviews: An Argument for ‘Integrative Reviews.’ Journal of Management Studies, 57(6), 1277–1289. https://doi.org/10.1111/joms.12581
Fatma, M., Rahman, Z., & Khan, I. (2015). Building company reputation and brand equity through CSR: the mediating role of trust. International Journal of Bank Marketing, 33(6), 840–856. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJBM-11-2014-0166
Fatmawati, I., & Fauzan, N. (2021). Building Customer Trust through Corporate Social Responsibility: The Effects of Corporate Reputation and Word of Mouth. Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business, 8(3), 0793–0805. https://doi.org/10.13106/jafeb.2021.vol8.no3.0793
Fraihat, B. A. M., Bataineh, K. A., Alnemi, E. A. S., Ahmad, Y. A. B., Daoud, M. K., & Almasarweh, M. S. (2023). How corporate social responsibility enhances reputation, and organizational brand image? Journal of Namibian Studies, 2, 33–35. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.59670/jns.v33i.1404
Freitas Netto, S. V., Sobral, M. F. F., Ribeiro, A. R. B., & Soares, G. R. da L. (2020). Concepts and forms of greenwashing: a systematic review. Environmental Sciences Europe, 32(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12302-020-0300-3
Gálvez-Sánchez, F. J., Molina-Prados, A., Molina-Moreno, V., & Moral-Cuadra, S. (2024). Exploring the three-dimensional effect of corporate social responsibility on brand equity, corporate reputation, and willingness to pay. A study of the fashion industry. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 79, 103836. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2024.103836
Geng, L., Cui, X., Nazir, R., & Binh An, N. (2022). How do CSR and perceived ethics enhance corporate reputation and product innovativeness? Economic Research-Ekonomska Istrazivanja , 35(1), 5131–5149. https://doi.org/10.1080/1331677X.2021.2023604
Gilal, F. G., Channa, N. A., Gilal, N. G., Gilal, R. G., Gong, Z., & Zhang, N. (2020). Corporate social responsibility and brand passion among consumers: Theory and evidence. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 27(5), 2275–2285. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.1963
Gu, X., & Blackmore, K. L. (2017). Towards a Broader Understanding of Journal Impact: Measuring Relationships between Journal Characteristics and Scholarly Impact. International Journal of Educational and Pedagogical Sciences, 11(10).
Gusenbauer, M., & Haddaway, N. R. (2020). Which academic search systems are suitable for systematic reviews or meta-analyses? Evaluating retrieval qualities of Google Scholar, PubMed, and 26 other resources. Research Synthesis Methods, 11(2), 181–217. https://doi.org/10.1002/jrsm.1378
Guzmán, F., & Davis, D. (2017). The impact of corporate social responsibility on brand equity: consumer responses to two types of fit. Journal of Product and Brand Management, 26(5), 435–446. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-06-2015-0917
Heinberg, M., Ozkaya, H. E., & Taube, M. (2018). Do corporate image and reputation drive brand equity in India and China? - Similarities and differences. Journal of Business Research, 86(September 2016), 259–268. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2017.09.018
Hsu, K. T. (2012). The Advertising Effects of Corporate Social Responsibility on Corporate Reputation and Brand Equity: Evidence from the Life Insurance Industry in Taiwan. Journal of Business Ethics, 109(2), 189–201. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-011-1118-0
Hulland, J., & Houston, M. B. (2020). Why systematic review papers and meta-analyses matter: an introduction to the special issue on generalizations in marketing. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 48(3), 351–359. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-020-00721-7
Hur, W. M., Kim, H., & Woo, J. (2014). How CSR Leads to Corporate Brand Equity: Mediating Mechanisms of Corporate Brand Credibility and Reputation. Journal of Business Ethics, 125(1), 75–86. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-013-1910-0
Kim, Baloglu, & Henthorne. (2021). Signaling effects of branded amenities on customer-based brand equity. Journal of Hospitality Marketing and Management, 30(4), 508–527. https://doi.org/10.1080/19368623.2021.1846651
Kim, Y., Hur, W. M., & Lee, L. (2023). Understanding customer participation in CSR activities: The impact of perceptions of CSR, affective commitment, brand equity, and corporate reputation. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 75, 103436. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2023.103436
Lai, C. S., Chiu, C. J., Yang, C. F., & Pai, D. C. (2010). The effects of corporate social responsibility on brand performance: The mediating effect of industrial brand equity and corporate reputation. Journal of Business Ethics, 95(3), 457–469. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-010-0433-1
Liu, M., & Lu, W. (2021). Corporate social responsibility, firm performance, and firm risk: the role of firm reputation. Asia-Pacific Journal of Accounting and Economics, 28(5), 525–545. https://doi.org/10.1080/16081625.2019.1601022
Martínez, M. P., Cremasco, C. P., Gabriel Filho, L. R. A., Braga Junior, S. S., Bednaski, A. V., Quevedo-Silva, F., Correa, C. M., da Silva, D., & Moura-Leite Padgett, R. C. (2020). Fuzzy inference system to study the behavior of the green consumer facing the perception of greenwashing. Journal of Cleaner Production, 242. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.03.060
Martínez, P., & Nishiyama, N. (2019). Enhancing customer-based brand equity through CSR in the hospitality sector. International Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Administration, 20(3), 329–353. https://doi.org/10.1080/15256480.2017.1397581
Newburry, W. (2010). Reputation and supportive behavior: Moderating impacts of foreignness, industry and local exposure. Corporate Reputation Review, 12(4), 388–405. https://doi.org/10.1057/crr.2009.27
Newburry, W., Deephouse, D. L., & Gardberg, N. A. (2019). Global aspects of reputation and strategic management. Research in Global Strategic Management, 18, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1064-485720190000018009
Paul, J., Lim, W. M., O’Cass, A., Hao, A. W., & Bresciani, S. (2021). Scientific procedures and rationales for systematic literature reviews (SPAR-4-SLR). International Journal of Consumer Studies, 45, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijcs.12695
Peloza, J., & Shang, J. (2011). How can corporate social responsibility activities create value for stakeholders? A systematic review. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 39(1), 117–135. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-010-0213-6
Pérez, A., & Rodríguez del Bosque, I. (2015). An Integrative Framework to Understand How CSR Affects Customer Loyalty through Identification, Emotions and Satisfaction. Journal of Business Ethics, 129(3), 571–584. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-014-2177-9
Petrick, J. F. (2002). Development of a multi-dimensional scale for measuring the perceived value of a service. Journal of Leisure Research, 34(2), 119–134. https://doi.org/10.1080/00222216.2002.11949965
Pfajfar, G., Shoham, A., Małecka, A., & Zalaznik, M. (2022). Value of corporate social responsibility for multiple stakeholders and social impact – Relationship marketing perspective. Journal of Business Research, 143, 46–61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.01.051
Porter, M. E., & Kramer, M. R. (2006). The link between competitive advantage and corporate social responsibility. Harvard Business Review, 84(12), 78–92.
Rivera, J. J., Bigne, E., & Curras-Perez, R. (2019). Effects of Corporate Social Responsibility on consumer brand loyalty. Brazilian Journal of Business Management, 21(3), 395–415. https://doi.org/10.7819/rbgn.v21i3.4003
Singh, A., & Verma, P. (2017). Investigating the Nexus of Corporate Social Responsibility and Brand Equity A Systematic Review. Prabandhan: Indian Journal of Management, 10(2), 7–25. https://doi.org/10.17010/pijom/2017/v10i2/110625
Tan, P. L., Rasoolimanesh, S. M., & Manickam, G. (2022). How corporate social responsibility affects brand equity and loyalty? A comparison between private and public universities. Heliyon, 8(4), e09266. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e09266
Wang, H. M., Yu, T. H. K., & Hsiao, C. Y. (2021). The Causal Effect of Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Reputation on Brand Equity: A Fuzzy-Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis. Journal of Promotion Management, 27(5), 630–641. https://doi.org/10.1080/10496491.2020.1851851
Yoo, B., & Donthu, N. (2001). Developing and validating a multidimensional consumer-based brand equity scale. Journal of Business Research, 52(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0148-2963(99)00098-3
Zanedin, S., Gelson, M., Taffarel, M., & Menon, J. L. (2023). Reputação Corporativa: uma análise das produções científicas no Brasil. Reunir Revista de Administração, Ciências Contábeis e Sustentabilidade, 13(2), 114–128.
Zhao, Y., Abbas, M., Samma, M., Ozkut, T., Munir, M., & Rasool, S. F. (2021). Exploring the Relationship Between Corporate Social Responsibility, Trust, Corporate Reputation, and Brand Equity. Frontiers in Psychology, 12(November), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.766422
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Isabela Marques Kumer, Sirlei Glasenapp, Marta Olivia Rovedder de Oliveira, David Lorenzi Junior
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
- Abstract 283
- PDF 287
