Strategic CSR-brand fit and customers' brand passion: Theoretical extension and analysis

Prior research in the brand management realm has broadly captured passion for a brand through brand-related factors. However, to the authors' knowledge, how the fit between a brand and its corporate social responsibility efforts (strategic CSR-brand fit) drive brand passion has been surprisingly ignored. Drawing on congruence theory, basic psychological needs theory, and social identity theory, we argue that strategic CSR-brand fit can significantly influence customers' sense of autonomy, competence, and relatedness, which in turn leads to brand passion. Furthermore, we hypothesize customer-company identification (CCI) as a key boundary condition for the indirect positive effect of strategic CSR-brand fit on brand passion through customers' satisfaction of psychological needs. Structural equation modeling results from a survey conducted with telecom customers (N = 1,059) supported a positive indirect effect of strategic CSR-brand fit on brand passion through the satisfaction of autonomy, competence, and relatedness needs. Moreover, the indirect effect was statistically significant through competence and relatedness needs satisfaction for customers with high CCI but it was not significant through competence satisfaction for customers with low CCI. CCI trivially facilitates brand passion formation through autonomy needs satisfaction. Implications of these findings for shaping brand passion among customers are discussed.