The impact of CSR on airline passengers’ corporate image, customer trust, and behavioral intentions : an empirical analysis of safety activity

Considering the significance of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) on the airline industry including safety issues, the purpose of this study is to empirically examine the impact of CSR incorporating efforts to ensure safety (safety activity) on corporate image, customer trust, and passengers’ behavioral intentions in South Korea. An onsite survey was conducted for Korean passengers in three international airports' lounges (Incheon International Airport, Gimpo International Airport, and Gimhae International Airport). The results of this study reveal that ethical CSR and safety activity significantly affect corporate image, whereas ethical CSR, safety activity, and philanthropic CSR have significant influence on customers’ trust, and trust and corporate image affect passengers’ behavioral intentions. However, economic CSR, legal CSR, and philanthropic CSR are not statistically significant for predicting the airline’s corporate image. Moreover, economic CSR and legal CSR are not significant antecedents of customers’ trust for the airline. Based on these findings, this study contributes theoretically to the tourism literature not only by confirming corporate image and customers’ trust as mediating factors between CSR dimensions and customers’ behavioral intentions, but also by incorporating safety activity as another essential and industry-specific CSR dimension for airlines’ CSR frameworks.