How Corporate Social Responsibility Impacts Consumer Adoption of Nutrition Information

On March 23, 2010, section of 4205 of the U.S. Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was enacted, requiring chain restaurants and vending machines throughout the U.S. to provide nutrient content information for standard menu items. As a result, consumers will be provided with nutrient content information (e.g., calorie and fat content) at the point of ordering in major chain restaurants in the near future. With the growing health concerns, company activities related to consumer health and well-being are particularly important to a broad range of stakeholders. The current study examines the potential for information about a company in areas related to stakeholder well-being, namely CSR, to either positively or negatively impact how nutrition information disclosure affects the firm. The proposed study measures the relationship between consumer attitudes toward the provision of nutrition information and subsequent outcomes related to firm performance such as consumer perceptions of service and value (Study 1 and 2). This relationship is expected to vary based on 1) a firm’s CSR reputation (Study 1) and 2) the degree of fit between the CSR-related information disclosing act and other product offerings by the firm (Study 2). Extending the results, Study 3 examines how the impact of CSR on consumer service evaluations in different contexts; specifically, fast food chains and casual restaurants.