A survey of 436 Thai beer consumers used covariance-based structural equation modelling to examine links among corporate evaluations, perceptions of four CSR domains, brand love and purchase intention. Favourable corporate evaluations were positively associated with perceptions of consumer-, society-, community- and environment-focused CSR. Only consumer- and society-focused CSR perceptions were positively associated with brand love; community and environmental perceptions were not. Brand love statistically mediated links from the first two domains to purchase intention. The study supports treating CSR as multidimensional, but does not establish causality or actual purchases and should not be used to minimise alcohol-related health risks.
Key findings
- Favourable corporate evaluation was positively associated with perceptions of all four CSR domains, indicating that overall company appraisal and CSR interpretation moved together.
- Consumer-focused and society-focused CSR perceptions were positively associated with brand love in the model.
- Community- and environment-focused CSR perceptions were not associated with brand love, cautioning against combining all four domains and assuming equal effects.
- Brand love statistically mediated links from consumer- and society-focused CSR perceptions to purchase intention, but survey mediation does not establish temporal order.
- The endpoint was purchase intention—not sales, drinking behaviour or health—and the abstract reports no effect sizes, preventing quantitative ranking of paths.
Why this matters globally
The findings matter for CSR research in harm-linked industries such as alcohol, tobacco, gambling or unhealthy food because consumers distinguish among initiative domains. Application needs governance against CSR-washing and should evaluate stakeholder benefit, health risk and actual behaviour—not only brand love or sales potential.
Thai researcher contribution
Researchers from Chulalongkorn University and Rajamangala University of Technology Krungthep brought Thailand's regulated beer-communication context into a domain-specific CSR model, expanding corporate-communication evidence in Asian markets and socially controversial industries.
Limitations to consider
Perceptions and intentions came from one survey, creating common-method, social-desirability and consistency risks; CB-SEM does not turn them into causal evidence. Temporal direction is unresolved: corporate evaluation may colour CSR perceptions or vice versa. Purchase intention is not actual purchasing. The accessible abstract omits sampling frame, response rate, population profile, coefficients and fit statistics. Thai beer consumers under a specific communication regime may not generalise to other countries, brands or industries, and the study did not measure realised CSR benefits or public-health effects.
Verify the original sources
Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental ManagementCorporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management (Wiley)↗DOI: 10.1002/csr.71062