Consumer-oriented CSR practices and food safety perceptions: a stakeholder and signaling theory perspective

Consumer concerns about food safety have intensified in recent years, as transparency and accountability in the food sector have become essential to maintaining public trust. This study examines how consumer-oriented corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices influence food safety perceptions, emphasizing the mediating role of customer satisfaction and the moderating role of loyalty. Drawing on stakeholder theory and signaling theory, we developed and tested a model using survey data from 498 chain restaurant consumers in China. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) results show that consumer/product safety CSR, ethical procurement and supply chain CSR, and environmental/social CSR all positively affect perceived food safety, although the effect of environmental/social CSR is relatively weaker. Moreover, customer satisfaction mediates the relationships between consumer/product safety CSR and perceived food safety, and between ethical procurement and supply chain CSR and perceived food safety, while customer loyalty strengthens the impact of satisfaction on safety perceptions. These findings contribute to consumer behavior and CSR literature by uncovering the psychological mechanisms through which CSR enhances food safety perceptions. For practitioners, the study highlights how CSR strategies can simultaneously improve satisfaction, strengthen loyalty, and build sustainable consumer trust in food safety.