Effects of Ecology‐Friendliness of Products and Price Perceptions on Social Values: Implications for Biblical Management

Social contributions activities of firms can be regarded as corporate social responsibility. Recently social contributions by firms go beyond donating surplus resources or supporting underprivileged people, and pursuing social goodness and mutual benefits. Social contributions by firms should be expanded for corporate social responsibility in accordance with corporate long term strategic objectives. Price levels of products can have differential implications for consumers regarding social contributions by firms such as pro ecology or pro environment characteristics of products. An empirical study was conducted for analyzing any differential impacts of price perceptions in the effects of eco friendly products on social values. The key findings of the study can be summarized as follows. Social Contributions has a positive effect on social value and WOM of a firm. At the level of firm, expenditures spent on social contributions are paid‐off in terms of social value and WOM. Social value and WOM are perceived to be the same both in premium and regular brand, irrespective of the level of social contributions of a firm. The difference in social value between eco friendly brand and non eco friendly brand in regular price is significantly greater than that in premium price, regardless of the level of social contributions of a firm. This implies that regular price brand is more effective than premium price brand in adopting eco‐friendliness of products. Further biblical implications of social contribution, in terms of eco‐friendly products, are discussed in that social contribution can be regarded as realizing the principle of benevolence in Christian management based on the biblical principles.