Aligning Corporate Social Responsibility with Consumer Ethics: A Serial Mediation Analysis of Organizational Performance in an Emerging Market

Abstract

This study investigates the “reputational pathway” between consumer ethical ideologies and organizational performance. Using a quantitative cross-sectional design, data were sampled from 353 non-alcoholic beverage consumers in Ghana’s Greater Accra and Ashanti regions. Analysis via Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) in SmartPLS 4 validated a serial mediation model involving Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) perceptions and corporate image. Findings reveal that while ethical idealism enhances favorable CSR perceptions, egoism acts as a deterrent. Crucially, the study identifies a potent serial mediation effect: consumer moral frameworks dictate CSR evaluations, which consolidate corporate image to drive organizational performance. This research shifts the “ethics-performance” debate toward external consumer psychology within an emerging market context. By illustrating how CSR serves as a strategic bridge in the Global South, the study provides a blueprint for managers to calibrate social signaling with the ethical topographies of their markets to secure a competitive advantage.