Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become an increasingly important part of marketing strategies, as it drives brands to address societal expectations while building stronger customer relationships. This study investigates how CSR initiatives affect customer-based brand equity (CBBE) in the retail banking sector through the mediating effect of customer engagement. Furthermore, it examines how brand innovativeness moderates the effect of CSR on customer engagement and CBBE.
Using a survey of 404 Chinese retail banking customers, the study tested its hypotheses through partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).
CSR positively impacts CBBE both directly and indirectly by enhancing customer engagement. Furthermore, brand innovativeness amplifies the positive effect of CSR on customer engagement and CBBE.
The study advances the CSR–CBBE research by extending the traditional focus on perceptual elements and identifying customer engagement as a key relational mechanism that connects CSR initiatives to brand value. It also provides new insights into the boundary conditions of the CSR-CBBE linkage and contributes to resolving inconsistencies in the CSR-CBBE literature. Moreover, by conceptualizing CSR and brand innovativeness as complementary signals, the study advances signaling theory and delivers a more comprehensive view of how ethical and competence-based signals jointly shape customer perceptions and strengthen brand equity.
