A Conceptual Framework That Identifies Antecedents and Consequences of Building Socially Responsible International Brands

Research on the reputation of international firms using branding philosophies for offering products that are harmful for customers, through business-to-business networks, has until now yielded inconsistent results. Although the literature recommends socially responsible behavior of firms offering branded products as one of the determinants of brand reputation, it fails to satisfactorily identify the factors that would particularly enable a brand offering controversial products to be recognized as a socially responsible brand. Authors use the inductive approach to examine existing research and review anecdotes to build a model that will allow brand managers to develop recognition of an ethical and socially responsible brand while offering controversial products such as tobacco or gambling. In addition, the role of business customers of an international brand is also reviewed to understand if they can moderate the causal relationship between the socially responsible image of the brand and brand reputation. Guidelines for future research on the propositions made are provided in this article.