THE IMPACT OF HOPEBOX CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY ON BRAND LOYALTY: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF CONSUMER TRUST
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35631/AIJBES.829079Keywords:
Brand Loyalty, Commercial Responsibility, Consumer Trust, Corporate Social Responsibility, Hopebox ProgramAbstract
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become an important marketing tool because of worries about the environment, globalization, and rising social expectations. Today's consumers want companies to act morally and actively solve social and environmental problems. Organizations are therefore moving from conventional advertising toward more community-oriented and ethical marketing techniques. Beyond charitable endeavors, CSR has become a key component of brand positioning and differentiation that helps companies to establish trust, improve reputation, and keep their competitiveness in a society-aware market. This study explores the connection between brand loyalty and CSR activities, with a special emphasis on the mediating part of consumer trust in the context of the Hopebox Program at a private university in Selangor. The Hopebox Program is an illustration of how universities may lead social responsibility by means of volunteer-driven food distribution projects meant to lower social exclusion and assist underprivileged metropolitan areas. From 120 respondents chosen with purposive sampling, including those enrolled in media studies and communication-related programs, quantitative data were gathered through survey questionnaires. To assess the measurement and structural models, the gathered data were examined using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). The results show that social and ethical responsibility greatly improve brand loyalty, but commercial responsibility does not noticeably affect it. Moreover, consumer trust controls the link between brand loyalty and social responsibility, therefore stressing its crucial part in strengthening stakeholder involvement. This study helps to improve brand value of companies looking to do so via practical consequences for higher education and volunteer-based settings by expanding knowledge of CSR. The results also show how, by tackling food insecurity and supporting social inclusion, CSR initiatives help the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities). Still, the concentration on one organization reduces generalisability; hence, more study should investigate many educational environments for more general comparative knowledge.
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