Effects of Social Values of Social Enterprises on Attitudes towards Products and Purchase Intention: Implications from a Perspective of Christian Management

Social enterprises pursue social values such as employment of vulnerable classes and providing of social services, contrary to the economic value-seeking general companies. However there are few studies on the social value of social enterprises, thus it is needed to study the significance of social values of social enterprises. This study aimed at grasping the effects of social values of social enterprises on attitude towards products and purchase intention. In this research, social values are classified into social welfare value and environmental health value as sub-factors. Significant results are found between the independent variables of social value and the dependent variable of purchase intention through a mediating variable of attitude towards products. On the other hand, the results showed no significant effect between environmental health value and purchase intention through mediating variable of attitude towards products. Further, this study implied marketing strategy from the viewpoint of customers that can be utilized as basic data for designing the differentiation idea on social enterprise coming closer positively to the customers. Suggestions are also discussed on the orientation of social enterprises, based on the principles of christian management. Since social enterprise pursues social welfare value and environmental health value, social enterprise can be regarded as approaching the principle of benevolence in christian management based on the biblical principles.