The effects of corporate social responsibility practices on product purchase intention in the airline transport industry: A research on the mediation roles of the reputation and trust

Consumers make lots of daily purchase decisions. In the decision-making processes, there are lots of factors that make an impact on decisions of the consumers. Just as these factors might be directly related to the products, they can also be the factors that reflect life phiolosphy of the consumer and complete the product. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices is one of these factors. The effect of the fact that the brand or the main company takes part in the CSR projects, on the decision-making process of the consumers has been long discussed in the literature. Another factor in our country that is not in other countries and affects CSR is the belief that aid should be made secret. Whether the desired results can be obtained from CSR practices made for promotional purposes due to this belief is a subject that is discussed. With the model developed in this study, it examines the direct effect of CSR practices on product purchase intention and the mediating effect of trust and reputation variables. In the context of this study conducted in the airlines industry, consumer perceptions on CSR, trust, reputation and product purchase intentions were intended to be determined. Through convenience sampling, 331 participants, among whom age (18-65), income and education varied, were selected for the study. To reach the purpose of the study, structured equation modelling (SEM), which is one of the prominent quantitative methods, was used. In line with the results of the analyses, it was identified that CSR practices do not have a direct effect on purchase intention; however, the indirect effect of CSR practices on purchase intention was mediated by trust and reputation. This finding suggests that trust and reputation are important predictor variables on the link between CSR and purchase intention. As a result, consumers regard Turkish Airlines (THY) more reputable and trustworthy firm than Pegasus, and believe that THY fulfills its CSR practices more effectively. Moreover, consumers displayed more inclination toward purchase intention for the services of THY.