Abstract
This study aims to examine how Generation Z consumers respond to internal and external corporate social responsibility (CSR) posts on social media. By exploring the mediating role of perceived altruism and the moderating role of cultural ideology, this research seeks to provide a nuanced understanding of how ideological orientations shape CSR communication effectiveness.
This study conducted an online experiment (N = 509) to examine how Gen Z, an emerging powerhouse of consumers, responds to corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication. Participants were randomly assigned to view a social media post highlighting either internal CSR, external CSR, or a neutral control message. Measures included cultural ideology, perceived altruism, attitude toward the company, and purchase intention. The findings revealed that both internal and external CSR posts positively influenced consumer attitudes and purchase intentions through the mediating role of perceived altruism. Moreover, this mediation effect was moderated by cultural ideology. While external CSR efforts were consistently perceived as altruistic across cultural orientations, only cultural liberals evaluated internal CSR efforts as equally altruistic.
By focusing on cultural ideology rather than relying solely on broad political categories, this study provides a nuanced understanding of the ideological effects on CSR communication. Given the growing liberal leanings among Gen Z, these findings underscore the strategic value of internal CSR communication in the new era and offer both theoretical and practical insights for companies aiming to tailor CSR strategies to better resonate with Gen Z consumers.
Description
This article is published by Emerald Insight, in the journal Young Consumers: Insight and Ideas for Responsible Marketers, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/YC-04-2025-2515. For an up to date reference list, see the published article. This authors accepted manuscript (AAM) is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial International License 4.0 (CC BY-NC 4.0): https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/. Any reuse is allowed in accordance with the terms outlined by the license. To reuse the AAM for commercial purposes, permission should be sought by visiting https://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/publish-with-us/author-policies/author-rights#contact.
Publisher
Emerald
Date of publication
12-3-2025
Language
english
Persistent identifier
http://hdl.handle.net/10950/4932
Document Type
Article
Recommended Citation
Hu, Yezi; Ma, Yanni; and Mu, Di, "How Gen Z makes sense of CSR communication: the role of perceived altruism and cultural ideology in responses to internal and external CSR" (2025). Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations. Paper 2.
http://hdl.handle.net/10950/4932
Publisher Citation
Hu Y, Ma Y, Mu D (2026;), "How Gen Z makes sense of CSR communication: the role of perceived altruism and cultural ideology in responses to internal and external CSR". Young Consumers: Insight and Ideas for Responsible Marketers, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/YC-04-2025-2515