Int. J. Internet Marketing and Advertising, Vol. 14, No.

3, 2020 215

The impact of corporate social responsibility and

customer trust on the relationship between website
information quality and customer loyalty in e-tailing
context

Dung Phuong Hoang*

Faculty of International Business,
Vietnam Banking Academy,
No. 12, Chua Boc Str., Dong Da, Hanoi, Vietnam
Email: dunghp@hvnh.edu.vn
*Corresponding author

Nam Hoai Nguyen

Faculty of Postgraduate,
Vietnam Banking Academy,
No. 12, Chua Boc Str., Dong Da, Hanoi, Vietnam
Email: namnh@hvnh.edu.vn

Abstract: This research seeks to investigate the interrelationships among

information quality, perceived corporate social responsibility (CSR) with a
focus on ethical-legal dimensions, customer trust, and loyalty in the e-tailing
context. An empirical survey on 374 online shoppers was conducted and a
structural equation model was employed to test the hypothesised relationships.
The study’s results indicate that information quality has a significant impact on
both perceived CSR and customer trust, in turn, perceived CSR and customer
trust mediates the relationship between information quality and customer
loyalty upon online shopping environment. This study is noteworthy that it
provides a new theoretical perspective in explaining the path from information
quality to customer trust and loyalty through perceived CSR in e-commerce.
The results suggest that managers need to be aware of perceived CSR as a key
goal and criteria in designing and evaluating the effectiveness of content
marketing strategies.

Keywords: corporate social responsibility; CSR; e-commerce; information

quality; customer trust; customer loyalty; e-trust; e-loyalty; e-tailer; B2C.

Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Hoang, D.P. and

Nguyen, N.H. (2020) ‘The impact of corporate social responsibility and
customer trust on the relationship between website information quality and
customer loyalty in e-tailing context’, Int. J. Internet Marketing and
Advertising, Vol. 14, No. 3, pp.215–235.

Biographical notes: Dung Phuong Hoang is a University Lecturer and

researcher in Marketing and International Business from the Banking
Academy. She received her Master of Science in Marketing from the
University of Birmingham, UK and is currently a Doctoral candidate of

Copyright © 2020 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

216 D.P. Hoang and N.H. Nguyen

Marketing at the National Economics University, Vietnam. Having years

working for the Marketing Department of several companies, she has both
empirical and theoretical background to develop and implement marketing
researches.

Nam Hoai Nguyen is an Associate Dean for the Faculty of Postgraduate, Senior
Lecturer and researcher in Marketing from the Vietnam Banking Academy. He
achieved his Doctorate in Marketing from the Macquarie University, Australia
and has either joint or led many marketing research projects.

1 Introduction

Nowadays, due to the lower costs and popularity of internet connection as well as
inevitable advantages of online shopping to both customers and vendors, businesses all
over the world have focused their resources on the virtual business environment. While
the number of new e-tailers has continued to increase at accelerating rates, the switching
costs to customers in online shopping context are relatively minimal; therefore, it
becomes harder for e-tailers to retain customers. Since online transactions are featured by
anonymity, lack of control and potential opportunism, information is a key prerequisite
for setting up and maintaining customer relationships (Salaün and Flores, 2001).
Specifically, since customers cannot physically interact with products, information
quality plays a vital role in enabling and influencing online consumers’ purchase
decisions (Wixom and Todd, 2005; Kim and Lennon, 2008; Park and Gretzel, 2010).
Recent studies have shown that information quality positively enhances customer
satisfaction (Chhikara and Ankit, 2015), customer trust and loyalty (Floh and
Treiblmaier, 2006; Mithas et al., 2006; Wang et al., 2009). In an attempt to extend
previous research on the impact of information quality and perceived corporate social
responsibility (CSR), we argue that customers’ perception toward an e-tailer’s CSR can
be affected by their evaluation of the online vendor’s website information quality and this
is especially true for their perceptions towards the ethical and legal aspects of CSR. For
instance, if an e-tailer discloses attractive but incomplete and inaccurate information on
its website so as to get as much sales as possible while the products received are not good
as it said, this will cause customers to perceive that e-tailer as unethical. In other words,
poor information quality negatively influences customer perceptions of the vendor’s
ethics and may lead to other negative consequences such as customer distrust and
customer switching.
Enhancing customer perceptions of CSR has increasingly become a vital strategy of
many businesses in the world since perceived CSR have been affirmed as a key
antecedent of customers’ behavioural intention (Diallo and Checkchin, 2015; Du et al.,
2007). The literature on CSR reveals that it is a multi-dimensional concept (Carroll,
1991; McIntosh and Mohan, 1999; de los Salmones et al., 2005). In which, while the
philanthropic aspect of CSR has been focused in many previous researches and even
conceptualised as a strategy in cause-related marketing (Barone et al., 2000), the
ethical-legal dimension of CSR, especially in online retailing context has not been
adequately investigated. In this study, the ethical-legal component of CSR will be tested
since it is more closely related to business ethics and e-tailers’ website information
quality. Specifically, the ethical-legal aspect of CSR will be the focus when measuring
 The impact of corporate social responsibility and customer trust 217

perceived CSR and investigating the interrelationships among perceived CSR and other
variables.
In order to gain insights into how customer perceptions of e-tailers’ CSR are
connected with their evaluation of website information quality as well as customer
behaviour outcomes, this study proposes a conceptual model encompassing perceived
CSR (i.e., especially, the ethical-legal component) and other key variables including
information quality, customer trust and customer loyalty. Upon the aim of investigating
the interrelationships among those constructs, the main research questions are addressed
as below:
RQ1 How is customers’ perception of an e-tailer’s CSR, with the focus on the
ethical-legal dimension, related to the quality of information that the vendor
disclosed on its website, customer trust and loyalty in e-tailing environment?
RQ2 Does e-trust mediate the relationship between information quality and customer
loyalty? In addition, does e-trust mediate the relationship between perceived CSR
and customer loyalty?
This study will begin with theoretical background for the study and proposed hypotheses
that will be tested. Next, upon primary quantitative data collected from survey, an
empirical test of the conceptual model based on a structural equation modelling (SEM)
analysis will be introduced. The results will be then discussed so that some theoretical
and managerial implications are proposed. Finally, the research will discuss some
limitations and present suggestions for future research as conclusion.

2 Theoretical background

2.1 Information quality, customer trust and loyalty

Since website is the vital sales and marketing tool in e-commerce, most researches in this
field have focused on measuring the quality of an online shopping website. The literature
has shown that online website quality can be measured upon four key constructs
including service quality, system quality, information quality and vendor-specific quality
(Alptekin et al., 2015; Çebi, 2013; DeLone and McLean, 2003; Devaraj et al., 2002; Lee
and Kozar, 2006). In which, due to the special features virtual shopping environment
associated with anonymity, lack of physical control, potential opportunism, and
uncertainty information quality has been widely accepted as a critical factor that
significantly influence e-tailers’ success in soliciting new transactions and retaining
existing customers (DeLone and McLean, 2004; Kim et al., 2003). Information quality is
defined by McKinney et al. (2002) as ‘‘users’ perception of the quality of information
presented on a web site.’’ As a multi-dimensional construct, information quality can be
measured upon various components. Table 1 presents the most popular six dimensions of
website information quality drawn from the literature.
Information quality, which refers to various characteristics and features of both verbal
and non-verbal information disclosed at an online store, plays a critical role in supporting
and influencing customers’ purchase decision making (Kim and Lennon, 2008).
Furthermore, information quality helps reduce customers’ perceived risks towards online
218 D.P. Hoang and N.H. Nguyen

shopping, thereby, helps setting up and maintains active relationships between e-tailers
and customers (Salaün and Flores, 2001).
Table 1 Dimensions of information quality

Authors Accuracy Completeness Timeliness Relevance Understandability Usefulness

Alptekin et al. * * * *
(2015)
Agarwal and *
Venkatesh
(2002)
Çebi (2013) *
DeLone and * * *
McLean
(2003)
Devaraj et al. * *
(2002)
Ecer (2014) * *
Janda et al. * *
(2002)
Katerattanakul *
(2002)
Kim and Lim *
(2001)
Lee and Kozar * * *
(2006)
Lin (2007) * *
Nilashi et al. * * *
(2012)
Tung and * *
Chang (2008)
Tzeng et al. *
(2007)
Wang (2003) * *
Webb and *
Webb (2004)
Chang and * * * * *
Chen (2008)

Trust is defined as the customers’ willingness to rely on or cooperate with the exchange
partner in whom they form their confidence, also known as trustee, upon either cognitive
base (i.e., reasoning assessment of trustworthiness) or affective base (i.e., resulted from
care, concern, empathy, etc.) (Sekhon et al., 2014). In the e-tailing context, where
transactions are made within a virtual environment, customer trust, also called e-trust, is a
key construct and an important success factor to all e-tailers (Grabner-Krauter and
Kaluscha, 2003; Mukherjee and Nath, 2007; Jin et al., 2008; Mejia et al., 2009). Further,
trust is driven by performance or creditability which refers to the expectancy that what
the firm say or offer can be relied on and its promises will be kept (Ganesan, 1994;
Doney and Cannon, 1997; Chaudhuri and Holbroook, 2001) and benevolence which is
 The impact of corporate social responsibility and customer trust 219

the extent that the firm cares and works for the customer’s welfare (Ganesan, 1994;
Doney and Cannon, 1997; Sirdeshmukh et al., 2002).
Since e-commerce is featured by virtual exchange environment without physical
interactions or presentation, a customer makes online purchase decision primarily based
on information about the product and the company that are disclosed on the e-tailer’s
website. Thereby, customers are likely to assess the e-tailer’s trustworthiness based on
their comparison between the information they have read or seen on the website and the
actual outcomes they receive in terms of product quality, delivery date, total amount to be
paid, etc. In turn, such perceived trustworthiness about the brand or the company will
form customer trust (Mayer et al., 1995). Therefore, we propose that:
H1 Information quality positively affects customer trust.
Customer loyalty can be categorised into behavioural and attitudinal loyalty
(Algesheimer et al., 2005; Morrison and Crane, 2007; Oliver, 1999; Teo et al., 2003).
Specifically, attitudinal loyalty refers to positive attitude towards a brand or product
driven by ‘good feeling’ and intention to endorse the favourite brand or product with
positive WOM. Meanwhile, behavioural loyalty refers to commitment to rebuy or favour
a particular brand in spite of influences and marketing efforts that may encourage brand
switching. Customer e-loyalty has parallels with the concept of loyalty to a brand or a
company. In this study, both behavioural and attitudinal components are adopted to
measure customer loyalty upon e-tailing environment. Customer e-loyalty is primarily
formed based on past experience that an online shopper has with an e-tailer. Prior
experience provides customers with opportunities and evidences to give evaluation of a
brand or a firm as well as their benefits of maintaining such exchange relationship (Berry,
1999). In which, information quality is one of the crucial factor that forms customers’
overall online shopping experience and evaluation with a brand (Mithas et al., 2006).
Moreover, updated, reliable, helpful and comprehensive source of information is also an
important benefit that make customers stay with an e-tailer (Chhikara and Ankit, 2015;
Wang et al., 2009). In this study, we hypothesise that:
H2 Information quality positively affects customer loyalty.
Customer trust, which is driven by accumulated satisfaction as well as customers’
confidence in the e-tailers’ promise and information or customers’ belief that what the
e-tailer does and says are in favour of them, is a critical factor in evaluating and selecting
online providers, therefore, also a key to maintain customer relationship and gain
customer loyalty (Bee et al., 2012; Chaudhuri and Holbrook, 2001; Chinomona, 2016;
Singh and Sirdeshmukh, 2000). The following hypothesis is, therefore, proposed:
H3 Customer trust positively affects customer loyalty.
Since information quality provides customers evidences to evaluate a brand or a firm in
terms of benevolence, integrity and ability which, in turn, support customers to make
decision of staying with the current e-tailer or switching to new ones, customer trust may
mediate the relationship between information quality and customer loyalty. Consistent
with previous studies that have affirmed the interrelationship between information
quality, customer trust and customer loyalty in which customer trust mediates the effect
of information quality on customer loyalty (Chhikara and Ankit, 2015; Floh and
Treiblmaier, 2006; Mithas et al., 2006; Wang et al., 2009), this study hypothesises that:
220 D.P. Hoang and N.H. Nguyen

H4 Customer trust mediates partially or totally the effect of information quality on

customer loyalty.

2.2 Corporate social responsibility

CSR practices require firms to take into consideration all parties that may be affected by
its actions and use its resources in order to achieve its own economic prosperity while
enhancing welfare of the whole society (D’Amato et al., 2009; Kok et al., 2001). The
literature on CSR reveals different perspectives in terms of which dimensions that CSR
encompasses. However, it is mostly suggested that CSR includes economic, legal, ethical,
environmental and philanthropic components (Carroll, 1991; McIntosh and Mohan, 1999;
de los Salmones et al., 2005; Warhurst, 2001). In an attempt to investigate the role of
CSR as a marketing tool, empirical studies have affirmed that CSR can significantly
influence customers’ behavioural intention (Asatryan, 2002; Diallo and Checkchin, 2015;
Du et al., 2007). In which, most studies have either emphasised the role of the
philanthropic dimension which is conceptualised as a component of cause-related
marketing (Barone et al., 2000; Berger and Kanetkar, 1995; Creyer and Ross, 1997) or
focused on all dimensions at a whole while there are very few research investigating
other dimensions separately, especially in the e-tailing context. In this study, the
ethical-legal dimension is the most relevant to information quality in the e-tailing context
since this a situation in which the quality of information disclosed on the e-tailer’s
website is directly related to ethical reputation and legal disputes that the e-tailer may
involve. Therefore, the ethical-legal component of CSR will be the focus of this study.
In recent years, CSR has increasingly become a vital strategy and priority of many
companies in the world. Besides, CSR has also been the focus of many researches that
investigate the relationships between CSR and other important marketing constructs.
However, most of previous researches on CSR consider perceived CSR as an exogenous
variable and only focus on how perceived CSR affect other variables. Although there are
a few researches in which CSR is treated as an endogenous variable and being affected
by others, there is hardy study investigating the relationship between information quality
and the ethical-legal aspects of CSR in online shopping context. Nowadays, in order to
attract and trigger as much online transactions as possible, many e-tailers disclose
attractive but false or vague information on their websites while the outcomes are not
good as advertised or promised. This practice is not only unethical but also violates the
laws in most countries. Therefore, providing information of high quality so that
customers can have accurate, updated, complete and clear base to make the best
purchasing choices is a simple but critical CSR practice driven by company ethics and
respect to laws. Higher information quality is, therefore, proposed to result in more
favourable customer perceptions of ethical and legal dimensions of CSR. Thus, we
hypothesise that:
H5 Information quality positively affects customer perceptions of the ethical-legal
aspects of an e-tailer’s CSR.
According to Coulter and Coulter (2002), customer trust is closely related to perceptions
of the firm’s integrity, honesty, confidentiality, and ethicality. This perspective is also
supported by both Paine (2000) and Roman (2003) who indicate that ethical behaviour by
 The impact of corporate social responsibility and customer trust 221

either a firm or a salesperson creates a critical basis for reputation and customer trust.
Even in intra-corporate context, the relationship between corporate ethics and trust is also
affirmed (Svensson and Wood, 2004). In line with previous studies, we propose that:
H6 Customer perception of the ethical-legal aspect of CSR positively affects customer
trust.
Previous researches have also affirmed the relationship between firm ethics and purchase
intention and repurchase intention. According to Trawick et al. (1991) and Whalen et al.
(1991), customers’ purchase intention reduces when they perceive the behaviour of the
salesperson or a firm as unethical. Furthermore, adhere to ethical standards helps firms to
gain more customer loyalty and build long-term customer relationship (Gundlach and
Murphy, 1993; Roman, 2003; Maignan and Farrell, 2004). The relationship between
perceived CSR and customer loyalty is explained that favourable consumer perceptions
of CSR yield positive evaluation and positive attitudes towards either products (Berens
et al., 2005) or companies (Brown and Dacin, 1997; Sen and Bhattacharya, 2001). In
turn, brands and firms with favourable perceived CSR are rewarded with stronger loyalty
(Asatryan, 2002; Chun and Bang, 2016; Du et al., 2007). Therefore, in this study, we
hypothesise that:
H7 Customer perception of the ethical-legal aspect of CSR positively affects customer
loyalty.
In offline retailing industry, Diallo and Checkchin (2015) found that perceived CSR not
only directly affects customer loyalty but also strengthens customer loyalty through the
mediating effect of customer trust. In this study, upon e-tailing context, we hypothesise
that:
H8 Customer trust mediates partially or totally the effect of customer perception of the
ethical-legal aspect of CSR on customer loyalty.
Although there have been many researches which investigated and affirmed the direct
impact of information quality on customer trust and customer loyalty (Chhikara and
Ankit, 2015; Floh and Treiblmaier, 2006; Mayer et al., 1995; Mithas et al., 2006; Wang
et al., 2009), there is hardly research which explains the relationship between information
quality and either customer trust or loyalty through the mediating effect of perceived
CSR. Since providing information of high quality in e-retailing may be considered as a
sign of company ethics and respect to laws that, in turn, may help e-tailers strengthen
customer trust and loyalty, we hypothesise that:
H9 Customer perception of the ethical-legal aspect of CSR mediates partially or totally
the effect of information quality on customer loyalty.
H10 Customer perception of the ethical-legal aspect of CSR mediates partially or
totally the effect of customer perception of the ethical-legal aspect of CSR on
customer loyalty.
Figure 1 presents a proposed model for this study which features the hypothesised
relationships.
222 D.P. Hoang and N.H. Nguyen

Figure 1 Proposed model (model 1)

Perceived
CSR
Information Customer
quality loyalty

Customer
trust

3 Research methodology

In order to test the proposed research model, a quantitative survey was designed.
Measurement scales were selected from previous research in both general marketing and
the e-tailing context. Information quality was measured with six items adapted from
Chang and Chen (2008) and Lee and Kozar (2006) covering six dimensions including
accuracy, completeness, relevance, usefulness, understandability and timeliness.
Consistent with the conceptualisation presented earlier, perceived CSR in terms of the
ethical-legal aspect is scored with three items adapted from de los Salmones et al. (2005).
Customer e-trust was tapped through three items proposed by Moorman et al. (1993) and
Xie and Peng (2009). Finally, customer e-loyalty was measured with three items
representing both behavioural and attitudinal components as proposed by Jeon and Jeong
(2017). All these variables were measured by using five-point Likert scale ranging from 1
(i.e., strongly disagree) to 5 (i.e., strongly agree)
The questionnaire was translated into Vietnamese and pretested with 20 Vietnamese
internet users which have ever shopped online so as to make sure the questionnaire’s
comprehension; easy-to-understand language and phraseology; ease of answering;
practicality and length of the survey (Hague et al., 2004). The survey was conducted
during August of 2017. Data collection was conducted through an online questionnaire.
This online survey allows respondents to self-administer where, when and how long they
answer the questionnaire. Besides, the survey will be answered when respondents are
online so that the suitable internet environment aiding their retrieval of episodic memory
about online shopping (Tulving, 2005; Szpunar and McDermott, 2008). At the beginning
of the questionnaire, respondents were asked to list one online retailer which they have
recently made purchases from and all the following questions were regarded to the listed
e-retailer.
The study’s sample consisted of Vietnamese internet users from all walks of life who
have ever shopped online. Non-probability sampling technique with quota sampling
method is employed to drawn an initial sample of 500 respondents. Specifically, each
prospective respondent receives an email in which the purpose of the study, benefit of the
participants and the online survey’s link are presented. Reminders of participation are
also sent per week to enhance the response rate. Finally, 374 questionnaires are filled. As
shown in Table 2, the sample includes 58.56% female and 41.44% males. The larger age
groups were young consumers aged less than 36 years old (78.61%). Most respondents
have shopped online more than three times a month (52.68%) with incomes mostly above
8 million VND (55.35%). As for occupation, officers were the most with 31.55%,
followed by students, self-employed with 30.48% and 22.46% correspondingly.
 The impact of corporate social responsibility and customer trust 223

The product types reported on include foods, cosmetics, handsets, fashion items,
household appliances, laptops, etc. The variety of product types will enhance the
applicability of this study’s results to a wide range of retailers.
Table 2 Respondents’ demographics and relationship length

Indicator Item Frequency %

Gender Male 155 41.44
Female 229 58.56
Age 18–24 117 31.28
25–30 89 23.80
31–35 88 23.53
From 36 and above 80 21.39
Occupation Officers 118 31.55
Students 114 30.48
Self-employing 84 22.46
Others 58 15.51
Online shopping About once a month 98 26.20
frequency From twice to three times a month 79 21.12
From four to five times a month 84 22.46
From six to seven times a month 66 17.65
From eight times and above a month 47 12.57
Monthly income Less than 5 million VND 87 23.26
(VND) From 5 million to less than 8 million 80 21.39
From 8 million to less than 15 million 68 18.18
From 15 million to less than 20 million 68 18.18
From 20 million and above 71 18.99

4 Results

4.1 Assessment of the measurements

We followed the guidance on the use of SEM in practice suggested by Anderson and
Gerbing (1988) and Churchill (1979) to assess the measurement model in terms of overall
fit with the data, reliability and convergent and discriminant validity. Firstly, we
conducted confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) on AMOS 22 to test the convergent
validity of measurement items used for each latent variable. Table 4 shows factor
loadings, t-values and model fit indicators resulted from the CFA. According to CFA
results for multi-item constructs including perceived CSR, information quality, customer
trust and customer loyalty, all factor loadings were statistically significant and higher
than the cut-off value of 0.4 suggested by Nunnally and Bernstein (1994). Besides, a
CFA on the five-factor model also revealed a good model fit (CMIN/df = 1.670; p = .000;
RMR = 0.021; GFI = 0.954; CFI = 0.966; AGFI = 0.934; RMSEA = 0.042; PCLOSE =
0.844). Therefore, we kept all the items for each construct and continued to conduct an
224 D.P. Hoang and N.H. Nguyen

exploratory factor analysis in which four principal factors emerged upon the extraction
method followed by varimax rotation. Overall, the results confirmed the construct
validity and demonstrated the unidimensionality for the measurement of constructs
(Straub, 1989).
Cronbach’s alpha was calculated to evaluate the reliability or the internal consistency
of the constructs. According to results shown in Table 5, the Cronbach’s alpha
coefficients for all four constructs were higher than 0.7, therefore, their reliability were
satisfactory. In addition, average variance extracted (AVE) value for each construct was
acceptable (all exceeded the recommended level of 0.5). The convergent validity of the
constructs was also deemed verified (Fornell and Larcker, 1981).
Discriminant validity is assessed based on the comparison between AVE values and
the squared coefficients. Since all of AVE values are greater than the square of
correlations between each two constructs as shown in Table 5, we confirmed the
discriminant validity of the measurement used (Anderson and Gerbing, 1988).
Table 3 Measurement items

Construct Variable items

Perceived CSR1. The e-tailer always respected the norms defined in the law when
CSR (CSR) carrying out its activities
CSR2. The e-tailer behaved ethically/honestly with its customers
CSR3. The e-tailer expected that ethical principles in its relationships has
priority over achieving superior
Information IQ1. My expected monetary loss resulting from purchasing products from
quality (IQ) the online retailer is high
IQ2. My expected failure of product performance if I buy products from
the online retailer is high
IQ3. If I buy products from the online retailer, I think I will experience
high difficulty in gaining social reorganisation (from family, friends,
etc.)
IQ4. I will feel uneasy psychologically if I buy products from the online
retailer
IQ5. I do not think it is safe to buy products from the online retailer
IQ6. I feel uncertainty as to whether the online retailer is time efficient in
terms of dealing with the order and delivery
Customer SC1. Generally speaking, I trust the e-tailer
trust (CT)
SC2. Overall, I can confidently rely on the e-tailer
SC3. The company is safe to patronise
Customer CL1. I use this online retailer’s website frequently
loyalty (CL)
CL2. I am committed to this online retailer
CL3. I want to recommend this online retailer to my family, friends, and
acquaintances
 The impact of corporate social responsibility and customer trust 225

Table 4 Confirmatory factor analysis results

Construct scale items Mean Standard deviation Factor loading t-value

CSR
CSR1. 3.29 0.828 0.712 ____
CSR2. 3.16 0.847 0.806 10.175
CSR3. 3.22 0.886 0.524 8.478
IQ
IQ1. 3.16 0.65 0.545 8.656
IQ2. 3.16 0.669 0.725 10.670
IQ3. 3.30 0.621 0.714 10.569
IQ4. 3.22 0.654 0.654 9.941
IQ5. 3.17 0.656 0.712 10.550
IQ6. 2.95 0.693 0.610 ____
CT
CT1. 3.60 0.705 0.678 9.281
CT2. 3.27 0.709 0.612 8.819
CT3. 3.68 0.723 0.681 ____
CL
CL1. 3.30 0.782 0.754 ____
CL2. 3.32 0.79 0.778 12.190
CL3. 3.17 0.832 0.705 11.677
Note: Measurement model fit details: CMIN/df = 1.670; p = .000; RMR = 0.021;
GFI = 0.954; CFI = 0.966; AGFI = 0.934; RMSEA = 0.042; PCLOSE = 0.844;
‘___’ denotes loading fixed to 1.
Table 5 Average variance extracted, inter-construct correlation and reliability

CSR IQ CT CL Cronbach’s alpha

CSR AVE = 0.592 0.713
IQ 0.116 AVE = 0.493 0.821
CT 0.141 0.107 AVE = 0.558 0.694
CL 0.093 0.105 0.139 AVE = 0.653 0.787

4.2 Hypothesis testing

The hypothesised relationships were tested using SEM on AMOS 22. The structural
model has a statistically significant chi-square value (chi-square = 167.729; df = 84;
p = 0.000). Other model fit indices are also within an acceptable range (RMR = 0.021;
GFI = 0.954; CFI = 0.966; AGFI = 0.934; RMSEA = 0.042; PCLOSE = 0.844). The
proposed model as shown in Figure 1, therefore, was deemed to fit the data well.
Table 6 demonstrates the estimated standardised structural coefficients for the
hypothesised associations among the constructs and their significance in the original
226 D.P. Hoang and N.H. Nguyen

proposed model or model 1. According to the path analysis results as shown for model 1,
all of information quality, perceived CSR and customer trust have significant positive
effects on customer loyalty, therefore, support H2, H3 and H7. In addition, the positive
impacts of information quality on both perceived CSR and customer trust are
significantly affirmed (support H1 and H5). Moreover, customer perception of the
ethical-legal aspect of CSR is also found to significantly and positively affect customer
trust (support H6).
In the original proposed model, there are two hypothesised mediators to be tested
including perceived CSR and customer trust. In order to test their mediating roles, we
conducted a mediation analysis using SEM in which different rival models are compared
following the guidance and conditions suggested by Baron and Kenny (1986).

Figure 2 Model 2

Customer
trust
Information Customer
quality loyalty

Figure 3 Model 3

Perceived
CSR
Information Customer
quality loyalty

Table 6 Path coefficients

Model 2 (without
Construct path Model 1 (original) Model 3 (without CT)
perceived CSR)
IQ to CSR 0.148* ___ 0.138*
IQ to CT 0.360** 0.411** ___
IQ to CL 0.376** 0.426** 0.503**
CSR to CT 0.335* ___ ___
CSR to CL 0.411* ___ 0.526**
CT to CL 0.309** 0.352** ___
Fit indices
CMIN/df 1.670 2.156 1.708
CFI 0.966 0.956 0.973
GFI 0.954 0.954 0.963
AGFI 0.934 0.930 0.943
RMR 0.021 0.021 0.021
RMSEA 0.042 0.056 0.044
PCLOSE 0.844 0.243 0.739
Note: *p < 0.05 and **p < 0.001.
 The impact of corporate social responsibility and customer trust 227

Specifically, in order to test the mediating role of perceived CSR in the effect of
information quality on either customer trust or loyalty, we firstly regress perceived CSR
(the mediator) on information quality (the independent variable) as in model 3 (see
Figure 3) as well as regress customer trust and loyalty (the dependent variables) on
information quality as in model 2 (see Figure 2) and finally regress customer trust and
loyalty on both information quality and perceived CSR as in model 1 (see Figure 1). The
regression results as shown in Table 6 reveal that:
• information quality significantly affects perceived CSR in model 3
• information quality significantly affects both customer trust and loyalty in model 2
(when perceived CSR is absent)
• in the full model 1, perceived CSR significantly affects both customer trust and
loyalty and the effect of information quality on either customer trust or customer
loyalty is less than that in the model 2.
According to the mediating conditions suggested by Baron and Kenny (1986), these
results indicate that perceived CSR mediates partially the effect of information quality on
both customer trust and customer loyalty (support H9 and H10).
Similarly, in order to test the mediating role of customer trust in the effects of
information quality and perceived CSR on customer loyalty, we firstly regress customer
trust (the mediator) on information quality and perceived CSR (the independent
variables) as in model 1 (see Figure 1) as well as regress customer loyalty (the dependent
variable) on information quality and perceived CSR as in model 3 (see Figure 3) and
finally regress customer loyalty on both customer trust, information quality and perceived
CSR as in model 1 (see Figure 1). The regression results as shown in Table 6 reveal that:
• both information quality and perceived CSR significantly affect customer trust in
model 1
• both information quality and perceived CSR significantly affect customer loyalty in
model 3 (when customer trust is absent)
• In the full model 1, customer trust significantly affects customer loyalty and the
effect of either information quality or perceived CSR on the customer loyalty is less
than that in the model 3
According to the mediating conditions suggested by Baron and Kenny (1986), these
results indicate that customer trust mediates partially the effect of either information
quality or perceived CSR on customer loyalty (support H4 and H8).

5 Discussion and implications

Firstly, this study aimed to investigate the effect of information quality on customer
perceptions of e-tailers’ CSR in terms of ethical and legal aspects, customer trust and
customer loyalty. Secondly, we examined the mediating role of perceived CSR in the
relationship between information quality and either customer trust and customer loyalty.
Finally, the mediating role of customer trust in enhancing customer loyalty through
providing quality information and gaining good perceived CSR were further tested.
228 D.P. Hoang and N.H. Nguyen

5.1 The effect of information quality on perceived CSR in e-tailing environment,

customer trust and customer loyalty
Since the e-tailers and their offerings are not physically presented in the virtual shopping
environment, information quality is the key to success of any e-tailers since it directly
and primarily influence customer’s online purchasing decision (DeLone and McLean,
2004; Huizingh, 2000). Although information is a critical prerequisite for starting a
relationship with customers (Salaün and Flores, 2001), information quality helps
strengthen such relationship. Specifically, consistent with previous researches, this
study’s results affirm that information quality helps enhancing customer trust and loyalty
(Chhikara and Ankit, 2015; Floh and Treiblmaier, 2006; Mithas et al., 2006; Wang et al.,
2009). The relationship between information quality and either customer trust or loyalty
can be explained that providing accurate information about products and services enables
e-retailers keep their promises while disclosing updated, useful, updated, complete and
clear information makes customers believe that the e-tailer is working for their welfare.
Overall, information quality helps improve both creditability and benevolence, two
dimensions of customer trust. Moreover, since the information disclosed on the e-tailer’s
websites affects directly customers’ expectations of what they will receive, providing
quality information will not only improve the e-tailer’s trustworthiness but also helps the
e-tailer meet customers’ expectations within its capacity. Eventually, customers will be
more satisfied and become loyalty with the e-tailer.
Extending previous studies on the outcomes of information quality, this empirical
research reveals the evidence of the impact that information quality has on customers’
perceptions of CSR. Specifically, the spillover effect of information quality is not only
limited to enhancing customer trust and gaining more loyalty. Rather, providing quality
information on e-commerce websites is perceived as a positive sign of corporate ethics
and respect to laws, two critical dimensions of perceived CSR which, in turn, strengthen
long-term customer relationships.

5.2 The direct and mediating effect of perceived CSR on customer trust and
loyalty
Corporate ethics, a critical dimension of perceived CSR, has been affirmed as an
important determinant of the supplier – customer relationship quality (Lagace et al.,
1991). In an attempt to further get insights into the relationships between perceived CSR
and other marketing constructs, the present research focused on the relationships between
perceived CSR upon the ethical-legal dimensions and customer trust and loyalty in the
e-tailing environment.
Previous studies have found the direct link between corporate ethics and other
marketing construct since either ethical business practices or ethical employee behaviour
positively influence customer trust (Paine, 2000; Roman, 2003). Moreover, the
relationship between customer perception of corporate ethics and their loyalty has also
been affirmed (Gundlach and Murphy, 1993; Roman, 2003). Extending the pervious
researches, this study results demonstrate that the ethical-legal aspects of perceived CSR
not only directly influence customer trust and customer loyalty but also have mediating
effect on the relationship between the quality of information provided by the e-tailer and
either customer trust or loyalty. These effects can be explained that providing accurate,
complete, updated, relevant, useful and understandable information on e-commerce
 The impact of corporate social responsibility and customer trust 229

website is perceived as a sign of corporate ethics and the e-tailer’s respect to laws. In
turn, customers prefer to place their trust and loyalty on e-tailers which maintain ethical
and legal standards since they feel that their rights and benefits will be protected in such
exchange relationships. These findings are particularly noteworthy since this is the first
study investigating and explaining the paths from information quality to customer trust
and loyalty through perceived CSR with the focus on ethical-legal aspects in the online
shopping context.

5.3 The mediating role of customer trust

Since online transactions are featured by anonymity, lack of control and potential
opportunism that result in high perceived risks, doubt, and uncertainties, e-trust has been
found as a key determinants of customer loyalty in online retailing (Grabner-Krauter and
Kaluscha, 2003; Mukherjee and Nath, 2007; Jin et al., 2008; Mejia et al., 2009).
Therefore, it is very important that e-tailers must build and maintain customer trust as a
way to maintain their relationship with customers in such a virtual shopping environment.
The findings show that customer trust plays a key mediating role in the relationship
between information quality and customer loyalty. So, as to effectively gain customer
loyalty, the information should be accurate, complete, relevant, useful, updated and
understandable enough to build customer trust first. In addition, this study’s results also
suggest that customer trust serves as a mediating variable in the relationship between
customers’ perceptions of CSR and loyalty. The partial mediating effect of customer trust
indicates that the influence of consumers’ favourable perceptions of CSR on customer
loyalty can be partially explained that positive perceived CSR helps build more customer
trust and customer trust, in turn, strengthen loyalty. Among various customer retention
strategies in e-tailing context, customer trust is a critical intermediate step in maintaining
long-term customer relationship, the fundamental focus of relationship marketing. It
mediates not only the relationship between not only information quality but also
perceived CSR and customer loyalty. Building customer trust is, therefore, pivotal in
e-commerce because it significantly enhances the effects of information quality and
perceived CSR on loyalty.

6 Managerial implications

This research’s findings highlight the role of information quality and perceived CSR in
e-tailing environment. Accordingly, e-store managers should, firstly, be aware of
customers’ perceptions of CSR as a key variable in building customer trust and gaining
loyalty. Besides, providing accurate, complete, relevant, useful, updated and
understandable information that supports customers’ purchase decision making has been
known to lead to enhance customer relationship quality including higher customer
satisfaction, stronger loyalty, and favourable word-of-mouth. In addition to these
outcomes, this study’s results suggest that information quality significantly influences on
perception of CSR in terms of the ethical-legal aspects and that perceived CSR, in turn,
enhances customer trust and loyalty. Moreover, this research also further suggests that
perceived CSR has not only a direct impact on customer loyalty but also an indirect effect
on loyalty through customer trust. The relationship between information quality and
230 D.P. Hoang and N.H. Nguyen

perceived CSR with a focus on the ethical-legal dimension as well as their critical roles
as identified in the present study indicates that e-tailer managers should pay more
attention to the effect of information quality, recognise the influence of perceived CSR as
well as be aware of the link between content marketing and CSR in managing customer
relationship. Managers often evaluate the effectiveness of content marketing based on the
attractiveness and persuasiveness of information disclosed on websites through indicators
including impact factors, click-through rates, numbers of views, likes and shares, etc.
However, this study provides evidences that information quality in terms of accuracy,
completeness, timeliness, understandability, relevance and usefulness is actually the key
variable which affects perceptions of CSR and helps e-tailers to build trust and gain
loyalty. Since information quality is perceived as the sign of corporate ethics and respect
to laws that in turn, maintain long-term exchange relationship, managers can obtain
significant benefits by integrating content marketing strategies with CSR initiatives.
On the other hand, this research also affirms the partial mediating roles of perceived
CSR and customer trust in the relationship between information quality and customer
loyalty. This finding indicates that although information quality has a direct impact on
customer loyalty, this effect is even stronger if the e-tailer attempts to provide high
quality information to the extent that can ensure a higher level of perceived CSR and
customer trust. In other words, enhancing consumers’ perceived CSR and gaining more
customer trust are crucial intermediate phases in converting information quality into
customer loyalty. Therefore, in designing, implementing and evaluating content
marketing strategies, managers should carefully plan its message as well as add more
goals and evaluating criteria that the message or information disclosed on the
e-commerce website should not only ensure information quality itself but also enhance
customer trust and perceived CSR.

7 Limitations and suggestion for future research

First, although ethical and legal dimensions are primary components of perceived CSR,
given that CSR is considered a broad and multidimensional concept which encompass the
economic, philanthropic and environmental aspects in addition to the ethical-legal ones,
we recommend that future research to investigating further the relationship between
perceived CSR with full five dimensions and the other marketing variables such as
customer satisfaction, switching costs, perceived risks, customer trust and loyalty.
Second, despite of the fact that the participants answer the questionnaire based on
their memory of their recent actual online transactions with e-tailers, the quality of data
used for this research may be affected by recall bias (Tax et al., 1998). This concern may
be resolved by using experimental methods in future researches. Specifically, setting
experimental scenarios in which participants face different level of information quality
during their online shopping process may yield less biased results. However, in these
experiments, participants may feel less involved in the situations since they lose nothing
actually, accordingly, their responses may be less valid than that in actual situations when
they use their own money for shopping. Nevertheless, this approach is still worth a
complement to the present study.
 The impact of corporate social responsibility and customer trust 231

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