Consumer Participation in CSR: Spending Money versus Spending Time

Consumer participation plays a more active role in corporate social responsibility (CSR) than ever before. However, a framework describing how participation approaches generate cognitive and behavior responses in consumers is still lacking. The purpose of this study is to investigate the different effects among consumers’ participation approaches (i.e., spending money versus spending time) on inspiring consumers to engage in CSR. Additionally, we explore consumers’ cognitive mechanisms by identifying the key mediating role of perceived value. A total of 429 participants were recruited using an inter-group between-subjects design, and hypotheses were tested by a structural equation model, including path analysis and bootstrapping procedure method. The results show that consumers tend to have a more positive perception of CSR and greater intention to participate when they spend time rather than money to engage in CSR activities. We also confirmed the importance of perceived value in CSR, as the link between consumer participation type and behavioral intention is fully mediated by perceived value. These findings shed a light on the importance of the participation approach in CSR, contributing to CSR and consumer participation research. Our study also provides meaningful implications for companies to encourage consumers to use their time to participate in CSR activities.