본 연구는 구독서비스를 통하여 식품정기배송을 경험한 소비자가 해당 서비스를 제공한 기업의 ESG활동에 대한 평가와 구전(추천)의도와 지속이용의도에 미치는 영향에 대한 연구이다. 또한 소비자의 이타적 성향에 따라 ESG평가와 마케팅활동(구전의도, 지속이용의도) 사이의 조절효과를 검증하였다. 따라서 실제로 식품정기배송을 이용해 본 경험이 있는 279명의 고객을 대상으로 하여 설문조사하여 다음과 같은 결과를 얻었다. 소비자의 ESG평가 중 환경(E)과 사회(S)의 평가가 긍정적일수록 구전의도와 지속이용의도에 긍정적인 영향을 주었다. 그리고 지배구조(G)의 경우는 구전의도에는 긍정적 영향을 주었지만 지속이용의도와의 긍정적인 관계는 기각되었다. 이타적 성향에 따른 조절효과는 다음과 같았다. 이타적 성향이 높을수록 환경(E)과 사회적(S) 차원은 구전의도와 지속이용의도를 긍정적으로 조절하였고, 지배구조와 구전의도와의 관계도 긍정적으로 조절하였다. 그러나 이타적 성향이 높을수록 지배구조와 지속이용의도사이의 긍정적인 조절효과는 유의하지 않았다. 따라서 기업은 효율적인 마케팅활동을 위해서는 우선적으로 환경과 사회적 차원의 역할에 집중하고, 지배구조 개선 및 활동에 대한 소비자와의 공감대 형성을 위하여 좀 더 노력해야 할 것이다.
Purpose: This study is an empirical paper on how consumers" direct evaluation of the three dimensions of ESG management, Environment, Society, and Governance, affects marketing performance such as word-of-mouth and continued use intention. We also investigated how consumers" altruistic tendencies regulate their relationships. Through this, we intend to present practical implications for effective ESG activity strategies of food subscription companies.
Research design, data, and methodology: This study is based on the Stimulus-Organism-Response theory proposed by Mehrabian and Russell (1974). Considering the ESG activity of a regular food delivery company as a stimulus, the consumer"s evaluation of the activity perception as an organism for the activity and the purchase intention (continuous use or word of mouth) were designed as a result of the response according to the evaluation. A survey was conducted with 279 customers who had regular food delivery experience. The questionnaire was defined as follows by referring to previous ESG research and each ESG activity of a company that actually delivers food on a regular basis. First, the environment (E) refers to the use of eco-friendly products and specific activities to prevent environmental pollution. The second society (S) refers to the use of regular delivery and community service activities that are easy for consumers to recognize (donation and employment for the underprivileged), and the third dominance (G) is a number of activities to improve corporate governance (transparency). In addition, the questionnaire items on word of mouth intention, continuing use intention, and altruism were also measured on a Likert 7-point scale. Confirmatory factor analysis, correlation, and hypothesis testing for each item were verified through SPSS and AMOS.
Results: First, it was found that the more positive the evaluation of environment (E) and society (S) among consumers" ESG evaluation, the more positive the word of mouth intention and the intention to continue using it. Second, governance (G) had a positive (+) effect on word of mouth intention, but rejected the positive (+) relationship with continued use intention. Third, as for the moderating effect according to altruism, the higher the altruism, the higher the environmental (E) and social (S) dimensions positively adjusted word-of-mouth intention and continued use intention. Also, the relationship between governance and word of mouth intent was positively adjusted. However, as the altruistic tendency was higher, the positive moderating effect between governance (G) and continued use intention was not significant.
Conclusions: In order for ESG activities, which are non-financial evaluations, to become meaningful business strategies for companies, it is important for consumers to have a positive perception of the activities. Therefore, among ESG activities, companies should first focus on environmental and social activities to communicate with consumers. We also need to put more effort into building consensus with consumers about our governance-related activities. In addition, Generation Z, who has a growing influence on consumer culture, is a generation interested in fairness and altruism. Therefore, companies should select Generation Z as a major publicity target for ESG activities and communicate intensively.