“The influence of corporate social responsibility on repurchase intention: The mediating effect of satisfaction”

The study evaluates the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on customer satisfaction and repurchase intention in the fast food service business in Vietnam. This study used quantitative research methods with a sample of 414 customers aged 18 and older who have used fast food service in Vietnam. Primary data were collected based on customers’ willingness to provide information through questionnaire links on social networking platforms such as Facebook and Zalo. Structural equation modeling and mediating effect analysis were used to test the correlation between components in the research model. Research results have identified three components of CSR, including community responsibility, environmental responsibility, and ethical responsibility in business, that directly and positively influence customer satisfaction. The results validate the mediating influence of satisfaction on the correlation between CSR components (community, environmental, and ethical responsibility) and repurchase intention, which very few previous studies have performed. These findings theoretically contribute to the literature, verifying three CSR components from the customer’s point of view in the fast food service business, including community, environmental, and ethical responsibility. Expanding the theory on factors affecting customer satisfaction and promoting cause-related marketing, prosocial behavior, and competitive advantage theory is necessary. As for managerial contributions, fast food business brands are suggested to invest and increase their CSR activities.

For many years, companies in the fast food industry have implemented many marketing programs to attract customers, maintain old customers, and enhance customer loyalty, such as advertising communications, customer loyalty programs, and promotions.In recent years, brands have tended to expand and develop marketing communication programs aimed at social benefits, contributing to increasing corporate social responsibility toward the community to win good feelings from the community, thereby promoting the improvement of brand image and competitiveness in the market.For corporate leaders, social responsibility has become an essential priority (Porter & Kramer, 2006).Corporate social responsibility initiatives enhance the value of brands.Consumers have been impacted by corporate social responsibility, which influences their decision to repurchase (Hartmann et al., 2013).There is a need to confirm the influence of customers' perceived CSR on customer satisfaction and repurchase intention.

LITERATURE REVIEW AND HYPOTHESES
Social responsibility assures corporate economic objectives and social goals, whereby CSR includes legal, economic, ethical, and discretionary responsibility (Carroll, 1979).Many researchers have supported Carroll's (1979) theory of CSR as it continues to be revised and developed to date (Wartick & Cochran, 1985;Ullmann, 1985;Miles, 1987;Wood, 1994).Wartick and Cochran (1985) modified Carroll's model to consist of dimensions of principles, processes, and policies.Wood (1994) used social responsibility, social responsiveness processes, and social responsibility outcomes to measure CSR.According to Hopkins (2003), CSR is showing concern and treating stakeholders both inside and outside the company in an ethical and socially responsible manner to promote society's development while maintaining and developing the business.Hopkins (2005) has concretized and systematized the components of CSR into three levels of CSR, including: (1) Principles of social responsibility (legitimacy, public responsibility, and managerial discrete); (2) Processes of social responsibility (environmental scanning, stakeholder management, and issue managing); and (3) Outcomes (internal stakeholders, external stakeholders, and external institutional effects).
According to Graafland et al. (2004), CSR is ecological responsibility (environmental consideration behavior), social responsibility (corporate ethics), and economic responsibility (marketing communication).Hohnen and Potts (2007) argue that CSR of an enterprise is an assurance of an organization for the common interests of society, contributing to promoting the sustainable development of the environment and society and compliance with international standards.
Corporate social responsibility activities can positively affect consumer satisfaction (  Wong (2016) found that implementing green approaches in fast-food restaurants can enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty.These studies emphasize the significance of CSR in the fast-food industry and its environmental impact.Consumer attitudes reflect their awareness of environmental protection and preference for purchasing goods from socially responsible companies to improve their quality of life.Consumers also recognize their social responsibility to protect the environment and natural resources by choosing products that promote waste sorting, recycling, and energy conservation (Hengboriboon et al., 2022;Sahioun et al., 2023).Environmental issues are receiving more and more attention from society because they directly affect the quality of life and sustainable development.Therefore, companies with many programs aimed at protecting the environment receive high appreciation from the community and customers, thereby improving customer sentiment toward the brand, creating a positive impact on satisfaction and increasing repurchase intention for the brand.
According to Iglesias et al. (2019), solid corporate brands must put ethics at the center of their identity and communicate an ethical commitment in customer interactions (Balmer, 2001;Rindell et al., 2011).Service businesses often involve more customer interactions and contacts, where ethical description is required, than commodity businesses (Markovic & Obradovic, 2015).The increase in the popularity of ethical consumerism over the past two decades may be related to the rise of CSR (Grace & Cohen, 2009).Consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the social impact of their consumption decisions and thus begin to make purchasing decisions based on their ethical concerns (Eisingerich et al., 2011).Consumers consider ethical values based on perceived CSR before purchasing a brand (Brunk, 2010).Companies that fulfill their CSR have more significant customer satisfaction and are rewarded with increased consumer purchase intention (Carvalho et al., 2010).Consumers are willing to actively support compa-   2011) have shown that the perceived ethics of the fast food brand significantly affect the trust and attitude of consumers toward the brand, positively impacting the purchase and repurchase intention.A company's ethical responsibility in business is a crucial issue; it aims to contribute to ensuring the benefits promised to customers and issues related to society's shared interests.Customers highly appreciate companies that ensure good ethical responsibilities in business; as a result, their satisfaction and brand loyalty increase.
The study aims to evaluate the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on customer satisfaction and repurchase intention in the fast food service business in Vietnam.
Figure 1 shows the proposed research model.To explain the correlation between the components in the research model, the proposed hypotheses are as follows: H1: Community responsibility has a direct positive impact on customer satisfaction.
H2: Environmental responsibility has a direct positive impact on customer satisfaction.
H3: Ethical responsibility has a direct positive impact on customer satisfaction.
H4: Community responsibility has a direct positive impact on repurchase intention.
H5: Environmental responsibility has a direct positive impact on repurchase intention.
H6: Ethical responsibility has a direct positive impact on repurchase intention.
H7: Satisfaction has a mediating impact on the correlation between community responsibility and repurchase intention.
H8: Satisfaction has a mediating impact on the correlation between environmental responsibility and repurchase intention.
H9: Satisfaction has a mediating impact on the correlation between ethical responsibility and repurchase intention.

METHODOLOGY
The set of scales for components of CSR includes: • community responsibility, with 4 items: organizing entertainment programs (Com1), awarding scholarships and sponsors (Com2), ensuring fire prevention (Com3), and ensuring the prevention of the Covid-19 epidemic (Com4); • environment responsibility, with 6 items: using paper food bags to protect the environment (Env1), protecting the environment with campaigns to reuse plastic bags (Env2), treating waste before discharging into the environment (Env3), participating in environmental protection programs (Env4), using lighting equipment with energy-saving functions (Env5), and using frying equipment (large-capacity electric stoves) with energy-saving functions (Env6); and

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The study chose 414 valid samples; 247 were female respondents (59.66%), and 167 were male respondents (40.34%).Sample statistics by age 18-22 is 64.25%.This is one of the customer segments with high demand for fast food services in Vietnam.Next is the sample group of 22-30 years old, 18.36%, and the sample group of 30-40 years old, 17.39% (Table 1).
Cronbach's alpha test is used to check the reliability of each set of scales for the components in the model, including environment (Env1 → Env6), community (Com1 → Com4), ethics (Eth1 → Eth4), satisfaction (Sat1 → Sat4), and repurchase intention (RI1 → RI3).The analysis results summarized in Table 2 show that Cronbach's Alpha coefficient of all components is 0.85-0.92(> 0.70).The coefficient of correlated item-total correlation of all observed variables in each scale component is greater than 0.5.As a result of the model, the scale of all components is reliable, adapting the analysis requirements.
Research results (Table 3) have identified a direct impact of CSR (community, environmental, and ethical responsibility) on customer satisfaction.Specifically, community responsibility directly impacts customer satisfaction (λ = 0.40***), according to which H1 is supported.Similarly, environmental responsibility and customer satisfaction (λ = 0.20***) and ethical responsibility and customer satisfaction (λ = 0.59***) are positively associated; thus, H2 and H3 are supported.Society is increasingly concerned about the environment, so customers' appreciation of the business's environmental responsibility will have an increased impact on customer satisfaction.Interesting results from this study have shown that society is increasingly concerned with business ethics because it not only ensures customers' interests but also contributes to the sustainable development of enter- The three components of CSR (community, environment, and ethical responsibility) account for 55% of the variation in brand satisfaction (Figure 2).Ethical responsibility is the component that has the greatest impact on customer satisfaction; if the customer's evaluation of ethical responsibility increases by 1.0 units, it will have an increased promotion impact on satisfaction by 0.59 units.Next, if the customer's perception of community responsibility increases by one unit, it will impact satisfaction by 0.40 units.Finally, the customer's perception of the business's environmental responsibility will increase customer satisfaction by 0.20 units (Figure 2).
Table 3 shows that the relationship between community responsibility and repurchase intention is not statistically significant with 95% confidence (λ = 0.06, P = 0.275 > 0.05); accordingly, H4 is not supported, showing that there is not enough evidence to confirm the direct positive impact of community responsibility on repeated consumption intention.The analysis of the direct and indirect effects (through the mediating variable of satisfaction) of CSR on repurchase intention is summarized in Table 4.The direct relationship between community responsibility and repurchase intention (λ = 0.06, P = 0.275 > 0.05) is not statistically significant with 95% confidence, but has an indirect impact on repurchase intention through satisfaction (λ = 0.22**).Accordingly, the study notes the full mediation of customer satisfaction on the correlation between community responsibility and repurchase intention.Accordingly, H7 is accepted; satisfaction mediates the correlation between community responsibility and repurchase intention.
Similarly, in Table 4 and Figure 2, the direct positive impact of environmental responsibility on repurchase intention (λ = 0.11*) and the indirect positive impact of environmental responsibility on repurchase intention through customer satisfaction, environmental responsibility-customer satisfaction-repurchase intention are also recorded (λ = 0.13**).Accordingly, H8 is accepted, recording a partial mediating effect of customer satisfaction on the correlation between environmental respon-Note: Com = community responsibility; Sat = satisfaction; RI = repurchase intentions; Env = environmental responsibility; Eth = ethical responsibility.

Figure 2. The influence of corporate social responsibility on repurchase intention
sibility and repurchase intention.Valuable results from the research have contributed to demonstrating that the attention of society and customers to environmental responsibility is increasing; customers will continue to buy the goods or services of brands with good environmental responsibility.Furthermore, ethical responsibility has a direct positive impact on repurchase intention (λ = 0.21**) and an indirect positive impact on repurchase intention through customer satisfaction (λ = 0.32**); accordingly, H9 is accepted, showing a partial mediating effect of customer satisfaction on the correlation between ethical responsibility and repurchase intention.Ethical issues in business are critical, not only bringing values to the business, such as promoting increased satisfaction and repurchase intention, but also contributing to building and developing business ethics, developing business philosophy toward customer responsibility and social benefits, thereby promoting sustainable development.
Interesting results from the study confirmed the direct impact of CSR components on repurchase intention (Hartmann et  Summarizing the results in Tables 3-4, the components of CSR and customer satisfaction explain 54% of the variation in customers' repurchase intention.The total impact of the components on repurchase intention is 0.99; the components of CSR directly and indirectly (with the mediating variable of satisfaction) affect the intention to repurchase.The research results confirm the meaning and importance of CSR to customer satisfaction and repurchase intention, thereby helping brands doing business in fast food service to make appropriate investments for their customers and focus on corporate social responsibility.
The results have systematically validated three components of CSR in the fast food service in Vietnam, including community, environmental, and ethical responsibility that many previous studies have done, typically Carroll (1979), Ullmann (1985), Wartick and Cochran (1985), Miles (1987), Wood (1994), and Hopkins (2003Hopkins ( , 2005)).Many studies use these three components to measure CSR because of its popularity and authenticity from the information communicated by the brand and through the company's culture, philosophy, and behavior with customers and community, through which customers have a lot of information and evidence to feel and evaluate these ingredients authentically.
Research results have confirmed the direct impact of CSR on customer satisfaction in the field of fast food service in the Vietnamese market.
No direct studies have been done in recent years.This valuable research result has contributed to expanding the theory of factors affecting customer satisfaction, which is the impact of CSR on customer satisfaction.Many previous studies have mentioned and applied research on the impact of service quality on satisfaction (Grönroos, 1984;Cronin & Taylor, 1992;Spreng & Mackoy, 1996).This study contributes to demonstrating the change in customers' perception and evaluation of the brand, which is from an interest in economic values (quality services, prices, and benefits of the brand's services) gradually developed into a concern of spiritual values, which is the social responsibility of the brand.
The findings confirm the positive contribution of CSR to the intention to repurchase in the fast  (Wang, 2020).The findings of this study further confirm the role, meaning, and importance of CSR in enhancing customer satisfaction, increasing repurchase intention, and promoting the brand's competitive advantage (Porter & Kramer, 2006).
Based on the discussed research results, fast food businesses can use the CSR model from the customer's point of view, including three components -community, environmental, and ethical responsibility -to measure customers' perceptions and evaluations of CSR, thereby providing a scientific basis for evaluating the results of and activities aimed at community, social and environmental development.Specifically, the sets of scales corresponding to the components of CSR, including community responsibility, environmental responsibility, and ethical responsibility, were built according to the validated theoretical model.To maintain and improve satisfaction, in addition to ensuring and enhancing factors related to service quality, price, and customer experience, fast food brands can expand investment in programs and activities toward the community and the environment.Complying and ensuring the implementation of business ethics principles will significantly impact customer satisfaction.This study proposes orientations for brand communication activities that can be enhanced in the direction of socially responsible marketing to build and enhance the brand's CSR perception to be more positive, thereby increasing customer satisfaction with the brand.In order to promote repurchase intention in the fast food service sector, companies need to increase investment in implementing CSR-oriented activities.They may form vision, mission, business philosophy, business activities in the direction of social responsibility and strengthen the implementation of programs, marketing activities, and communication in the direction of cause-related marketing.This will improve customers' perception and evaluation for brands, thereby directly affecting satisfaction and both directly and indirectly the intention to repurchase, contributing to promoting customer loyalty and increasing the stable and sustainable development.

CONCLUSION
The study aimed to analyze the impact of three components of CSR on customer satisfaction with the fast food service business in Vietnam, including community, environmental, and ethical responsibility.
The results demonstrated a statistically significant relationship between corporate social responsibility and satisfaction, satisfaction and repurchase intention, corporate social responsibility and repurchase intention, and corporate social responsibility-satisfaction-repurchase intention.The study has demonstrated the mediating effect of customer satisfaction on the correlation between CSR and repurchase intention, thereby showing the meaning, importance, and value of the orientation of business activities.In the direction of CSR, marketing and corporate communication will increase customer satisfaction and repurchase intention.The research results have contributed to theoretical and systematic analyses and identified three components of measuring CSR from the customer's point of view, including community, environmental, and ethical responsibility.Research results also aim to support and promote the application of the theories of cause-related marketing, corporate social responsibility, and prosocial behavior.
In addition, the study also proposes some managerial implications for business brands in the fast food service sector, which is the need to invest in and promote programs and activities toward social responsibility; these will have the effect of promoting increased customer satisfaction and repurchase intention.
Besides the valuable results achieved, the study has limitations.The sample size is small; the balance of sample structure by age is absent: the proportion of samples who are 18-22 years old accounts for the overwhelming percentage (64.25%).Further studies may improve this imbalance.
Second, this study approaches CSR from the customer's point of view, which is the perception and evaluation of customers in three components: community, environmental, and ethical responsibility.Meanwhile, this study does not consider other components, such as organizational, management, or legal responsibility.Further studies may add other components to increase the representativeness and authenticity of research results related to CSR.Finally, the field of fast food service was selected for this empirical study, thus limiting the analysis and correlation between different business sectors; further studies can be carried out in an integrated multidisciplinary direction to expand the research direction on CSR.
nies committed to environmentally friendly practices and ethics.Limbu et al. (

Table 3 .
Results of hypotheses testing

Table 2 .
Cronbach's alpha for components in the research model