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Bachelor Thesis

Consumers’ CSR perception on the French and Swedish skincare market A quantitative study

Authors: Aurélia Plantamp

Cindy Carpentier

Elodie Sumeire

Supervisor: Soniya Billore

Examiner: Setayesh Sattari

Date: 2014-05-30

Business Administration-

Strategy Marketing Program

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Acknowledgement

This thesis allowed the researchers to learn how to assimilate and apply the Swedish

university system, as they conducted it in Växjö, at Linnaeus University. This system requires the

constant use of scientific sources, needed as reliable references to be the base of any written

development. Also, the use of the Harvard system in listing the references gave some necessary

knowledge to the researchers for the continuation of their studies and the possible elaboration of

future thesis.

Some special thanks are directed to several people who brought a necessary and appreciated help

to the researchers. First, the achievement of this study would not have been possible without the

participation of the 200 respondents from Sweden and France, who kindly took the time to

answer the questionnaire made by the researchers. Also, this questionnaire was translated and

checked by students from the university, whom the researchers would like to thank. Then, this

thesis’ tutor Soniya Billore and examiner Setayesh Sattari, two aggregated teachers from

Linnaeus University, gave some judicious advices and feedbacks to guide the researchers and

allow them to carry out the study. Finally, an acknowledgement goes to Mattias Rieloff, EDC-

librarian at Linnaeus University library, who helped them get a temporary access to the payable

Euromonitor database, giving them valuable data on the Swedish skincare market.

The researchers hope that the readers of this thesis will be interested in the Corporate Social

Responsibility subject and that they will understand more clearly the differences of its perception

by French and Swedish consumers. Also, they wish the results and findings will help future

researchers in their studies.

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Abstract

This study tries to explore how consumers from France and Sweden perceive the meaning

of CSR and how it influences their purchasing decision for skincare products. This study

compares two countries: Sweden and France in a selected market: the skincare market. The

researchers do this in the hope of identifying relationships and differences among the two

markets. It aims to analyze the consumers’ understanding of CSR, how they perceive CSR

activities but also if their cultural dimensions influence their perception of CSR and if this

perception have an impact on their purchasing decision.

This thesis is based on a quantitative method. Thus, a literature review part is gathering

information provided by some data from previous research and allows to bring out hypotheses

concerning national culture, CSR’s components and the communication, the consumer’s

perception and purchasing decision.

Then, a part of methodology explains all the steps from the choice of research design, research

strategy, and data collection to the explanation of the sample selection and questionnaire

building. Also, it provides an analysis of data, tests hypotheses and evaluates this study by some

quality criteria. In order to test the hypotheses, a survey was completed by Swedes and French. In

France, the survey was sent out by internet and in Sweden the researchers asked directly the

questions in the street. The use of snowballing method allowed to reach 200 answers in Sweden

and France.

Thereafter, the collected data was analyzed in order to test the proposed hypotheses by a T-test

and a regression test. The obtained results allow to verify that there is a different perception

between French and Swedes about CSR. The impact of this perception on the purchasing decision

is observed and differs between French and Swedish consumers.

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Table of Contents  1. Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 1  

1.1. Origin and definition of Corporate Social Responsibility ......................................... 1  

1.2. Skincare Market ........................................................................................................ 2  

1.3. Problem Discussion ................................................................................................... 6  

1.4. Purpose ...................................................................................................................... 8  

1.5. Delimitations ............................................................................................................. 8  

1.6. Outline of the paper ................................................................................................... 9  2. Literature Review ........................................................................................................... 10  

2.1. National Culture: influence of norms and values .................................................... 10  

2.2. CSR’s aspects and communication ......................................................................... 14  

2.3. The general concept of consumer’s perception ....................................................... 17  

2.4. Consumers’ perception of CSR ............................................................................... 17  

2.5. Purchasing decision ................................................................................................. 20  3. Research questions/hypotheses and frame of reference ................................................. 22  

3.1. Hypotheses .............................................................................................................. 22  

3.2. Research Questions ................................................................................................. 23  

3.3. Research Model ....................................................................................................... 23  4. Methodology .................................................................................................................. 25  

4.1. Research design ....................................................................................................... 25  

4.2. Research Approach ................................................................................................. 26  

4.3. Research Strategy and Data Collection ................................................................... 27  

4.4. Sample Selection ..................................................................................................... 28  

4.5. Questionnaire building ............................................................................................ 31  

4.6. Data Analysis .......................................................................................................... 33  

4.7. Quality criteria ......................................................................................................... 35  

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4.8. Operationalization ................................................................................................... 37  5. Data Analysis ................................................................................................................. 39  

5.1. Introduction of the collected data ............................................................................ 39  

5.2. Descriptive variables ............................................................................................... 40  

5.3. Hypotheses tests ...................................................................................................... 42  

5.4. Summarized table of results: validation or rejection of the hypotheses .................. 50  6. Conclusions .................................................................................................................... 52  

6.1. Discussions .............................................................................................................. 52  

6.2. Theoretical and managerial implications ................................................................ 54  

6.3. Limitations .............................................................................................................. 56  

6.4. Suggestions for future research ............................................................................... 56  Reference List .................................................................................................................... 58  Annexes: ............................................................................................................................. 64  

Tables and Figures of the Paper ..................................................................................... 64  

Definition of concepts .................................................................................................... 66  

English Questionnaire .................................................................................................... 68  

Swedish Questionnaire ................................................................................................... 76  

French Questionnaire ..................................................................................................... 86  

Nominal tables ................................................................................................................ 95  

SPSS output .................................................................................................................... 96  

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1. Introduction

This first chapter covers a background necessary to the elaboration of the thesis. It

provides basic definitions and presentations of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and

skincare markets in France and Sweden. A problem discussion follows, highlighting the relation

between CSR and consumers’ perception, which is the subject the current article focus on. The

purpose and research questions are then defined in relation to the problem discussion. They are

followed by the delimitations observed in this paper.

1.1. Origin and definition of Corporate Social Responsibility

The first definition of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) appeared around the 1930’s

with Edwin Merrick Dodd, professor at W&L (Kraus & Brtitzelmaier, 2012). However, 37

different definitions of the concept have been developed over 30 years, recovered in a CSR and

management book written by Dahlsrud, a senior engineer (Dahlsrud, 2008). From these several

understandings of CSR, the base is still the intention to treat the stakeholders of a firm more

ethically or in a more responsible way. It includes social, environmental and economic

parameters that take into account the fact that stakeholders exist within and outside the firm

(Kraus & Brtitzelmaier, 2012). Also, even if CSR will not solve the world’s problems, many

variables give companies a strong interest in adopting it (Epstein-Reeves, 2013). These sources of

motivation for firms to adopt the “CSR attitude” are defined by Epstein-Reeves in 6 categories.

According to him, CSR activities push companies to innovate (1), in some cases it can also allow

the company to save costs (2) - notably in using less packaging or less energy. It also enables to

plan into the future in adopting a long-term thinking strategy (3). The three other variables

concern the employee engagement (4) as well as the consumer engagement (5) - representing a

new way to talk with them and thus makes them faithful. The last one of the most strategic

parameter that will be more emphasized in this paper is the CSR’s incredible potential of brand

differentiation (6), adding a new value to their image (Epstein-Reeves, 2013). Nowadays, CSR

activities take a great place in consumer magazines that “have a significant impact on consumer

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buying behaviour” (Blumberg et al., 2014, p5). Their expectations are to recover positive

assessment but also unsatisfactory marks (Blumberg et al., 2014).

Since the beginning of the 21st century, consumers’ ethical considerations have been increasing

significantly (Blumberg et al., 2014). It is the result of “corporate scandals, the financial crisis

and environmental threats” (Buchholtz & Carroll, 2008, p4). This new interest towards the

hidden side of a product provides a superior quality that was not taken into consideration in the

past (Blumberg et al., 2014). Businesses have now a bigger responsibility that goes beyond

simply making a profit (Kraus & Brtitzelmaier, 2012). This approach is motivated by consumers’

desire not to be excluded from the market reality (Blumberg et al., 2014). As Paul Klein (2013)

explains it, the global society asks for “more social” and expresses the fact that people might be

free. In an article for the newspaper The Guardian, Matthew Taylor expounds that “[...] in the

context of greater transparency, rising public expectations, and pressing social, economic, and

environmental issues, corporate responsibility matters more than ever” (TheGuardian, 2013).

Corporate Social Responsibility appears then as an answer to this new society which is not

anymore distinct from the business but is, on the contrary, tightly interwoven to it (Wood, 1991).

Indeed, the basic definition of Corporate Social Responsibility has been extended by Carroll in

1979. Not only economic and legal components of CSR matter today, but also ethics and

philanthropy are becoming increasingly important in defining it (Ramasamy et al., 2009). A

company hence has wider obligations that go beyond the maximization of profit: it has “various

degrees of involvement in society” (Ramasamy et al., 2009, p.120).

In the present study, the authors focus on observations of the CSR phenomenon and its impact on

skincare market consumers.

1.2. Skincare Market

The skincare market is the addition of mass and premium markets relative to retailing

activities of facial and body care products as well as depilatory ones. It also contains sun care

cream, hand-care and makeup remover products (MarketLine Industry Profile, 2013a). The year

2012 did stated of a growth close from steady. The phenomenon was observed during the few last

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years on the European skincare market as the following table shows (MarketLine Industry

Profile, 2013b).

Table 1: Skincare market growth (MarketLine Industry Profile, 2013a, p8).

The previous table lets appear that the European skincare market grew less and less since the last

5 years. Following Kepler (1997), this growth decline is the characteristic of a mature stage in the

market. This stage comes up after the embryonic/exploratory stage and the growth/intermediate

stage.

Even if the European market represented in 2012 $26 billion, it is a mature market (MarketLine

Industry Profile, 2013b). However, taking into account the global skincare of $79 billion, the

small continent of Europe still concerns about 32% of the global sells in value (MarketLine

Industry Profile, 2013a; MarketLine Industry Profile, 2013b). The facial care segment

represented a bit less than 2/3 on the total of sales and weighted $16 billion in 2012, followed by

the body care segment at about 17% (MarketLine Industry Profile, 2013b).

France owned about 1/5 of the European market value followed by Germany, Italy, United

Kingdom and Spain, respectively at 18%, 15%, 10% and 6% in 2012 (MarketLine Industry

Profile, 2013b). The leader brands on the continent were then L’Oréal and Beiersdorf AG with

both around 20% of market shares; followed by Unilever with 6% of market share, Estee Lauder

Companies Inc. with 5% and other groups with 51%. The chart hereafter pictures these

percentages. The distribution is effectuated in the huge majority in super and hypermarkets

(SHM), in pharmacies and drugstores as well as in specialist retailer shops (MarketLine Industry

Profile, 2013b).

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Figure 1: Market shares of the European skincare market (MarketLine Profile Industry, 2013b).

The Market Line Study (2013) concerning the skincare market in which the previous data were

found, takes into account in Europe the Western and Eastern Europe. “Western Europe comprises

Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Ireland, the Netherlands,

Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Eastern Europe

comprises the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Russia, and Turkey” (MarketLine,

2013b, p7).

The following table explains in more details the main groups and brands found in both France

and Sweden on the skincare market, along with the principles figures important to compare the

two markets (Euromonitor, 2014a; Euromonitor, 2014b).

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Table 2: Swedish and French skincare markets’ features (Euromonitor, 2013a; Euromonitor, 2013b).

The previous table shows a quite similar percentage of growth in value between France and

Sweden. The growth about 2% in 2012 is the result of a constant decrease since 2009 (Table 1). It

starts to stagnate and the forecasts of CAGR in value confirms it for the period 2012-2017.

However, while France generates a turnover of more than 3 billion euros, the Swedish one only

represents 1/7 of the French one (Euromonitor, 2014a; Euromonitor, 2014b). The researchers try

to understand consumers’ attitude when the two countries are presenting such different features

and similarities.

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1.3. Problem Discussion

Observations and researches show an increasing interest on developed countries markets

for the rise of CSR. Indeed, lots of companies from Eastern and Central Europe have been put

under scrutiny to observe their integration of the CSR phenomena and its evolution (Koleva et al.,

2010). Also, this has been proven by other research, as for instance the one conducted by

Planken, Nickerson and Sahu (2013) on the Netherlands (compared in the study to India).

Consumers/individuals get step by step more responsibility and the ethical duties are now the

“central topics in organizational research” (Koleva et al., 2010, p274). In Western Europe, region

where the paper is focused on, the concept of CSR has become extremely popular since the

1990’s. Western European companies that get a leading role in the current society need to be

more responsible. It means that preoccupations should go beyond simple compliance. Companies

need to be more concerned by human capital, environmental issues and general relations with

stakeholders. In those developed countries, the concept assumes that routine practices and ways

to interact in their business might be responsible, moral and ethical. And this parameter is always

appreciated in comparison with other business practices (Koleva et al., 2010). Nowadays,

business actors are facing an increasing pressure to adopt and improve their performance in CSR

activities (Boulouta & Pitelis, 2014).

Companies’ interests in investing in CSR are moral but also strategic: CSR can be a powerful

tool of differentiation. It becomes then a useful parameter to increase the competitiveness

(Boulouta & Pitelis, 2014). On the skincare market, which has been punctuated by scandals such

as the one concerning animal testing by beauty companies like L’Oréal (Lin, 2013). It also was

subject to hard competition, for thus companies are pushed to invest into CSR activities for more

reasons. CSR is used by companies in the recruitment of employees, in having a positive image

from investors and consumers, in decreasing costs, in managing the risk and sometimes simply

because it is also doing the right thing (The Economic Times, 2013).

Moreover, the European skincare market is actually facing a deceleration period (MarketLine,

2013b). However, mature markets allow companies to get cash flow in order to innovate and

invest in new projects (Hambrick et al., 1982). For thus, companies redouble efforts to stay /

become attractive (MarketLine, 2013b).

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The skincare market consumer is also more sensitive to the product and exercise greater care to

the brand quality. This can be explained by the fact that the item he purchases is in direct relation

to his security need. This, following Maslow Needs Hierarchy, suggests that more attention is

dedicated to the product and brand features rather than to the price, the facility to access or the

packaging (Schmutte, 2006). Taking into consideration that environmental and ethical issues

represent nowadays an important parameter in the consumer purchasing decision, it is easy to

understand how companies can use the CSR to convince the consumer to go for them by

reassuring him (Martin, 2010).

The popular consumer society does not only refer to the central role of consumption. It also refers

to the interaction between market actors and the individuals’ culture impacting the consumption

process (Solomon et al., 2010). Sweden and France are two completely different countries in

terms of cultural dimensions and values (Hytter, 2007). With two strong and different identities,

the analysis and comparison of these two countries and their behaviour on the skincare market

has not been exploited yet. One is turning towards the environmentally friendly trend while the

other is turned towards the glamour and esthetical culture. As two countries from the Western

Europe, they are placed in the mass research of Western culture. However, their significant

differences in their routine might influence the findings of the following research. The

researchers’ ambition is also to help companies to understand how to generalize their CSR

activities in order to be well perceived by all Western European countries.

Indeed, since 1970, the definition of CSR has evolved in Europe. An increasingly number of

countries have then adopted the “trend”, trying to respect the legal requirements and social norms

in order to harmonize business and social concerns (Gatte & Seele, 2014).

Moreover, the interpretation of Corporate Social Responsibility has a different meaning from an

individual to another, as well as to an industrial to a consumer or a researcher to another. It is the

case between the two countries observed explained by two contextually and territorially different

cultures (Koleva et al., 2010). Thus, in this study, it is important to define what CSR is for the

researchers and for the consumers.

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Research gap

Therefore, this is important to analyze the notion of CSR on the skincare market.

Comparative studies between Western European countries have not been established until now.

The researchers’ ambition is to highlight the potential differences in consumers’ sensitivity to

CSR activities, depending on their culture. The study is hence focused on two European

countries, Sweden and France, since no comparison has been made between the two. Also, the

results of this study may bring some advices for companies to understand better the way their

consumers perceive their CSR activities and which changes they may want to make.

1.4. Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to understand how consumers from France and Sweden

perceive the meaning of CSR and how it influences their purchasing decision for skincare

products.

1.5. Delimitations

The researchers decide to focus on the skincare market, which comprises facial and body

care products. Moreover, the thesis is based mainly on the CSR definition given by Carroll from

1991, which is not the only definition existing. Also, the focus concerns only two countries,

France and Sweden. In France, an online questionnaire allows to access to data from different

areas whereas in Sweden, the data collection come from several cities in Småland to collect the

data.

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1.6. Outline of the paper

The thesis is constructed on six chapters, like the Figure 2 below illustrates. The first

chapter is an introductory part including a background of the chosen subject. It also presents the

problem discussion, the purpose and research questions linked to it, but also the delimitations

noted by the researchers. The second chapter is the literature review and outlines theories from

prior research that help the researchers. Following the literature review, some research questions

and hypothesis to test are elaborate and exposed in chapter 3. The fourth chapter brings out the

research questions and hypotheses made by the researchers. Then, the methodology explains the

way the research is conducted and the way the data is collected. The data analysis part is next,

covering the primary data findings, linking them to the theories, in order to analyze this data and

test the hypotheses. The final part includes the main findings of the study and its conclusions,

encompassing further research.

Figure 2: Presentation of the paper steps, based on the researchers’ own development.

Introduc)on   Li-erature  Review  

Research  ques)on/hypothesis  

Methods   Data  Analysis   Conclusions  

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2. Literature Review

The interest of this second chapter is to gather information provided by both secondary

data and theories. The part treat the national culture linked to CSR was, second CSR’s aspects

and its communication/promotion, and third the consumer’s perception of CSR after approaching

the general concepts of consumer’s perception and purchasing decision.

2.1. National Culture: influence of norms and values

2.1.1. Hofstede national culture

A lot of previous researches on the subject of national identity and national culture led to

many theories. One of them received a particular attention and was considered as being a relevant

model in order to observe the differences of cultural influence and its work-related value between

members of different societies (Pressey & Selassie, 2003). This star model, raised by Hofstede in

the 1980’s and based on a study driven in the IBM company, has the fundamental idea that “[...]

cultural values are long-lasting and are not converging” (Black, 2005, p.1145). According to this

thinker, national cultures are based on fundamental values that have been anchored through each

country’s history. Every nation has developed its own system of societal norms and values

included in educational systems, family, politics and other institutions (Hofstede, 2001).

The model suggests the five following cultural dimensions to consider that highlight the

differences between countries (Hofstede, 2001). These dimensions are summarized with the

Black (2005), Pressey and Selassie (2003) and Byström and Mälstad (2013) references:

The uncertainty avoidance: this dimension covers the subject of uncertainty that people of a

population are facing in their life. It expresses the need of high or low level of security, formal

rules and regulation expressed by this population.

The power distance dimension refers to the existence of inequality in the society between people

belonging to a population in a certain country, and treats about the attitudes facing conflicts and

patterns.

The masculinity versus femininity: mentions the tangible differences established between sexual

genders regarding the work activities, the confrontations etc. More specifically, it allows to

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observe if masculine values (to like performance and earnings) in a society predominate over

feminine values (to be more social, like the quality of life and having warm personal

relationships).

The individualism versus collectivism: This dimension brings up the attitude of people of a

population who chose to act as individuals over as group members. It means that some people

think first of themselves and their family, while others first think of obtaining a reciprocal loyalty

with their relatives.

The long-term/short term orientation: this parameter explores the regard of the population to the

future rather than the past and current age. This has demonstrated that societies with a long-term

orientation rely on situation, time and context to reveal the truth, whereas societies with a short-

term one rely on the respect of tradition.

Hofstede’s five indices have been used many times for all types of studies, being regarded as a

leading theory and supported by many like Smith (1996) and Child (1981). However, many

economists and thinkers have criticized and debated them for different reasons like the generality

of the findings, the method of data collection and the subjectivity (Black, 2005). This theory is

hence not the only one that could be taken as a reference.

The article of Williams and Zinkin (2006) focused on the relationship between Hofstede’s

cultural aspects and the attitudes towards CSR. The author observed that there is a close link

between the punishment by consumers of socially irresponsible behaviours from firms and the

cultural aspects of these consumers. The authors emitted several hypotheses in relation to the five

dimensions of Power Distance: Masculinity and Femininity, Individualism and Collectivism,

Uncertainty Avoidance and Long/Short Term Orientation. They used the parameters to run a

comparison between 28 countries. They have come to the conclusion that “[...] differences in

consumer behaviour across countries do indeed appear to be consistent with differences in the

cultures of these countries and that these differences can be understood within the standard

interpretation of the Hofstede framework” (Williams & Zinkin, 2006, p20). More specifically, the

conclusions are as followed:

Countries that have a high power distance culture tend to punish less irresponsible behaviour by

companies than countries having a low power distance culture. And conversely: countries that

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have a low power distance culture tend to punish more irresponsible behaviour by companies

than countries having a high power distance culture.

Stakeholders from countries that are individualistic will tend to punish more irresponsible

behaviours by firms than those in countries, which are less individualistic. And conversely:

stakeholders from countries that are more collectivist will tend less to punish irresponsible

behaviours by firms than those in countries which are more individualistic.

Countries having a masculine culture have stakeholders who will punish irresponsible behaviour

by companies more than in countries with a feminine culture, and conversely.

In countries with a culture of low uncertainty avoidance, stakeholders have a slightly higher

tendency to punish irresponsible behaviour from companies than in countries with a culture of

high uncertainty avoidance. But this has not been proven conversely.

Stakeholders from high long-term orientation countries are less likely to punish irresponsible

behaviour, and conversely.

These conclusions conducted the researchers to develop the three first following hypothesis:

H1: There is a difference on the consumers’ cultural dimensions between France and

Sweden.

H2: Consumers’ cultural dimensions influence their perception of skincare companies’

CSR.

H2a: Consumers’ cultural dimensions influence their perception of skincare companies’

CSR in a different way in France and Sweden.

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2.1.2. Cross-Cultural difference of CSR understanding

“There are cultural differences that suggest a strong influence of the economic,

technological, political and social context within which any assessment of the (communication)

effects of the CSR activities on consumers’ responses need to be analyzed” (Beckmann, 2007,

p32).

Previous CSR perception linked studies showed the evidence that influencing culture can change

the way consumers perceive CSR. For instance, Isabelle Maignan and O.C. Ferell (2003) led a

research targeting three developed countries in the Western world: U.S.A, France and Germany.

The aim of their work was to understand depending on their three close but still different cultures,

the nature of corporate responsibility perspective. They interpreted their result on the consumers’

evaluation of CSR using two levels of analysis:

● Within the country analysis: this analysis was conducted using several points of

consideration: the economic, the legal, the ethical, the philanthropic and the

overall social responsibilities. These items are depicted in the introductory chapter

linked to Carroll theories and her pyramid hierarchy. The participants are asked to

classify in order of importance these five items. On the three areas, the order of

preoccupation was all-different, that was interpreted as being the result of different

cultures.

● Between countries comparison.

As a result, the study showed that there is a positive relation between a CSR well positioned

corporation and a good perception of CSR. Finally, the two European countries appeared as more

disposed to appreciate social implication than the American society. This study showed the

importance of national culture, and more precisely national values, on the understanding,

perception and appreciation of CSR activities that vary from a country to another (Maignan &

Ferell, 2003).

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2.2. CSR’s aspects and communication

2.2.1. Carroll’s Pyramid and CSR theories

In 1991, Carroll wrote an article which treats the CSR four business social responsibility

components: economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic components. At the beginning of defining

CSR, only economic and legal categories mattered, however in recent years, philanthropic and

ethical ones have taken a greater place (Carroll, 1991). Although lots of definitions have been

developed over the years, Carroll first illustrated these four categories in a pyramid in 1979.

However, some economists like Milton Friedman reject the philanthropic responsibility from the

three other ones. Although business executives may not do the same, as philanthropy is nowadays

easier to adopt (Carroll, 1991). The pyramid presented as followed has been remodeled and

adapted from Carroll’s one by the researchers, and the description of the four responsibilities is

based on Carroll’s article and Byström’s and Mälstad’s (2013) Bachelor thesis.

Figure 3: Corporate Social Responsibility Pyramid; adapted from Carroll (1991)

Economic responsibility is the first layer of the pyramid that has existed since the creation of

business organizations, where profit was the first motivation for entrepreneurship. This motive

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was then turned into profit maximization, which is still today the economic responsibility value.

Other economic components are included in the idea, such as profit being linked to success, as

well as competitiveness (Carroll, 1991).

Legal responsibility is the second layer of the pyramid, and corresponds to the respect of the laws

and regulations established by the governments inside and outside the business organization.

Firms are not allowed to pursue their profit motive without complying the legislation, which is

why this layer is in coexistence with the first one (Carroll, 1991). If they decide not to be a law-

abiding corporate citizen, jurisdictional problems may occur as a consequence. Legal

responsibilities can then be seen as the respect of an ethics code (Byström & Mälstad, 2013).

Ethical responsibility, as the third layer of the pyramid, corresponds to “[...] those activities and

practices that are expected or prohibited by societal members even though they are not codified

into law” (Carroll, 1991, p5). A company’s stakeholders have moral rights that need to be

respected. Thus by incorporating standards, norms and expectations it is considered as fair and

just by those stakeholders (consumers, shareholders, employees etc.). As said before, ethics can

conduct to the creation of the laws, but not always, as they can also represent a contribution to a

better performance by the company, by using standards not made mandatory by law (Carroll,

1991).

Philanthropic responsibility is the fourth layer of the pyramid, and includes corporate actions in

response to the society’s expectations. It measures the engagement from companies to promote

human welfare and goodwill. The act of philanthropy is more discretionary or voluntary from

businesses but there is always the societal expectation that businesses provide it. Philanthropic

aspect is different from ethical aspect in a sense that philanthropy is not always expected in an

ethical or moral way (Carroll, 1991).

This led to the following third hypothesis:

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H3: There is a difference on the perceived importance of profitability, ethics and

philanthropy for corporate activities of skincare companies between Swedish and French

consumers.

2.2.2 Communication and Promotion of CSR

According to Blombäck and Scandelius (2013), some research on communication of the

CSR showed that companies will not only look for CSR strategies but also for composing CSR

communication. The message that companies want to transfer to the consumers need to be well

done to be in line with the CSR strategy of the companies (Blombäck & Scandelius, 2013).

Some authors think that in campaigns, the philanthropic aspect that is based on reputation

through the trustworthiness, the credibility and the reliability, is more spotted than the others.

Others suggest that consumers identify better CSR communication by the form of annual reports

or websites (Blombäck & Scandelius, 2013).

However, consumers are really suspicious and question the real actions of the companies. In the

article of Blombäck & Scandelius, (2013), the authors note that firms would rather deal with a

“CSR positioning paradox” which highlights the importance of analyzing CSR’s messages from a

consumer perspective (Blombäck & Scandelius, 2013). The companies must ensure that

stakeholders are informed in a professional manner in order for them to gain their support. Hence,

the physical proof of their CSR activities is to be in the form of a written message showing their

willingness to be a good corporate citizen. Then, companies have to choose the more suitable

channels to communicate their message. One of the important aspects to do so is to know their

audience, which implies to understand stakeholders’ values and culture. Evaluating

communication allows keeping the dialogue between organizations and stakeholders. It can

provide useful feedback involving individual perception and opinions of the CSR, which can help

organizations to improve their communication (Dorte Nygaard Madsen et al., 2010).

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2.3. The general concept of consumer’s perception

According to Solomon et al. (2010), in a marketing strategy process, companies need to

catch consumers’ attention in order to make them buy their products, addressing to their senses

(smell, sight, sound and touch). The perceptual process is then interesting to understand how

customers evaluate a product and give a meaning to the sensations they might have when

confronted to it, relying on the schemas, “organized collections of beliefs and feelings” (Solomon

et al., 2010, p119). They have been developing since they were born. First, their sensory

receptors receive some stimuli to which consumers pay attention: this is called the sensation.

Afterwards, they try to give a meaning to what they see, hear, smell or/and touch by interpreting

them. Finally, they get a response that leads to the final perception they have about the product

(Solomon et al., 2010). The following part deals with consumers’ perception of CSR activities.

2.4. Consumers’ perception of CSR

2.4.1. Consumers’ perception of CSR and impact on consumer behaviour

For lucrative companies, the central aim is to generate profits. For these same companies,

one of the first arguments in order to adopt and work within CSR is the importance of

stakeholders’ considerations and their need of safety (Beckmann, 2007). A stakeholder is defined

in this article as any person, group, organization, institution, society, and even the natural

environment. According to this definition, customers are part of stakeholders and all CSR reports

place them in a central position (Öberseder et al., 2013). Customers influence the CSR strategy

origination by expressing their expectations, which leads managers’ actions (Trapp, 2014). The

increased interest from consumer to CSR came from “[...] the number of firms with social

responsibility programs grew, more firms communicated their efforts with the public and

consumer groups promoted firm wrongdoings and called for large-scale boycotts” (Becker-Olsen

et al., 2006, p52).

In one of her work, Suzanne Beckmann (2007) raises the question whether the consumer gets a

“warm glow” attitude vis-à-vis companies that fit altruistic acts. The above anthropological

models findings, regarding the CSR perception, are useful to answer her question.

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If the majority of consumers concede to be highly interested in CSR activities of companies in

whole, the awareness and understanding of what is really CSR is very heterogeneous (Beckmann,

2007). This is not to erase the fact that they clearly distinguish the several CSR domains

(Öberseder et al., 2013). Previous studies showed that 80% expect firms to be engaged in social

initiatives and 52% confess that they will certainly boycott ones that follow an irresponsible

attitude (Becker-Olsen et al., 2006). But, a relative important quantity of consumers are not aware

of what companies are engaged in. They are skeptical and sometimes cynical regarding CSR

activities. However, the findings display the evidence that consumers are positively sensitive to

companies that are engaged in CSR. Even if the relationship between “expressed attitude” and

active one can be really different, CSR activities play a crucial role in the brand image profile

(Beckmann, 2007).

When comes the moment to purchase a product, consumers confess that even if the CSR is really

important, what cannot be compromised is the price and quality of the product. However, CSR

appears as an “insurance policy” and sometimes a “product-harm crises”, a sort of additional

product (Beckmann, 2007, p3). Finally, she concludes on the fact that some CSR activities attract

the interest of the consumer while other ones do not (Beckmann, 2007).

Finally, following Beckmann (2007) theories and concerning the exploration of CSR perception

by the consumer, several parameters need to be explored:

The interest or disinterest regarding a CSR activity to another, the information and the level of

knowledge regarding this CSR, the consumer-company congruence, the relevance of other

products and brand attributes, the evaluation of tradeoffs between CSR and corporate

associations, and the perceived credibility of various CSR information sources.

As a consequence, the following fourth hypothesis could be posed:

H4: There is a difference between how concerned consumers are by skincare companies’

CSR activities in Sweden and France.

Moreover, Becker-Olsen et al., (2006), found a strong negative correlation between CSR

activities that are not linked with corporate objectives. It can then become a factor of decrease for

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held beliefs about firms. They also positioned the communication role on a central place, making

the connection between the social and the business domain and being then at the genesis of a

positive image of a firm like being proactive and socially motivated. Another research led by Lee

Ki-Hoon and Shin Dongyoung (2010) showed the evidence that there is a strong correlation

between the increasing consumers’ awareness concerning firms’ activities with the increasing

consumers’ intentions to purchase.

This theory allowed to test two other hypotheses:

H5: Consumers’ perception of skincare companies CSR activities influences their intention

to purchase these products.

H5a: Consumers’ perception of skincare companies CSR activities influences their

intention to purchase these products in a different way in France and Sweden.

2.4.2. CSR vs. Corporate Social Irresponsibility

“They [the consumers] are more sensitive to negative CSR information than to positive

CSR information, thus increasing the risk of boycott” (Beckmann, 2007, p6).

In the nearly 1980’s and decades after the introduction in marketing activities of the notion of

CSR, Armstrong introduced for the first time the notion of Corporate Social Irresponsibility

(CSI) (Murphy & Schlegelmilch, 2013). He defines the notion as being the irresponsible attitude

taken by the decision-maker in adopting an alternative inferior to another one, taking into account

all parameters embedded with the decision. “Generally this involves a gain by one party at the

expense of the total system” (Amstrong, 1977, p.185).

Recently, three factors were identified that underline CSI (Murphy & Schlegelmilch, 2013):

The self-preservation is an undesirable effect based on norms of behaviour, threat of avoidance

and moral impulse.

The corporate culpability concerns the moral responsibility inference of causality.

The non-complicity that concerns those who are directly impacted by product safety violations

and those who are indirectly impacted.

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Another study led by Silvia Grappi, Simona Romani and Richard Bagozzi (2013) emphasizes that

the creative opportunity for firms to exploit CSR in making their businesses can make them

stronger, notably in avoiding the bad effects of CSI. Among these undesirable consumer

responses to CSI attitudes, the negative word of mouth is one of the most threatening for

companies. It is the “promulgation of distaste, disapproval, or disparagement concerning

irresponsible actions by corporations” (Grappi et al., 2013, p 1814). These bad responses can also

lead to more harmful actions against the firm misbehaviour in using protest behaviours. It can

concern boycotts, “[...] blogging against the company, participating in picketing, engaging in

efforts to stop firms from selling their goods, taking legal actions against corporations,

complaining and joining collective movements against the firms are those reactions that can lead

to the death of a business” (Grappi et al., 2013, p 1815). CSI can be viewed as a moral

transgression. The authors identified two categories of moral transgression affected by CSI:

The ethical transgression that directly impacts the other stakeholders; and the social

transgression, a violation impacting the community's norms and expectations of respect.

Finally, they found that protest behaviours and negative word-of-mouth differ in social

implications. While the decision of purchasing a product is recognized as an individualistic

process, the (negative) word-of-mouth is a sort of social emotional sharing within the community,

the organization and why not the national one (Grappi et al., 2013).

One other hypothesis can hence be displayed:

H6: There is a difference in consumers’ reaction to CSR activities of skincare companies

between France and Sweden.

2.5. Purchasing decision

The purchasing decision is the result of a number of parameters such as the retrieving of

information, the rational perspective or as opposed the non-rational purchase as well as the post-

purchase processes and so on (Solomon et al., 2010). In their work, the four authors Michael

Solomon, Gary Bamossy, Søren Askegaard and Margaret Hogg (2010) depict several aspects

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linked to the act of purchase. In the present work, the purchasing aspects in relation to the CSR

perception are the three ones previously evocated.

The purchasing decision-making process can supervene from many factors: the rational

perspective and the non-rational purchasing. The first perspective involves a previously reflected

buying and anticipated with many expectations from the consumer. The second one results in

compulsive purchases that “[...] do not seem to serve a logical purpose […]” (Solomon et al.,

2010, p315). The consumer sometimes just wants to buy through an experiential perspective

being highly influenced by society behaviour (Solomon et al.).

The retrieval defined by the authors is the process whereby the information will enter in long-

term memory. This is the accumulation of many information given by all stimuli in the

environment. Most of them can’t be forgotten, or with a lot of effort from organizations. This

long-term memory access can be thankful to cognitive and physiological factors or situational but

it always depends on sensibility and memory. Moreover, since individuals are submitted to many

marketers’ information, they are also subject to forgetting. For thus, it is important for companies

to make them visible but especially remarkable among the others. They finally really need to

exploit the differentiation to reach the consumers’ long-term memories (Solomon et al., 2010).

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3. Research questions/hypotheses and frame of reference

3.1. Hypotheses

As explained previously, the researchers need to test several hypotheses that are gathered

as followed for a better clarity:

H1: There is a difference on the consumers’ cultural dimensions between France and

Sweden.

H2: Consumers’ cultural dimensions influence their perception of skincare companies’

CSR.

H2a: Consumers’ cultural dimensions influence their perception of skincare companies’

CSR in a different way in France and Sweden.

H3: There is a difference on the perceived importance of profitability, ethics and

philanthropy for corporate activities of skincare companies between Swedish and French

consumers.

H4: There is a difference between how concerned consumers are by skincare companies’

CSR activities in Sweden and France.

H5: Consumers’ perception of skincare companies CSR activities influences their intention

to purchase these products.

H5a: Consumers’ perception of skincare companies CSR activities influences their

intention to purchase these products in a different way in France and Sweden.

H6: There is a difference in consumers’ reaction to CSR activities of skincare companies

between France and Sweden.

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3.2. Research Questions

Regarding the purpose, four research questions are asked in order to guide this thesis:

R1 - What do consumers understand of CSR?

R2 - How does the difference of cultural dimensions impact the CSR perception?

R3 - How do consumers perceive these CSR activities on both French and Swedish markets?

R4 - How does this perception influence the consumer purchasing decision on the skincare

market?

3.3. Research Model

Following the eight previous hypotheses, a figure is useful in order to understand the link

between the notion exposed and the purpose of the paper, what the researchers are intending to

demonstrate. The figure behind is organised as follow:

The list on the left is composed of Hofstede cultural dimensions, Carroll CSR components

perceived by the respondents, consumers’ concerns and reactions to CSR, which represents the

secondary features of this paper. They help to the argumentation and display of the main topic of

this paper.

The list on the top composed of consumers’ perception of CSR as well as consumers’ purchasing

decision represents the main topic, the aim data of the paper.

Finally, the list on the right concerns the two last parameters treated in this paper and strongly

used in the previous hypotheses: France and Sweden, the core content of the current study whose

ambition is to compare both in their perception of CSR.

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Figure 4: Research model, based on the researchers’ own development.

The figure exposes the link between cultural dimensions and customers’ CSR perception on the

skincare market exposed in the hypothesis H2. It also presents the authors comparative intention

between French and Swedes cultural dimensions in H1. The logic is the same for the rest of the

14 arrows of the figure.

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4. Methodology

4.1. Research design

The research design is one of the most important steps in the elaboration of a study work.

It provides the model and the general line of conduct to adopt for the data collection step as well

as the analysis and the writing down of conclusions (Bryman & Bell, 2011). In choosing the good

research design for a research, it is important to keep in mind that the model should let (Bryman

& Bell, 2011): appear the causal connections between variables, the generalization of findings to

larger group(s) than the one(s) investigated, understand behaviours and their meanings in the

specific selected context, get a temporal appreciation of social phenomena observed and their

interconnections.

In the third edition of Business Research Method, Bryman and Bell (2011) identify five different

types of research design:

Table 3: Research Design in Bryman and Bell (2011)

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In the present paper, the desire of the authors is to compare consumers’ perception of CSR in two

distinct countries. It then fits the characteristics of a comparative study design with a cross-

cultural approach.

4.2. Research Approach

4.2.1. Epistemological considerations

An epistemological consideration asks the question of what is considered as an acceptable

knowledge in a discipline (Bryman & Bell, 2011). The two authors recorded three current styles

of epistemological approach:

Positivism: This approach advocates the use of method practices in the natural sciences area in

order to investigate social phenomena and social reality. This method involves to generate

hypotheses from theories and to test them (deductivist principle), only knowledge confirmed by

sense is acceptable and then provides the basis of law (inductivism principle).

Realism: close from the positivism, they both share the belief that “natural and social sciences

can and should apply the same kind of approach to the collection of data and to explanation”

(Bryman & Bell, 2011, p.17). Two major forms of this approach exist: the empirical realism -

affirming that the use of pertinent methods allow researchers to understand the reality- and the

critical method - be aware that researchers are able to understand social world only in

understanding the structure in which the phenomenon is embedded.

Interpretivism: this principle requires respect of the fact that differences exist between people and

objects of the nature. Researchers should then take into account the subjective meaning of social

action.

4.2.2. Ontological considerations

The ontology of a paper concerns the way the scientist observes the social entities.

Relatives to organization and culture, two ontological trends differ from each other: objectivism

and constructionism. While the positivism assesses that “social phenomena and their meanings

have an existence that is independent of social actors”, the constructionist discourse claims that

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these same social phenomena are accomplished by actors, in a constant state of revision (Bryman

& Bell, 2011).

The actual paper tries to understand a particular social phenomenon in exploring consumer

behaviour within a French and a Swedish sample. It then fits an interpretivist epistemology

principle paired up with a constructionist approach.

4.3. Research Strategy and Data Collection

4.3.1. Research Strategy

In Bryman and Bell (2011), research strategy is defined as “a general orientation to the

conduct of business research” (2011, p.26). In a research strategy, researchers have the choice

between a quantitative and a qualitative research. The first one calls for the use of measurement

methods while the second does not. Also, a quantitative approach collects and analyzes data with

the help of quantification methods; also, it uses a deductive approach where theories are tested

with doing some researches, and the strategy is led by positivism, defined as “an epistemological

position that advocates the application of the methods of the natural sciences to the study of

social reality and beyond” (Bryman & Bell, 2011, p.15).

Qualitative and quantitative research strategies can be combined to bring even better results and

analysis to the study. This thesis however uses a quantitative research method with a deductive

approach, led by a self-completion questionnaire. Indeed, the point of departure of this paper is to

emit several hypotheses, and to conduct a self-completion questionnaire to be able to test them

and conclude. It proves the need to choose a deductive approach, and so a quantitative research

method, although some qualitative interpretations will be done in linkage to some qualitative

questions included in the questionnaire.

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4.3.2. Data Collection

Data collection is based on primary and secondary data. Primary data represents the data

collected by the researchers themselves while secondary data is gathered by other sources which

already exist (Rabianski, 2003).

In this thesis, the external sources of secondary data are used, which are composed by

government sources, media (print and internet) and universities research (Grimsley, 2014).

Primary data can be collected by different methods: questionnaires, interviews, observations,

focus group interviews, case studies, diaries, critical incidents, portfolios (Bryman & Bell, 2011).

As said before, the researchers have chosen the questionnaire method and more precisely the self-

completion questionnaire. According to Bryman and Bell (2011), the self-completion

questionnaire is seen as a structured interview but the difference is that there is no interviewer

and respondents have to read and answer themselves.

The advantages of the self-completion questionnaire are that it is cheaper than other studies if the

sample is much dispersed, it is faster to administer by email or post. Moreover, the absence of the

interviewer allows avoiding the influence of the characteristics of the interviewer on the

respondents and it is more convenient for the respondents (Bryman & Bell, 2011). The

disadvantages of the self-completion questionnaire include: questions have to be clear enough

because there is no interviewer who can explain and respondents cannot ask questions; the

questionnaire can be read as a whole before the respondents answer the first question and it can

be possible that the questions are not answered in the right order. Furthermore, it could be

impossible to collect additional data and to focus on the appropriate kinds of respondents since it

is a questionnaire (Bryman & Bell, 2011).

4.4. Sample Selection

The need to sample is a preponderant action in order to argue on the validity of a research.

The selection of a sample adapted to the particular quantitative case can make research findings

valid and reliable or not. The fact of sampling refers to some of the following important terms

that need to be considered (Bryman & Bell, 2011):

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● Population: the universes in which the sample has to be selected. In this case, the

two populations are the French population and the Swedish one.

● Sample: the part/segment of the population chosen to be investigated. This sample

needs to be representative, meaning to be a small part of the population that

reflects the accurately target.

● Sampling bias: distortion in the sample representativeness.

● Probability sample: all units of the population have the same chance to be

selected.

● Non-probability sample: a sample that has not been selected using a random

selection method.

● Sampling error: the difference between the selected sample and the target

population.

● Non-sampling error: differences between the population and the sample that arise

from deficiency in sampling.

● Non-response: source of non-sampling error.

There are different types of sample models. One of them is the probability sample previously

defined. In order to give to all members of the population an equal chance to be selected,

different types of elaborating a probability sample can be chosen. The first one is called “simple

random sample”. It consists in defining the population, selecting a comprehensive sampling

method, deciding on the sample size, listing the units of the population, using a table of random

numbers and then the reconstitution of the final sample. Another method, the “systematic

sample”, consists in selecting the units directly from the sampling frame. The “stratified random

sampling” is the selection of a small population like a marketing department in all companies,

whereas the “multi-stage cluster sampling” is the selection of the sample in a single company

(Bryman & Bell, 2011).

The size of the selected sample is defined depending on time and cost considerations, the

heterogeneity of the populations investigated and the kind of analysis that is led (Bryman & Bell,

2011).

Concerning the non-probability sampling, three types of selection can be identified. These

methods are being further detailed in the following table for more clarity.

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Table 4: Types of non-probability sampling (Bryman & Bell, 2011).

In this paper, the two samples are selected in two countries: France and Sweden. In order

to get a relatively high reliability in the answer feedback, the size of the sample needs to be the

highest; because of the short time freedom for the empirical investigation, it is also limited. The

researchers being present in Sweden, when the moment to investigate the Swedish population

comes, the sample is built using the convenience sampling practice in shopping streets directly to

every possible consumer of skincare products. For France, a snowballing method is used in order

to access the maximum of units in the population. Indeed, previous quantitative scientific studies

have based their research on a snowballing method, like for instance the demographic research by

Beauchemin and Gonzalez-Ferrer (2011). Also, Kumar (2011) explains in his book that snowball

sampling is a non-probability sampling design used both in qualitative and quantitative research.

This sampling method is described in Bryman and Bell (2011) as a way to enlarge the number of

respondents by initially sending the questionnaire to a small group of people who will in turn

pass it on to other people. The choice of this method is for access reasons to the sample, as it is

used when there is a difficulty in creating a sampling frame (Bryman & Bell, 2011): for this

study, the researchers had no possibility to come back to France, so they contacted their personal

social networks and asked them to transmit the questionnaire to their own connections. The

following figure illustrates the model of snowballing sampling:

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Figure 5: Snowballing Sampling model and operation, based on the researchers’ own development.

4.5. Questionnaire building

The main tool used in the research as a data collector is a large sample survey. The

sample selected is defined and argued below but the self-completion questionnaire needs to be

deeply worked in order to fit the audience it will meet. It has to be clear and understandable, be

able to bring the required information to answer the hypotheses and use theories previously

defined (Bryman & Bell, 2011).

The two first tools used to build the questionnaire are Hofstede national culture theory and

Maignan and Ferell (2003) tools of culture comparison of CSR perception. The first one is used

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in asking each participant about his own attitude towards the five Hosftede culture frameworks

previously defined. The second model consists in understanding the differences of CSR

considerations depending on the culture. For those, the researchers asked participants to proceed

to a 7-point scale analyze for each of the following affirmations: “I believe that businesses must

(a) maximize profits (economic responsibility), (b) refrain from bending the law even if this helps

improve performance (legal responsibility), (c) avoid layoffs (responsibility toward employees),

and (d) help improve the quality of life in our community (responsibility toward the community)”

(Maignan & Ferell, 2003). In the present study, the researchers are inspired by this example and

apply it to their questions, only the legal aspect is not used, considered as less relevant. Thus, it is

asked to participants to classify these three other points in order of importance based on their own

feelings.

The second point to take into consideration is the match of quantitative and qualitative data

collection attributes of the questionnaire. The majority of the questions are answered by yes/no,

scales, multiple case selections or choice in a pre-established list. This data is then quantitative.

But, some of this information requires explanation like the Yes/No questions and since the paper

is concerned by consumers’ perception of CSR, it is important to collect their own feelings

concerning the phenomenon.

The questionnaire is then built in a logical way, using pictures and examples in order to make it

easier to understand and push the participants to be actors of the data building. The following

figure presents the model in which the questionnaire is driven:

Figure 6: Features of this thesis self-completion questionnaire, based on the researchers’ own development.

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Then, the questionnaire is handed out in two different countries: France and Sweden. Because of

the distance between the researchers and the French territory, the questionnaire is delivered by

using snowballing sample whereas the Swedish participants are investigated by using

convenience sampling in streets and shopping areas.

In France, the snowballing sampling method is conducted by first contacting people connected to

the researchers, who are then asked to send the questionnaire to their entourage. The

questionnaire is mainly shared by emails and social networks, in private messages but also public

publications, which makes it difficult for researchers to know the exact amount of copies

distributed. However, this number can be estimated at around 200, of which 100 answers are

obtained.

In Sweden, the convenience sampling method is conducted in five representative cities: Växjö

(city center and campus), Kalmar, Alvesta, Värnamo and Ljungby, the researchers being in the

obligation to respect some time constraints. The questionnaire is filled by people walking in the

streets. The researchers obtain by convenience sampling the following answers: 23 in Kalmar, 7

in Alvesta, 14 in Ljungby, 14 in Värnamo and 42 in Växjö. However, due to some unanswered

questions, 15 questionnaires result in being invalid and are put apart. They are not able to be

coded for a further analysis.

4.6. Data Analysis

Analyzing the results of the 200 answers collected through the questionnaire is a major

part in the quantitative research, as it provides the researchers with either the support or the

rejection of the hypotheses. For this, the SPSS software is used in order to elaborate descriptive

statistics and to conduct several tests to check those hypotheses (Hair et. al., 2011).

4.6.1. Descriptive statistics

Descriptive statistics are described as “methods of organizing, summarizing, and

presenting data in an informative way” (Lind et al., 2005). They allow to present in a table, all

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scale variables rated from 1 to 5 by respondents and provide valuable measurements: measures of

central tendency including the mean, the mode and the median, and measures of dispersion,

including for instance the standard deviation, the skewness and the kurtosis (Hair et al., 2011).

The measures of central tendency give information concerning the distribution, while the

measures of dispersion allow to evaluate the variability of the answers, and see how the

distribution is formed. The mean is the “arithmetic average” (Hair et al., 2011, p.310) and is very

often used to measure the central tendency; the standard deviation is the square root of the

variance and is used to present how the distribution values are variable; the skewness and kurtosis

are used complementarily to observe a balanced distribution and its flatness (Hair et al., 2011). If

the skewness is 0 the distribution is symmetrical, and if it is superior to 1 or inferior to -1, the

distribution is skewed (positively or negatively). The kurtosis is measured the same way.

4.6.2. Testing the hypotheses

In order to either confirm or reject their 9 hypotheses, the researchers need to check them

by conducting several tests: the correlation (after computing), the regression and the t-tests.

However, before conducting those tests, the researchers have to evaluate the reliability by

calculating the Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient (this is explained in part 3.6. Quality criteria).

Compute

Before running the correlation, some variables need to be pooled (or computed) to create

constructs, representing a new unique variable (Hair et al., 2011).

Pearson Bivariate Correlation

Pearson bivariate correlation evaluates the linear association between two variables and is

explained with the Pearson coefficient that is comprised between -1 and 1, which proves a strong

association when close to those numbers. However, a coefficient of 0 shows no existing

association between the variables: it is called the null hypothesis (Hair et al., 2011). Also, it is

important to look at the significance level (seen as SIG in the tables) to analyze the covariation

between two variables, that is to say the way a variable evolves when another variable changes.

35

This significance level must be inferior to 0.01, to 0.05 and is considered acceptable under 0.10.

Over 0.10, the level of risk is too high and the researchers cannot accept it (Hair et al., 2011).

Bivariate Regression

Bivariate regression analysis is used in this research to evaluate the existing linear relationships

between two variables, an independent one called “predictor” and a dependent one called

“criterion” (Hair et al., 2011). The important coefficients to observe in a bivariate regression are

the significance level, as in the correlation analysis, but also the adjusted r-square: this one shows

“[...] the amount of variation in one variable that is accounted for by another variable” (Hair et

al., 2011, p.363). It is interpreted with a percentage. Moreover, the Beta coefficient is needed, as

it will be useful to determine the predictability of a correlation between two variables. All the

added Betas correspond to the R-square value; Beta values are interpreted with a percentage.

Independent samples T-test

The independent t-test analysis is run in order to compare the means of two groups from

independent samples. The t-test allows the researchers to know if the differences between two

means appeared by chance or if they are real. For this, they look at the significance level and also

at the means for nominal values (Hair et al., 2011).

4.7. Quality criteria

In a quantitative research, in order to evaluate the measurements, it is essential to take into

account validity and reliability criteria (Bryman & Bell, 2011).

4.7.1. Reliability

According to Bryman and Bell (2011), reliability corresponds to “the consistency of a

measure of a concept” or a construct (2001, p.158) and is mainly used in quantitative research.

The goal of making the results reliable in the study is to allow other future researchers to conduct

studies that will lead to the same or close results: this is called, according to Bryman and Bell

(2011), the operationalization. In this study, the researchers conducted a reliability test to be sure

36

for others to repeat the results but also the methods used. Therefore, the results need to be

consistent over time and the questionnaire can be reused (Hair et al., 2011), which can be done by

checking the multi-item scales. In this study, multi-item scales are used to create constructs, and

their reliability have to be evaluated. To do this, the internal consistency is a major instrument.

Indeed, the internal consistency is used to measure the reliability of a scale in a construct, this one

made of several items. To measure it, the Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient is calculated: the number

found goes from 0 to 1, but to get a good internal consistency, it has to be over 0.6, and the closer

it is to 1, the better this consistency is, which proves a strong association between the items of the

constructs made (Hair et al., 2011). In this study, the Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient is calculated

for the four constructs Cultural dimensions, Perception, Purchasing decision and Awareness, and

the variables revealed to be correlated in all constructs, except for the Cultural dimensions one.

4.7.2. Validity

Still according to Bryman and Bell (2011), validity is the second criterion and is defined

as “the issue of whether or not an indicator that is devised to gauge a concept really measures that

concept” (2001, p.159).

Firstly, concerning the secondary data, according to John Scott, it can be evaluated by 4 criteria:

authenticity, credibility, representativeness and meaning. John Scott tries to ensure that

researchers use secondary sources with as much care as they employ in producing primary data.

These criteria allow to increase the validity of the data gathered (Bryman & Bell, 2011).

Secondly, according to Hair et al. (2011), validity is expressed through several aspects: content

validity, construct validity and criterion validity. Content validity is the consultation of some

experts to evaluate if a construct is suitable. For this thesis, the questionnaire is controlled by

some aggregated teachers. Also, the translation of the questionnaire questions and answers from

English to French and Swedish provide a better understanding for the respondents, so it increases

the validity aspect. However, some data loss may be caused. Moreover, the researchers ask a

friend of them to translate back the Swedish questionnaire into English to see if it matches the

original questionnaire; some slight basic vocabulary and grammar differences occur, but as a

whole, the two questionnaires match, which gives some more validity.

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Construct validity allows to appraise what a concept or a scale means. It includes the convergent

validity and the discriminant validity.

Criterion validity assesses the performance of a construct obtained with a survey instrument

comparing with other results from other research. Concurrent validity is part of the criterion

validity and is the evidence that defends the use of a test. In this study, the questionnaire is based

on experts’ previous works and references: Previous research resulted in hypotheses based on

Hofstede’s cultural dimensions framework, which are the basis of the elaboration of this study’s

own hypotheses, and the questions related to them.

The researchers having French origins, they may obtain more answers from French participants

than from Swedish ones, so they have to adjust them to gain representativeness and make the

results valid.

4.8. Operationalization

The data analyzed through the SPSS software includes the following classified

dimensions:

National culture dimensions:

● NatCult2a: I need a lot of security, which means that I need to be framed by formal rules

and regulation.

● NatCult2b: I feel that there are a lot of inequalities between people in my country.

● NatCult2c: I am more influenced by feminine values than masculine ones (Feminine

values: I am more influenced by social aspects, I like the quality of life and having warm

personal relationships. Masculine values: I prefer performance and earnings).

● NatCult2d: I have a more collectivist attitude than an individualist one (I am a collectivist

person: I take decision in groups and think of others. I am more an individualistic person:

I think first of myself and my family).

● NatCult2e: My everyday life decisions are more guided by a long-term vision than a

short-term one (I have a long-term vision: I am more focused on the future consequences

of my actions; time is not a scarce resource).

38

Brand evaluation dimensions:

● Evaluation 1: I consider L'Oréal Paris as being highly socially responsible.

● Evaluation 2: I consider Dove as being highly socially responsible.

● Evaluation 3: I consider Body Shop as being highly socially responsible.

● Evaluation 4: I consider Yves Rocher as being highly socially responsible.

Perception dimensions:

● Perception 1: Profitability is the most important goal for skincare companies.

● Perception 2: The most important goal for skincare companies is to be ethical in their

business.

● Perception 3: The most important goal is to be concerned by the human condition.

● Perception 4: I am concerned by skincare companies' CSR activities.

● Perception 5: In general, if I am aware of one of these brands CSR activities, I would

recommend these brands to my friends.

● Perception 6: I completely understand what CSR is.

● Perception 7: I believe that CSR activities are important for companies' credibility.

Purchasing decision dimensions:

● Purch_Decision1: If the price and quality of two products are the same, I could allocate

more money to the brand more engaged in CSR activities.

● Purch_Decision2: In general, if I am aware of one of these brands CSR activities, I will

buy these brands products in the future.

● Purch_Decision3: The CSR activities of these skincare companies are important to me for

making purchasing decision.

● Purch_Decision4: It changed my purchasing behaviour.

39

5. Data Analysis

The analysis part first presents and analyzes the collected primary data obtained from the

questionnaire answers. This analyze leads the researchers to establish the main observations and

state if the hypotheses made are rejected or confirmed.

5.1. Introduction of the collected data

The questionnaire can be accessed in the first annexes of this current paper. The survey is

run on 200 participants equally split between French and Swedish subjects: a hundred valid

questionnaires rounded out by French and a hundred one by Swedes. While the French version is

distributed using social networks and a snowballing tool, the Swedish version is handed out by

the researchers themselves in the city centers. Since the French data is collected before the

Swedish ones, it is then easier to take into control the profiles required to make the two samples

similar in their individual characteristics: age, gender and level of qualification.

Figure 7: Age and Gender Pie Chart for Swedish and French samples, based on the researchers own development.

40

With the reading of the previous pie charts, we can observe almost the same amount of female

and male participants in France and in Sweden. However, the age areas of the 20 and less, 41-50

and more than 50 are almost equal, the number of collected questionnaires for the 21-30 and 30-

41 are not equal and could represent a limit in the generalization of the results.

5.2. Descriptive variables

5.2.1. Descriptive statistics

With this test, the researchers observe the brut components of the future compute

variables. They control the mean, the skewness that has to be between +/-1 and reveals a global

knowledge of a tendency of the answers depending on the mean. Finally, the researchers take also

into account the kurtosis statistics that has to be between +/-1.

Mean Minimum Maximum Standard deviation

Skewness Kurtosis

NatCult2a 3.29 1 5 1.020 -0.120 -0.450

NatCult2b 3.99 1 5 0.990 -0.849 0.284

NatCult2c 3.34 1 5 1.118 -0.180 -0.595

NatCult2d 3.48 1 5 1.143 -0.369 -0.641

NatCult2e 3.52 1 5 1.112 -0.551 -0.317

Evaluation1 3.20 1 5 1.155 -0.171 -0.528

Evaluation2 3.43 1 5 1.184 -0.409 -0.607

Evaluation3 3.71 1 5 1.068 -0.722 -0.144

Evaluation4 3.66 1 5 1.054 -0.571 -0.035

Table 5: Descriptive variables for the National Culture and Evaluation variables

41

Mean Minimum Maximum Standard deviation

Skewness Kurtosis

Perception1 2.61 1 5 1.299 0.420 -0.888

Perception2 3.45 1 5 1.242 -0.273 -0.934

Perception3 3.47 1 5 1.311 -0.407 -0.941

Perception4 3.30 1 5 1.182 -0.398 -0.499

Perception5 3.37 1 5 1.200 -0.383 -0.688

Perception6 3.38 1 5 1.270 -0.344 -0.844

Perception8 3.52 1 5 1.107 -0.578 -0.049

Purch_Decision1 4.02 1 5 1.222 -1.081 0.126

Purch_Decision2 3.50 1 5 1.116 -0.458 0.126

Purch_Decision3 3.13 1 5 1.236 -0.143 -0.321

Purch_Decision4 2.23 1 5 1.226 0.547 -0.706

Table 6: Descriptive variables for the Perception and Purchasing Decision variables.

For all these previous variables, the mean, the skewness and the kurtosis are good. All the

variables are relevant and researchers can then use them to drive the analysis of the hypotheses.

5.2.2. Reliability and data computing

The previous National Culture, Perception and Purchasing Decision are tested in order to

know if it is relevant to compute the variables together to build new construct variables. For thus,

researchers run a reliability test and take for acceptable reliable variables the ones that present a

Cronbach’s Alpha above 0.6.

42

Variables Cronbach’s Alpha Number of items Results

Cultural Dimension 0.249* 5 Not reliable

Perception 0.612 7 Reliable

Purchasing Decision 0.635 4 Reliable

*Cronbach’s alpha < 0.600

Table 7: Results of the reliability tests

Thus, the used construct variables to run the test are:

PERC_AV=(Perception_1+ Perception_2+ Perception_3+ Perception_4+ Perception_5+

Perception_6+ Perception_8)/7

PD_AV=(Purch_Decision1+ Purch_Decision2+ Purch_Decision3+ Purch_Decision4)/4

AWAR_AV=(Awareness1a, Awareness1b, Awareness1c, Awareness1d, Awareness1e,

Awareness1f, Awareness1g, Awareness1h, Awareness1i)

5.3. Hypotheses tests

5.3.1. Running the test of the Hypothesis 1: differences in cultural dimensions

In order to start to run tests to prove the relevance or irrelevance of the hypothesis1, it is

important to understand the nature of it. Hypothesis 1: “There is a difference on the consumers’

cultural dimensions between France and Sweden”. This is a comparative hypothesis between two

different samples, a T-test on independent variables is so required to confirm it. As the National

Culture dimensions are not reliable, it is important to test the five elements independently. The

figures to take into account in this test are the p-value revealing the significant differences

between French and Swedes.

43

Variables Sig. (2-tailed)

Uncertainty avoidance

Power distance

Masculine versus feminine values

Individualistic versus collectivist attitude

Long-term versus short-term vision

0.012*

0.433

0.077**

0.006***

0.182

*p-value<0.05 **p-value<0.1 ***p-value<0.01

Table 8: Results of the T-test on Hypothesis 1

With a p-value <0.05 for the NatCult2d dimension, a p-value <0.1 for the NatCult2a dimension

and a p-value <0.01 for the NatCult2c dimension, the hypothesis on these 3 dimensions are

approved of respectively 98%, 92% and 99% sure that the difference is not thanks to chance.

The two other ones are rejected because of a p-value>>0.1.

Swedes need for security, the feminine or masculine values and the individualistic or collectivist

attitude differ from France to Sweden. The hypothesis is valid for this 3 variables. In fact, the

frequencies table in SPSS annex 4 reveals the fact that the interviewed French are more

influenced by feminine values and collectivist attitude than Swedes but they are less subject to

uncertainty avoidance.

5.3.2. Running the test of the Hypothesis 2 and 2a: influence of cultural dimensions

on the perception

The two hypotheses in question still refer to cultural dimensions but in relation to the

perception of CSR, the new construct variable PERC_AVG:

H2: Consumers’ cultural dimensions influence their perception of skincare companies’ CSR.

H2a: Consumers’ cultural dimensions influence their perception of skincare companies’ CSR in

a different way in France and Sweden.

44

The two hypotheses intend to prove a relation between two variables: the dependent variable

being the perception (PERC_AVG) and the independent variable being the national cultures

(NatCulture2a, NatCulture2b, NatCulture2c, NatCulture2d, NatCulture2e). The most appropriate

test is then a regression test. Previously, a correlation test is run in order to attest the difference of

data and the relation between the variables. In this test, the Pearson coefficient must be under +/-

0.9 to be sure that the data collected are not the same as well as the p-value attesting a correlation

between the studied variables, must be <0.1. A first correlation is led for all the participants and

another one splitting the sample into two nationalities: French and Swedish ones.

The results shown for all participants test the relevance of the correlation between perception and

NatCult2a to NatCult2e. The regression is then led on the two relevant relations:

● NatCult2a and PERC_AVG: With an Adjusted R-Square revealing that 2% of Perception

could be explained by the need of security, this relation is reliable and valid attested by a

significance of about 96%.

● The other cultural dimensions are rejected because of a significance far above 0.1.

The same test is then run in splitting the sample as previously defined. The results of the

correlation test and regression test between Swedish and French national cultures and perception

are presented in the following table 9.

No component gets an impact on the consumers’ perception of CSR neither in France nor in

Sweden. The hypothesis 2a is wrong and invalid, there is no difference of impact of the national

culture on the consumer’s CSR perception since it does not get any impact at all.

45

SWEDEN FRANCE RESULTS

National Culture Correlation Regression Correlation Regression

Uncertainty avoidance r=0.105

Sig=0.300

R2=0.001

Sig=0.300

β=0.105

r=0.117

Sig=0.248

R2=0.004

Sig=0.248

β=0.117

SW=rejected

FR=rejected

Power distance r=-0.038

Sig=0.705

R2=-0.009

Sig=0.705

β=0.038

r=-0.055

Sig=0.586

R2=-0.007

Sig=0.586

β=-0.055

SW=rejected

FR=rejected

Masculinity vs. Femininity r=-0.082

Sig=0.417

R2=-0.03

Sig=0.0417

β=-0.082

r=-0.043

Sig=0.676

R2=-0.008

Sig=0.676

β=0.043

SW=rejected

FR=rejected

Individualism vs. Collectivism

r=0.016

Sig=0.875

R2=-0.010

Sig=0.875

β=0.016

r=-0.047

Sig=0.645

R2=-0.008

Sig=0.645

β=-0.047

SW=rejected

FR=rejected

Long-term vs. short-term vision

r=0.026

Sig=0.798

R2=-0.010

Sig=0.798

β=0.026

r=0.159

Sig=0.116

R2=0.015

Sig=0.116

β=0.159

SW=rejected

FR=rejected

Table 9: Comparative Table for Correlation and Regression tests for the hypothesis 2a.

5.3.3. Running the test of the Hypothesis 3: differences on the perception of CSR

components

This hypothesis measures the importance of perception of the CSR components. It tries to

prove that “There is a difference on the perceived importance of profitability, ethics and

philanthropy for corporate activities of skincare companies between Swedish and French

consumers.”

46

The T-test is a useful method in order to verify this hypothesis because it compares both

countries Sweden and France and can concern several variables. All CSR components have the

same p-value: 0.000. It allows to conclude that there is a difference on the perceived importance

of profitability, ethics and philanthropy for corporate activities of skincare companies between

Swedish and French consumers.

5.3.4. Running the test of the Hypothesis 4: difference on the concern of CSR

This hypothesis treats the difference of consumers’ concern towards skincare companies’

CSR activities. It tries to attest that: “There is a difference between how concerned consumers

are by skincare companies’ CSR activities in Sweden and France”. Since this study of the

phenomenon wants to compare both countries and the concerned variables, the hypothesis needs

to be tested using a T-test.

The T-test run on Sweden and France on the questionnaire participants’ concern of skincare CSR

reveals a significance of the difference between the two samples (p-value) about 0.016. Being

situated under the value of 0.05 certificating a certainty of the hypothesis about 95%, more

precisely 98%. The test leads to the conclusion that it exists a difference between France and

Sweden on how concerned they are by the skincare companies’ CSR activities. The frequencies

table shows that French tend to be more concerned by CSR activities.

5.3.6. Running the test of the Hypotheses 5 and 5a: influence of perception on the

intention to purchase

In this part, the researchers want to show a correlation between the perception variable

and the intention to purchase. For thus, they use the construct variables PERC_AVG as the

independent variable and PD_AVG as the dependent variable. The two hypotheses questioned

here are: “Consumers’ perception of skincare companies CSR activities influences their intention

to purchase these products” and “Consumers’ perception of skincare companies CSR activities

influences their intention to purchase these products in a different way in France and Sweden”.

The same reasoning as it was for the hypothesis 2 and 2a is applied here.

47

In this table, the difference can be seen between Sweden and France on their perception of CSR.

Variables Perception 7 “My understanding of CSR is:” Sweden France A way for companies to manipulate their brand image. Yes: 17%

No: 83% Yes: 81% No: 19%

A real intention from companies to be more ethical regarding their stakeholders.

Yes: 29% No: 71%

Yes: 37% No: 63%

A way to allow companies to be more visible and then attracts more consumers.

Yes: 32% No: 68%

Yes: 53% No: 47%

A societal trend. Yes: 20% No: 80%

Yes: 62% No: 38%

A big lie to push the consumers to consume more. Yes: 8% No: 92%

Yes: 21% No: 79%

A way for companies to recover from a scandal. Yes: 16% No: 84%

Yes: 39% No: 61%

Vague: I do not really understand it. Yes: 32% No: 68%

Yes: 4% No: 96%

Table 10: Frequencies on nominal values on the perception of CSR between Sweden and France.

This previous table introduces the difference in Swedish and French perception of CSR by

comparing nominal values collected by the questionnaire. The figure shows some similarities, for

instance the Perception7b variable. It also emphasizes a big difference of CSR perception and

comprehension like the fact that 4 French over 5 think that CSR is a tool for companies to

manipulate their brand image, when less than 1 Swedish over 5 think so. This observation is

visible when comparing the Perception7a variable. This perception divergence between the two

samples is also clearly exposed with the Perception7d, Perception7f and Perception7g variables.

The phenomenon is more faded for the Perception7c and Perception7e variables.

When trying to test a relation between two independent variables, it is important first to show that

both are different using a correlation test and then test if weather or not it exists a relation

between both using a regression test.

Concerning the hypothesis 5 that takes into account all participants, Swedish and French, the

Pearson correlation coefficient is about 0.509<0.9 and the significance about more than 99.9%,

so the regression test can be safely led knowing that the two variables are distinct. For the

Swedish and French sample treated separately, the conclusion is the same that the previous one.

48

Then, the first regression is done for all participants. The test reveals a significance of the relation

between the two variables of more than 99.9%. It also shows the fact that 25.5% of the

purchasing decision is explained by the consumer perception of skincare CSR activities. The

hypothesis 5 is then valid.

Concerning the regression test run on the two countries as two separated samples, the figures

show that:

For the Swedish sample, once again, the relation is significant for more than 99.9%. Moreover,

more than 37.3% of the Swedes purchasing decision is explained by their perception of skincare

CSR.

For the French sample, the significance of the impact of perception on purchasing decision is

about 99.9% but only 17.3% of the purchasing decision can be explained by their perception of

skincare CSR.

We can then see a difference on the impact of CSR perception on French and Swedish purchasing

decision. The hypothesis 6a is then valid, Swedes’ purchasing decision are twice more impact by

their CSR’s perception than French.

5.3.7. Running the test of the Hypothesis 6: consumers’ reaction to CSR and CSI

In this last hypothesis, the authors’ expectation is to understand how French and Swedes

react to scandals on the skincare market (Reaction1bis) and how they react after being satisfied

by a product concerned by CSR activities. For this, a comparison of frequencies values was run

in order to observe the French and Swedish reaction trend. The hypothesis treated is that “There

is a difference in consumers’ reaction to CSR activities of skincare companies between France

and Sweden”.

49

Sweden France

Reaction 2a: My reaction was: Boycott

Yes: 20% No: 80%

Yes: 15% No: 85%

Reaction 2b: My reaction was: Negative word-of-mouth

Yes: 26% No: 74%

Yes: 18% No: 82%

Reaction 2c: My reaction was: Bad comments on blogs

Yes: 0% No: 100%

Yes: 2% No: 98%

Reaction 2d: My reaction was: Legal actions

Yes: 4% No: 96%

Yes: 0% No: 100%

Reaction 2e: My reaction was:

Nothing

Yes: 53%

No: 47%

Yes: 68%

No: 32%

Table 11: Frequencies on nominal values on consumer’s reaction to CSR and CSI between Sweden and France.

The previous table is a collection of the frequencies given by the nominal values of the

questionnaire. It shows important similarities between French and Swedes when comes to react to

bad corporate behaviour. However, Swedes tend to proclaim more negative word-of-mouth or are

more disposed to boycott a brand concerned by CSI. French consumers tend to ignore bad

corporate behaviours more than Swedes. The hypothesis 6 having the intention to observe a

difference of reaction between the two populations is then partially supported.

50

5.4. Summarized table of results: validation or rejection of the hypotheses

5.4.1. Summarized of T-tests

Hypothesis P-value Result

Hypothesis 1 Uncertainty avoidance 0.012 Supported

Power distance 0.433 Rejected

Masculinity/Femininity 0.077 Supported

Individualism/Collectivism 0.006 Supported

Long/Short-term vision 0.182 Rejected

Hypothesis 3 Profitability 0.000 Supported

Ethics 0.000 Supported

Philanthropy 0.000 Supported

Hypothesis 4 Concern 0.016 Supported

Table 12: Summarized results of the T-test.

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5.4.2. Summarized of Regression tests

Hypotheses Variables R2 p-value Beta Result Hypothesis 2

Uncertainty Avoidance

0.017 0.038 0.148 Supported

Power distance

-0.005 0.753 -0.022

Rejected

Masculine / Femininity

-0.003 0.503 -0.048

Rejected

Individualism / collectivism

-0.002 0.410 -0.059

Rejected

Long/short term vision

0.000 0.329 0.069 Rejected

Hypothesis 2a

SSW

FFR

SSW

FFR

SSW

FFR

Uncrtainty Avoidance

0.001

0.004

0.300

0.248

0.105

0.117

Rejected

Power distance

-0.009

-0.007

0.705

0.586

0.038

-0.055

Rejected

Table 13a: Summarized results of the Regression test.

Hypotheses Variables R2 p-value Beta Result Masculine /

Femininity -

0.003 -

0.008 0

.417 0

.676 -

0.082 0

.04 Rejected

Individualism / collectivism

-0.010

-0.008

0.875

0.645

0.016

-0.047

Rejected

Long/short term vision

-0.010

0.015

0.798

0.116

0.026

0.159

Rejected

Hypothesis 5

Perception on Purchasing decision

0.255 0.000 0.509 Supported

Hypothesis 5a

Perception on Purchasing decision

SSW

FFR

SSW

FFR

SSW

FFR

0.373

0.173

0.000

0.000

0.616

0.426

Supported

Table 13b: Summarized results of the Regression test.

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6. Conclusions

In this chapter, the purpose exposed in the chapter 1 is reached and the research

questions in the chapter 3 are answered. The interest of the chapter is to drive the final and

global result of the current scientist work. The role the findings will play in the future of social

and marketing sciences for CSR researches and practices is exposed in the “Theoretical and

Managerial implications” part. Finally, as no research is perfect and because science is always

improving, some suggestions are proposed for further researches in order to complete and get a

deeper understanding for the subject.

6.1. Discussions

The authors and researchers of this work expect to offer the readers a better understanding

of how consumers from France and Sweden perceive the meaning of CSR and how it influences

their purchasing decision of skincare products. Their first ambition is then to get a relatively new

data of the current Swedish and French societies, based on Hofstede analysis of national culture

dimensions tool. The choice to collect their own cultural dimension data comes from the desire of

adapting data to the topic of CSR perception in two countries with their own culture. By

analyzing this first aspect, the researchers investigated the impact of cultural dimensions on CSR

perception of both samples, in global and in comparison. The perception being a wide, complex

but above all a subjective concept, it has been essential to find the most relevant perception

components in link with the CSR. These were identified as the concern, the reaction and how do

the participants perceive the CSR components. In sum, the split of cultural dimension is required

and allows the investigators to observe the global concept of CSR perception and its implication

on companies’ health, on the purchasing decisions.

When investigating the cultural dimensions of the two populations, the Swedish one and the

French one, the researchers were surprised by the obtained results. The two hundred

questionnaires gathered equally in France and in Sweden led to the fact that the Hofstede cultural

dimensions on which differences are observed are the ones that concern the uncertainty

avoidance, the feminine and masculine values and the individualistic or collectivist attitude. The

53

table in the SPSS annex, T-Test on hypothesis 1 - Group statistic, linked to William and Zinkin’s

theory developed in point 2.1.1 reveals the following results: Swedes are more concerned by the

uncertainty avoidance than French. They are more influenced by masculine values. They are

more individualistic than French. Then, in theory, they tend to punish more CSI and are more

sensible to CSR. Here, the authors are facing the fact that theories are sometimes not universal

and tests showed that none of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions impacts the consumer’s perception

of CSR neither in France nor in Sweden.

Regarding how concerned the French and Swedish participants are by CSR activities for

skincare, the results showed that French tend to be more invested in CSR activities, which is the

exact opposite of the previous theoretical conclusion. However, this result can be explained by

the low skincare CSR’s awareness in both countries.

Finally, the investigation in the large sample showed the evidence that perception of CSR

activities impacts the purchasing decision of skincare products about more than 25% in global.

Swedes’ and French’ perception of CSR being different, the purchasing decision is then not

impacted in the same way and reactions are different from France to Sweden (17% and 37%).

Swedes confess to expect from companies to adopt an active philanthropic attitude while French

expect for more ethic.

Even if the results of the current research revealed to marketers and scientists that they are not in

a total osmosis with William and Zinking’s theory on the impact of cultural dimensions on CSR,

they are not in a total contradiction. Finally, Bekmann’s theory, developed in 2.4.1., is a relevant

explanation of these dichotomous findings. How much Swedes and French are concerned about

CSR is different, their awareness is low etc. Their perception is highly influenced by these

components.

Moreover, when for French, the practice of CSR is a way for companies to manipulate their

brand image, to improve their visibility and fit a societal trend, the interpretation of what is the

CSR for Swedish participants is vague: they don’t really understand the concept. Once more, the

understanding French and Swedish participants have about CSR and their sensitivity differs.

The previous findings led the researchers to conclude on the fact that CSR can’t be practiced in

the same way in France and in Sweden. The importance of the findings for the rest of CSR

54

practitioners and investigators will be exposed in the following part.

6.2. Theoretical and managerial implications

6.2.1. Implications for Theory

In this section, the researchers aim at explaining why they have contributed to science and

offered adjustments to previous research. This study has outlined the way French and Swedish

consumers from all ages perceive CSR activities performed by skincare companies, and has

determined if it influences their intention to purchase. The previous hypotheses have, as desired,

been either accepted or rejected. It has allowed to compare those two culturally different

countries and observe which one grants more importance to CSR and CSI, which one perceives

CSR in a better way, and in the end which one reacts the most. No other study had made this

comparison before, hence this thesis has brought something new, although some reliability and

validity issues have been encountered by the researchers and may lead to some criticisms.

However, Williams and Zinkin (2006) had already concluded on the relation between cultural

values and the punishment of irresponsible behaviour, and the current thesis has added some

value and new outcomes to it, applying it specifically to France and Sweden. Finally, it has

revealed some rather valuable advices for practitioners.

6.2.2. Implications for managers

This thesis has also brought some implications for French and Swedish skincare

companies launching CSR campaigns that are willing to be more in tune with their demanding

consumers. Those companies include mostly world-known brands such as L’Oréal or Nivea,

since those were the brands used in the questionnaire to illustrate CSR activities and

misbehaviours to consumers. However, less famous companies could also take into

considerations the conclusions of this paper, since it reflects general perceptions and actions.

Also, the advices and observations are addressed to companies in general that wants to be

engaged in society and environment through CSR. The implications are based on the findings and

55

conclusions made previously, deducted from the data collected and analyzed in the two studied

countries.

First, the research has come to the conclusions that France more clearly understands the

definition of CSR, and compared to Swedish consumers who mostly consider the CSR as a vague

notion, French consumers have a generally negative image of it: they think it is mainly used as a

societal trend to manipulate their brand image. As a consequence, the advice for French

companies would be to communicate further and be more transparent to regain French

consumers’ trust; as for Swedish companies, they should launch more explanatory campaigns and

events to make Swedes aware and concerned by CSR.

Secondly, it has been proven that neither French consumers nor Swedish ones will have

pronounced punishment reactions towards companies that do not behave in a very societal way,

although Swedes will have a more negative word of mouth. However, their reactions have proven

to be slightly different. Swedish consumers will tend to recommend well behaviouring

companies’ products to their friends in a larger extent than French consumers. This implicates

that Swedish companies need to pay a greater attention to their actions.

In addition, the conclusions have shown that French consumers grant the same importance to

every components of the CSR (although the percentages show a slightly higher importance to the

ethical aspect), whereas Sweds grant more importance to the philanthropic and ethical aspects.

The advice for French companies is hence to press their CSR implications in an equal way, while

Swedish companies should press more their philanthropic and ethical implications.

Finally, consumers were asked to give skincare companies advices in order to include them more

into their CSR activities and some of them came very often on both sides: consumers would first

like companies to be more transparent and committed; also, they ask for more communication,

using media to provide more information. Also, another solution would be to launch public

awareness and satisfaction campaigns, along with including more actual societal and social

subjects such as gender or social inequalities. Companies should prefer a long-term engagement

over a short-term one by investing in humanitarian activities and development projects, thus

pushing sales with promises (for instance: 100 sold products for 1 built school or 10 euros given

to an association). Another problem is the incoherence between the CSR activities communicated

56

and the non-environmentally friendly packaging or products sold. Moreover, they should

associate ethics and promotions by offering reductions to consumers buying CSR promoting

products. Finally, a control of the real CSR engagement should be done by other private

companies to reassure consumers.

6.3. Limitations

This study only collected data from some cities in the Småland region of Sweden, it

means that it does not represent all Sweden. The researchers did not have time to travel more in

Sweden and to collect more data from Sweden and France. Also, the data gathered by the

questionnaire mostly represents women than men because of the chosen market: the skincare

market. Women use more skincare products than men. The age range in which the sample has

most responded is the 21-30 years in France because it matches with the age of researchers.

Moreover, some questions about the culture in the questionnaire appeared difficult to answer and

could cause confusion to the respondents. Thus, it can rise an irrelevance of the results.

Moreover, when the moment to test the cultural dimensions reliability came, the researchers did

not succeed in their gait to make from the five elements an only national culture parameter. They

then tested them separately, which could have led to a modification in the hypothesis concerning

the impact of the national culture on the CSR perception and the impact of the national culture

parameters on the CSR perception.

6.4. Suggestions for future research

There are some suggestions for future researches that could be brought out. To improve

the quality criteria, it could be interesting to take into account larger samples and use another

more statistical sampling method in order to increase the representativeness. Moreover, this study

could be a base for further research’s focus on other types of markets, not only the skincare one.

Any market could be examined between countries which presents both similarities and

differences in their culture.

57

Each organization (companies, government, researchers…) get its own understanding of the CSR

notion adapted to its strategy. Thus, a real investigation could be done in a unique organization

with its own CSR practices. For instance, Body Shop on the skincare market. Nevertheless,

according to a study on Body Shop realized by a student in HEC Montréal, Body Shop does not

respect values that the company supposedly highlights. The author takes each value that Body

Shop thinks control and respect and criticizes it with concrete examples. He assures that there is a

difference between the values displayed and the ones practiced. Sometimes the CSR activities of

companies is just a strategic marketing tool to attract customers. Also, he supports that the

commitment by companies in CSR is based on vague promises and rarely verifiable (Yacine,

2006). He suggests the development of other studies in the future for CSR notion.

Furthermore, the Hofstede study used in this thesis could be thorough. It is quite old; then it could

be interesting to take into consideration a more recent study called the GLOBE study, which was

made twenty years after the Hofstede study. Indeed, the GLOBAL study involves a hundred

researchers all over the world; it then increases the highly collaborative effort involved in studies.

This collaboration allows to analyze more deeply the Hofstede study in all countries and

experiment diverse samples, which is not the case in Hofstede’s research. The GLOBAL study is

seen as “a continuation of the work Hofstede undertook” (Hytter, 2007 p.64). This research

involves nine constructs instead of four in the Hofstede model. It allows to increase the quality of

the findings and to obtain a better level of construct validity. In this article, Retention Strategies

in France and Sweden, the author based his research on the GLOBAL study to compare national

culture in France and Sweden and he proves that for each dimension, some differences exist

between the two countries (Hytter, 2007).

58

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64

Annexes:

Tables and Figures of the Paper

Table 1: Skincare market growth (MarketLine Industry Profile , 2013a, p8).

Table 2: Swedish and French skincare markets’ features (Euromonitor, 2013).

Table 3: Research Design in Bryman and Bell (2011).

Table 4: Types of non-probability sampling (Bryman and Bell, 2011).

Table 5: Descriptive variables for the National Culture and Evaluation variables.

Table 6: Descriptive variables for the Perception and Purchasing Decision variables.

Table 7: Results of the reliability tests.

Table 8: Results of the T-test on Hypothesis 1.

Table 9: Comparative Table for Correlation and Regression tests for the hypothesis 2a.

Table 10: Frequencies on nominal values on the perception of CSR between Sweden and France.

Table 11: Frequencies on nominal values on consumer’s reaction to CSR and CSI between

Sweden and France.

Table 12: Summarized results of the T-test.

Table 13a-b: Summarized results of the Regression test.

Figure 1: Market share of the European Skincare Market (MarketLine Profil Industry, 2013b).

Figure 2: Presentation of the paper steps, based on the researchers’ own development.

Figure 3: Corporate Social Responsibility Pyramid; adapted from Carroll (1991)

Figure 4: Research model, based on the researchers’ own development.

65

Figure 5: Snowballing Sampling model and operation, based on the researchers’ own

development.

Figure 6: Features of this thesis self-completion questionnaire, based on the researchers’ own

development.

Figure 7: Age and Gender Pie Chart for Swedish and French samples, based on the researchers

own development.

66

Definition of concepts

Attitude (towards the act of buying) - the perceived consequences of a purchase (Solomon et al.,

2010).

Audience - defined in different and overlapping ways: by place (as in the case of local media);

by people (as when a medium is characterized by an appeal to a certain age group, gender,

political belief or income category); by the particular type of medium or channel involved

(technology and organization combined); by the content of its messages (genres, subject matter,

styles); by time (as when one speaks of the “daytime” or “primetime” audience, or an audience

that is fleeting and short term compared with one that endures) (

Behaviour - a consumer’s actions with regard to an attitude object (Solomon et al., 2010).

Brand awareness - brand awareness is the ability for potential consumers to correctly associate a

brand and product. In other words, brand awareness refers to the consumer's awareness of the

company, brand, and product (Swayne and Dodds, 2011).

Cash flow - the money received or otherwise generated by the business, minus the money used to

pay for its expenses, over a finite period of time. A positive cash flow, in which received cash

consistently exceeds the amount of cash payments, is the central goal of any business (Marvel,

2012).

Cognition - the beliefs a consumer has about an attitude object (Solomon et al., 2010).

Congruence - the quantification of similarities between two configurations (Salkind, 2010).

Consumer society - a society where the social life is organized less around our identities as

producers or workers in the production system, and more according to our roles as consumers in

the consumption system (Solomon et al., 2010).

Cost effectiveness - describe whether the value that something produces is worth what it costs

(Anderson, 2004).

67

CSR - Corporate Social Responsibility is the commitment by organizations to behave ethically

and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and

their families as well as the local community and society at large (Johnson et al., 2011).

Ethics - the part of human philosophy concerned with appropriate conduct and virtuous living

(Preissle, 2008).

Kurtosis: commonly thought of as a measure of the “pointyness” of a frequency distribution

(Field, 2007).

Mature stage - a period of a slowdown in sales growth because the product has achieved

acceptance by most potential buyers. Profits stabilize or decline because of increased competition

(Stahl).

Philanthropy - The root of the word philanthropy means “love of” (philo-) “mankind”

(anthropos), but in practice, it has a more restricted definition: the voluntary giving of private

wealth for the public good (Southerton, 2011).

Skewness - it measures the departure from a symmetrical (or balanced) distribution (Hair et al.,

2011).

Social networking - a growing practice whereby Web sites let members post information about

themselves and make contact with others who share similar interests and opinions or who want to

make business contacts (Solomon et al., 2010)

SPSS - Statistical Package for the Social Sciences is an easy-to-use statistical software package

that provides point and click access to statistical procedures (Hair et al., 2011).

Stakeholders - those individuals or groups that depend on an organization to fulfil their own

goals and on whom, in turn, the organization depends (Johnson et al., 2011).

68

English Questionnaire

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71

72

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75

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Swedish Questionnaire

Frågeformulär

Hej!

Syftet med denna undersökning är att etablera förhållandet mellan Svenska och Franska kunders syn på ett specifik marknadsföreningsfenomen och deras köp beteende. Vi är intresserade av hudvårdsmarknaden, vilket inkluderar hudvårdsprodukter för ansikte, kropp, händer samt solskyddsprodukter, hårborttagningsmedel och smink borttagningsmedel.

Den här undersökningen är skapad av tre studenter som läser en kurs i marknadsföringsstrategi vid Linnéuniversitetet i Växjö. Alla svar är anonyma och ni är välkomna att kontakta oss om ni har några frågor på elauci.vaxjo@gmail.com

1. Ålder:

! 20 eller yngre ! 21-30

! 31-40 ! 41-50

! Äldre än 50

2. Kön: ! Man ! kvinna

3. Nationalitet:

! Svensk ! Fransk

4. Vad är din högsta genomförda utbildning: ! Ej avslutad gymnasial utbildning

! Gymnasial utbildning eller motsvarande

! Yrkes/Teknisk utbildning

! Högskolenivå

! Kandidatnivå

! Mastersnivå

! Doktorandnivå

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5. Din kulturella dimension

Jag behöver en stor säkerhet, vilket betyder lagar och regler ska forma min omgivning

Helt oense ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Helt överens

Jag känner att det finns många olikheter mellan människor i mitt land.

Helt oense ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Helt överens

Jag är mer påverkad av feminina än maskulina värderingar. (Feminina värden: påverkad av sociala aspekter, gillar livskvalitet och har varma personliga relationer. Maskulina värden:. Föredrar prestation och resultat).

Helt oense ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Helt överens

Jag har en mer kollektivistisk än en individualistisk hållning (kollektivistiska personer: fattar beslut i grupp och tänker på andra. Individualistiska personer: Tänker först på sig själv och sin familj).

Helt oense ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Helt överens

Mina dagliga beslut är mer styrda av en långsiktig vision än en kortsiktig (långsiktig vision: mer fokuserad på de framtida konsekvenserna av mina handlingar, tid är inte en bristvara).

Helt oense ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Helt överens

Företagens goda handlingar för ditt samhälle

78

L'Oréal Paris kämpar mot äggstockscancer.

6. Jag anser att L'Oréal Paris tar mycket socialt ansvar

Helt oense ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Helt överens

Dove kämpar magra trender inom reklam och visar kvinnor med riktiga kurvor.

7. Jag anser att Dove tar mycket socialt ansvar

79

Helt oense ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Helt överens

<= Body Shop är engagerade i mänskliga rättigheter och säkerhet utöver sin verksamhet

The Body Shop gemenskap och dess leverantörer runt om i världen. Fair Träde engagemang.

8. Jag anser att Body Shop tar mycket socialt ansvar

Helt oense

☐

☐

☐

☐

☐

Helt överens

Yves Rocher stöder trädplantering efter avskogning. Målet är 50 miljoner träd.

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9. Jag anser att Yves Rocher tar mycket socialt ansvar

Helt oense ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Helt överens

Definitionen för ”Corporate Social Responsibility” i vår studie:

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) är ett begrepp som används för att beskriva frivilliga företagsinitiativ som arbetar gentemot samhällsutveckling, miljö och mänskliga rättigheter. Den består av ekonomiska, juridiska, etiska och filantropiska parametrar.

10. Min åsikt om dessa följande CSR-komponenter

Lönsamhet är det viktigaste målet för hudvårdsföretagen:

Att vara etiska i sin verksamhet bör vara det viktigaste målet för hudvårdföretagen:

Att hudvårdsföretagen är humana i sin verksamhet viktigast:

81

11. Jag är berörd av hudvård företagens CSR-aktiviteter.

12. Om pris och kvalitet på två produkter är samma, skulle jag välja att betala mer till varumärket med mer engagemang i CSR-aktiviteter.

13. Produkterna som jag är van att använda för min hud är från följande varumärken

! L’Oréal Paris ! Body Shop

! Dove ! Clinique

! Nuxe ! Yves Rocher

! Clarins ! L’Occitane

! Nivea

14. Jag är medveten om varumärkens CSR-aktiviteter. Helt oense Helt överens

15. Generellt gäller att om jag är medveten om en av dessa varumärkens CSR-aktiviteter Jag skulle rekommendera detta varumärke till min vän:

Jag kommer att köpa dessa märkesvaror i framtiden:

De CSR aktiviteter dessa hudvårdsföretag utför är viktiga för mig när jag gör ett köpbeslut:

82

Företagens sociala ansvarslöshet

L'Oreal-skandalen på 1990-talet: Varumärket anklagades för dålig behandling av djur, då tester av produkter utfördes på djur.

16. Jag kände till föregående skandal

! Ja ! Nej

Greenpeace aktivister kämpar mot Dove för dess användning av palmolja och dess deltagande i avskogning.

17. Jag kände till föregående skandal

! Ja ! Nej

83

Dove anklagades för rasistiska reklamkampanj - Den mörka kurviga kvinnan tycks blev förknippad med "torr hud " medan den vita kvinnan är förknippad med "perfekt hy".

18. Jag kände till föregående skandal: ! Ja ! Nej

19. Det förändrade mitt köpbeteende.

20. Min reaktion blev att

! Bojkotta (aldrig köpa en av varumärkets produkter igen) ! Uttrycka mig negativt muntligt ! Ge dåliga kommentar på bloggar ! Rättsligt åtgärder ! Ignorera

Min egen uppfattning om CSR

21. Jag förstår fullständigt vad CSR är

84

22. Min förståelse av CSR är: ! Ett sätt för företag att manipulera sina varumärken ! En verklig avsikt från företagen att vara mer etiska med sina intressenter (anställda,

konsumenter, aktieägare ...) ! Ett sätt att göra det möjligt för företag att bli mer synliga och locka fler konsumenter. ! En samhällelig trend. ! En stor lögn för att driva kunderna att konsumera mer. ! Ett sätt för företagen att återhämta sig från en skandal. ! Oklart. Jag förstår inte det riktigt. ! Annat:

23. Jag tror att CSR-aktiviteter är viktiga för företagens trovärdighet:

24. Hur tror du att företag inom hudvårdsmarknaden skulle kunna förbättra sitt varumärke och övertyga dig att köpa deras produkter, med att använda CSR? ! Mer kommunikation om sin verksamhet CSR ! Event ! Workshops ! Utmärkelser (ex: Body Shop med 2013 Business i gemenskapen pris för sin rättvisehandels

attityd ...) ! Sponsring ! Partnerskap (ex: L'Oreals och UNESCOs partnerskap i syfte att främja och stödja kvinnliga

forskare ...) ! Skapa föreningar ! Annat:

25. Hur tror du att företag inom hudvårdsmarknaden kan involvera konsumenterna mer i sin CSR verksamhet?

Tack för ert deltagande

85

86

French Questionnaire

87

88

89

90

91

92

93

94

95

Nominal tables

Frequencies on nominal values on awareness between Sweden and France

96

SPSS output

Minimum

Maximum

Mean Std. Deviation

Skewness Kurtosis

Statistic Statistic Statistic Statistic Statistic Std. Error

Statistic

NatCult2a 1 5 ,29 1,020 -,120 ,172 -,450 NatCult2b 1 5 ,99 ,990 -,849 ,172 ,284 NatCult2c 1 5 3,34 1,118 -,180 ,172 -,595 NatCult2d 1 5 3,48 1,143 -,369 ,172 -,641 NatCult2e 1 5 3,53 1,112 -,551 ,172 -,317 Evaluation1: I consider L'Oréal Paris as being highly socially reponsible.

1 5 3,20 1,155 -,171 ,172 -,528

Evaluation2: I consider Body Shop as being highly socially responsible.

1 5 3,43 1,184 -,409 ,172 -,607

Evaluation3: I consider Dove as being highly socially responsible.

1 5 3,71 1,068 -,722 ,172 ,144

Evaluation4: I consider Yves Rocher as being highly socially responsible.

1 5 3,66 1,054 -,571 ,172 -,035

Perception1: Profitability is the must important goal for skin care companies.

1 5 2,61 1,299 ,420 ,172 -,888

Perception2: The most important goal for skin care companies is to be ethical in their business.

1 5 3,45 1,242 -,273 ,172 -,934

Perception3: The most important goal is to be concerned by the human condition.

1 5 3,47 1,311 -,407 ,172 -,941

Perception4: I an concerned by skin care companies'CSR activities.

1 5 3,30 1,182 -,398 ,172 -,499

Purch_Decision1: If the price and quality of two product are the same, I could allocate more money to the brand more engaged in CSR activities.

1 5 4,02 1,222 -1,081 ,172 ,126

Awareness1a: I am aware of L'Oréal Paris' CSR activities.

1 5 2,09 1,279 ,902 ,172 -,340

Awareness1b: I am aware of Body Shop's CSR activities.

1 5 2,50 1,456 ,434 ,172 -1,186

Awareness1c: I am aware of Nivea's CSR activities.

1 5 2,03 1,183 ,877 ,172 -,215

Awareness1d: I am aware of Dove's CSR activities.

1 5 2,28 1,311 ,520 ,172 -1,012

Awareness1e: I am aware of Clinique's CSR activities.

1 5 1,72 1,085 1,411 ,172 1,154

Awareness1f: I am aware of Nuxe's CSR activities.

1 5 1,81 1,172 1,294 ,172 ,671

97

Awareness1g: I am aware of Yves Rocher's CSR activities.

1 5 2,63 1,471 ,268 ,172 -1,319

Awareness1h: I am aware of Clarins' CSR activities.

1 5 1,76 1,119 1,367 ,172 1,043

Awareness1i: I am aware of L'Occitane's CSR activities.

1 5 1,94 1,216 1,007 ,172 -,154

Perception5: In general, if I am aware of one of these brands CSR activities, I would recommend these brands to my friends.

1 5 3,37 1,200 -,383 ,172 -,688

Purch_Decision2: In general, if I am aware of one of these brands CSR activities, I will buy these brands products in the future.

1 5 3,50 1,116 -,458 ,172 -,321

Purch_Decision3: The CSR activities of these skin care companies are important to me for making purchasing decision.

1 5 3,13 1,236 -,143 ,172 -,822

Perception6: I completely understand what CSR is.

1 5 3,38 1,270 -,344 ,172 -,844

Perception8: I believe that CSR activities are important for companies' credibility.

1 5 3,52 1,107 -,578 ,172 -,049

Purchasing_Decision4: It changed my purchasing behaviour.

1 5 2,23 1,226 ,547 ,172 -,706

Valid N (listwise) Frequency Table Age Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative

Percent

Valid

20 and less 34 17,0 17,0 17,0

21-30 95 47,5 47,5 64,5

31-40 19 9,5 9,5 74,0

41-50 25 12,5 12,5 86,5

More than 50 27 13,5 13,5 100,0

Total 200 100,0 100,0 Gender Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative

Percent

Valid

Female 132 66,0 66,0 66,0

Male 68 34,0 34,0 100,0

Total 200 100,0 100,0 Nationality

98

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid

Swedish 100 50,0 50,0 50,0

French 100 50,0 50,0 100,0

Total 200 100,0 100,0 NatCult1: What is the highest level of education you have completed? Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative

Percent

Valid

Did not complete high school 19 9,5 9,5 9,5

High school or equivalent 45 22,5 22,5 32,0

Vocational/Technical school 22 11,0 11,0 43,0

Some college 43 21,5 21,5 64,5

Bachelor's degree 44 22,0 22,0 86,5

Master's degree 26 13,0 13,0 99,5

Doctoral degree 1 ,5 ,5 100,0

Total 200 100,0 100,0 Awareness2: I heard about this previous scandal (L'Oréal). Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative

Percent

Valid

Yes 47 23,5 23,5 23,5

No 153 76,5 76,5 100,0

Total 200 100,0 100,0 Awareness3: I heard about this previous scandal (Dove1). Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative

Percent

Valid

Yes 44 22,0 22,0 22,0

No 156 78,0 78,0 100,0

Total 200 100,0 100,0 Awareness4: I heard about this previous scandal (Dove2). Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative

Percent

Valid

Yes 18 9,0 9,0 9,0

No 182 91,0 91,0 100,0

Total 200 100,0 100,0

99

Reaction1a: My reaction was: boycott. Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative

Percent

Valid

Yes 35 17,5 17,5 17,5

No 165 82,5 82,5 100,0

Total 200 100,0 100,0 Reaction1b: My reaction was: Negative word-of-mouth. Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative

Percent

Valid

Yes 44 22,0 22,0 22,0

No 156 78,0 78,0 100,0

Total 200 100,0 100,0 Reaction1c: My reaction was: Bad comments on blogs. Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative

Percent

Valid

Yes 2 1,0 1,0 1,0

No 198 99,0 99,0 100,0

Total 200 100,0 100,0 Reaction1d: My reaction was: Legal actions. Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative

Percent

Valid

Yes 4 2,0 2,0 2,0

No 196 98,0 98,0 100,0

Total 200 100,0 100,0 Reaction1e: My reaction was: Nothing. Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative

Percent

Valid

Yes 121 60,5 60,5 60,5

No 79 39,5 39,5 100,0

Total 200 100,0 100,0 Perception7a: My understanding of CSR is: A way for companies to manipulate their brand image. Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative

Percent

Valid

Yes 98 49,0 49,0 49,0

No 102 51,0 51,0 100,0

Total 200 100,0 100,0

100

Perception7b: My understanding of CSR is: A real intention from companies to be more ethical regarding their stakeholders. Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative

Percent

Valid

Yes 66 33,0 33,0 33,0

No 134 67,0 67,0 100,0

Total 200 100,0 100,0 Perception7c: My understanding of CSR is: A way to allow companies to be more visible and then attract more consumers. Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative

Percent

Valid

Yes 85 42,5 42,5 42,5

No 115 57,5 57,5 100,0

Total 200 100,0 100,0 Perception7d: My understanding of CSR is: A societal trend. Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative

Percent

Valid

Yes 82 41,0 41,0 41,0

No 118 59,0 59,0 100,0

Total 200 100,0 100,0 Perception7e: My understanding of CSR is: A big lie to push consumers to consume more. Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative

Percent

Valid

Yes 29 14,5 14,5 14,5

No 171 85,5 85,5 100,0

Total 200 100,0 100,0 Perception7f: My understanding of CSR is: A way for companies to recover from a scandal. Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative

Percent

Valid

Yes 55 27,5 27,5 27,5

No 145 72,5 72,5 100,0

Total 200 100,0 100,0 Perception7g: My understanding of CSR is: Vague. I don't really understand it. Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative

Percent

101

Valid

Yes 36 18,0 18,0 18,0

No 164 82,0 82,0 100,0

Total 200 100,0 100,0 Advice1a: It would be possible for skin care companies to improve their brand image and convince me to buy their products by commuicating more on their CSR activities. Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative

Percent

Valid

Yes 129 64,5 64,5 64,5

No 71 35,5 35,5 100,0

Total 200 100,0 100,0 Advice1b: It would be possible for skin care companies to improve their brand image and convince me to buy their products by organizing events. Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative

Percent

Valid

Yes 51 25,5 25,5 25,5

No 149 74,5 74,5 100,0

Total 200 100,0 100,0 Advice1c: It would be possible for skin care companies to improve their brand image and convince me to buy their products by organizing workshop. Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative

Percent

Valid

Yes 50 25,0 25,0 25,0

No 150 75,0 75,0 100,0

Total 200 100,0 100,0 Advice1d: It would be possible for skin care companies to improve their brand image and convince me to buy their products by winning awards. Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative

Percent

Valid

Yes 66 33,0 33,0 33,0

No 134 67,0 67,0 100,0

Total 200 100,0 100,0

102

Advice1e: It would be possible for skin care companies to improve their brand image and convince me to buy their products by sponsorship. Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative

Percent

Valid

Yes 16 8,0 8,0 8,0

No 184 92,0 92,0 100,0

Total 200 100,0 100,0 Advice1f: It would be possible for skin care companies to improve their brand image and convince me to buy their products by making partnerships. Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative

Percent

Valid

Yes 85 42,5 42,5 42,5

No 115 57,5 57,5 100,0

Total 200 100,0 100,0 Advice1g: It would be possible for skin care companies to improve their brand image and convince me to buy their products by creating associations/corporate foundations. Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative

Percent

Valid

Yes 55 27,5 27,6 27,6

No 144 72,0 72,4 100,0

Total 199 99,5 100,0 Missing System 1 ,5 Total 200 100,0 Reliability Test for cultural dimensions Reliability Statistics

Cronbach's Alpha N of Items

,249 5 Reliability test for perception dimensions Reliability Statistics

Cronbach's Alpha N of Items

,612 7

103

Reliability test for purchasing decision dimensions Reliability Statistics

Cronbach's Alpha N of Items

,635 4 Correlations PERC_AV

PERC_AV

Pearson Correlation 1

Sig. (2-tailed) N 199

PD_AV Pearson Correlation ,509** Sig. (2-tailed) ,000 N 198

AWAR_AV Pearson Correlation ,272** Sig. (2-tailed) ,000 N 199

NatCult2a Pearson Correlation ,148* Sig. (2-tailed) ,038 N 199

NatCult2b Pearson Correlation -,022 Sig. (2-tailed) ,753 N 199

NatCult2c Pearson Correlation -,048 Sig. (2-tailed) ,503 N 199

NatCult2d Pearson Correlation -,059 Sig. (2-tailed) ,410 N 199

NatCult2e

Pearson Correlation ,069

Sig. (2-tailed) ,329

N 199

**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). *. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

104

Correlation test: Nationality = Swedish PERC_AV

PERC_AV

Pearson Correlation 1

Sig. (2-tailed) N 100

PD_AV Pearson Correlation ,616** Sig. (2-tailed) ,000 N 100

AWAR_AV Pearson Correlation ,297** Sig. (2-tailed) ,003 N 100

NatCult2a Pearson Correlation ,105 Sig. (2-tailed) ,300 N 100

NatCult2b Pearson Correlation ,038 Sig. (2-tailed) ,705 N 100

NatCult2c Pearson Correlation -,082 Sig. (2-tailed) ,417 N 100

NatCult2d Pearson Correlation ,016 Sig. (2-tailed) ,875 N 100

NatCult2e

Pearson Correlation ,026

Sig. (2-tailed) ,798

N 100

**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). *. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed). a. Nationality = Swedish

105

Nationality = French PERC_AV

PERC_AV

Pearson Correlation 1

Sig. (2-tailed) N 99

PD_AV Pearson Correlation ,426** Sig. (2-tailed) ,000 N 98

AWAR_AV Pearson Correlation ,303** Sig. (2-tailed) ,002 N 99

NatCult2a Pearson Correlation ,117 Sig. (2-tailed) ,248 N 99

NatCult2b Pearson Correlation -,055 Sig. (2-tailed) ,586 N 99

NatCult2c Pearson Correlation ,043 Sig. (2-tailed) ,676 N 99

NatCult2d Pearson Correlation -,047 Sig. (2-tailed) ,645 N 99

NatCult2e

Pearson Correlation ,159

Sig. (2-tailed) ,116

N 99

**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). *. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed). a. Nationality = French

106

Regression for hypothesis 2: Uncertainty avoidance (NatCult2a) Model Summary

Model R R Square Adjusted R Square

Std. Error of the Estimate

1 ,148a ,022 ,017 ,67048 Coefficientsa

Model Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients

t Sig.

B Std. Error Beta

1 (Constant) 2,979 ,160 18,565 ,000

NatCult2a ,098 ,047 ,148 2,094 ,038

a. Dependent Variable: PERC_AV Regression for hypothesis 2: Power distance (NatCult2b) Model Summary

Model R R Square Adjusted R Square

Std. Error of the Estimate

1 ,022a ,001 -,005 ,67773

Coefficientsa

Model Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients

t Sig.

B Std. Error Beta

1 (Constant) 3,361 ,200 16,805 ,000

NatCult2b -,015 ,049 -,022 -,315 ,753

a. Dependent Variable: PERC_AV Regression for hypothesis 2: Masculinity/Femininity (NatCult2c) Model Summary

Model R R Square Adjusted R Square

Std. Error of the Estimate

1 ,048a ,002 -,003 ,67713

107

Coefficientsa

Model Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients

t Sig.

B Std. Error Beta

1 (Constant) 3,397 ,152 22,354 ,000

NatCult2c -,029 ,043 -,048 -,670 ,503

a. Dependent Variable: PERC_AV Regression for hypothesis 2: Individualism/Collectivism (NatCult2d) Model Summary

Model R R Square Adjusted R Square

Std. Error of the Estimate

1 ,059a ,003 -,002 ,67673

Coefficientsa

Model Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients

t Sig.

B Std. Error Beta

1 (Constant) 3,421 ,155 22,125 ,000

NatCult2d -,035 ,042 -,059 -,825 ,410

a. Dependent Variable: PERC_AV Regression for hypothesis 2: Long/Short-term vision (NatCult2e) Model Summary

Model R R Square Adjusted R Square

Std. Error of the Estimate

1 ,069a ,005 ,000 ,67626 Coefficientsa

Model Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients

t Sig.

B Std. Error Beta

1 (Constant) 3,151 ,159 19,774 ,000

NatCult2e ,042 ,043 ,069 ,978 ,329

a. Dependent Variable: PERC_AV

108

Regression for hypothesis 2a: Uncertainty avoidance (NatCult2a) Nationality = Swedish Model Summarya

Model R R Square Adjusted R Square

Std. Error of the Estimate

1 ,105b ,011 ,001 ,66143 Coefficientsa,b

Model Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients

t Sig.

B Std. Error Beta

1 (Constant) 3,196 ,255 12,538 ,000

NatCult2a ,074 ,071 ,105 1,043 ,300

a. Nationality = Swedish b. Dependent Variable: PERC_AV Nationality = French Model Summarya

Model R R Square Adjusted R Square

Std. Error of the Estimate

1 ,117b ,014 ,004 ,65729

a. Nationality = French b. Predictors: (Constant), NatCult2a Coefficientsa,b

Model Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients

t Sig.

B Std. Error Beta

1 (Constant) 2,923 ,203 14,413 ,000

NatCult2a ,072 ,062 ,117 1,161 ,248

a. Nationality = French b. Dependent Variable: PERC_AV

109

Regression for hypothesis 2a: Power distance (NatCult2b) Nationality = Swedish Model Summarya

Model R R Square Adjusted R Square

Std. Error of the Estimate

1 ,038b ,001 -,009 ,66460

a. Nationality = Swedish b. Predictors: (Constant), NatCult2b Coefficientsa,b

Model Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients

t Sig.

B Std. Error Beta

1 (Constant) 3,351 ,277 12,107 ,000

NatCult2b ,026 ,068 ,038 ,380 ,705

a. Nationality = Swedish b. Dependent Variable: PERC_AV Nationality = French Model Summarya

Model R R Square Adjusted R Square

Std. Error of the Estimate

1 ,055b ,003 -,007 ,66082

a. Nationality = French b. Predictors: (Constant), NatCult2b Coefficientsa,b

Model Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients

t Sig.

B Std. Error Beta

1 (Constant) 3,293 ,277 11,869 ,000

NatCult2b -,036 ,067 -,055 -,546 ,586

a. Nationality = French b. Dependent Variable: PERC_AV

110

Regression for hypothesis 2a: Masculinity/Femininity (NatCult2c) Nationality = Swedish Model Summarya

Model R R Square Adjusted R Square

Std. Error of the Estimate

1 ,082b ,007 -,003 ,66284

a. Nationality = Swedish b. Predictors: (Constant), NatCult2c Coefficientsa,b

Model Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients

t Sig.

B Std. Error Beta

1 (Constant) 3,615 ,209 17,261 ,000

NatCult2c -,051 ,062 -,082 -,815 ,417

a. Nationality = Swedish b. Dependent Variable: PERC_AV Nationality = French Model Summarya

Model R R Square Adjusted R Square

Std. Error of the Estimate

1 ,043b ,002 -,008 ,66124

a. Nationality = French b. Predictors: (Constant), NatCult2c Coefficientsa,b

Model Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients

t Sig.

B Std. Error Beta

1 (Constant) 3,060 ,214 14,285 ,000

NatCult2c ,024 ,058 ,043 ,419 ,676

a. Nationality = French b. Dependent Variable: PERC_AV

111

Regression for hypothesis 2a: Individualism/Collectivism (NatCult2d) Nationality = Swedish Model Summarya

Model R R Square Adjusted R Square

Std. Error of the Estimate

1 ,016b ,000 -,010 ,66500

a. Nationality = Swedish b. Predictors: (Constant), NatCult2d Coefficientsa,b

Model Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients

t Sig.

B Std. Error Beta

1 (Constant) 3,424 ,197 17,411 ,000

NatCult2d ,009 ,057 ,016 ,157 ,875

a. Nationality = Swedish b. Dependent Variable: PERC_AV Nationality = French Model Summarya

Model R R Square Adjusted R Square

Std. Error of the Estimate

1 ,047b ,002 -,008 ,66111

a. Nationality = French b. Predictors: (Constant), NatCult2d Coefficientsa,b

Model Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients

t Sig.

B Std. Error Beta

1 (Constant) 3,254 ,243 13,365 ,000

NatCult2d -,029 ,063 -,047 -,462 ,645

a. Nationality = French b. Dependent Variable: PERC_AV

112

Regression for hypothesis 2: Long/Short-term vision (NatCult2e) Nationality = Swedish Model Summarya

Model R R Square Adjusted R Square

Std. Error of the Estimate

1 ,026b ,001 -,010 ,66486

a. Nationality = Swedish b. Predictors: (Constant), NatCult2e Coefficientsa,b

Model Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients

t Sig.

B Std. Error Beta

1 (Constant) 3,399 ,221 15,377 ,000

NatCult2e ,016 ,062 ,026 ,256 ,798

a. Nationality = Swedish b. Dependent Variable: PERC_AV Nationality = French Model Summarya

Model R R Square Adjusted R Square

Std. Error of the Estimate

1 ,159b ,025 ,015 ,65343

a. Nationality = French b. Predictors: (Constant), NatCult2e Coefficientsa,b

Model Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients

t Sig.

B Std. Error Beta

1 (Constant) 2,813 ,220 12,777 ,000

NatCult2e ,092 ,058 ,159 1,585 ,116

a. Nationality = French b. Dependent Variable: PERC_AV

113

Regression hypothesis 6 Model Summary

Model R R Square Adjusted R Square

Std. Error of the Estimate

1 ,509a ,259 ,255 ,71707

a. Predictors: (Constant), PERC_AV Coefficientsa

Model Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients

t Sig.

B Std. Error Beta

1 (Constant) 1,131 ,257 4,406 ,000

PERC_AV ,629 ,076 ,509 8,272 ,000

a. Dependent Variable: PD_AV Regression Hypothesis 6a Nationality = Swedish Model Summarya

Model R R Square Adjusted R Square

Std. Error of the Estimate

1 ,616b ,380 ,373 ,60622

a. Nationality = Swedish b. Predictors: (Constant), PERC_AV Coefficientsa,b

Model Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients

t Sig.

B Std. Error Beta

1 (Constant) ,780 ,324 2,411 ,018

PERC_AV ,713 ,092 ,616 7,745 ,000

a. Nationality = Swedish b. Dependent Variable: PD_AV

114

Nationality = French Model Summarya

Model R R Square Adjusted R Square

Std. Error of the Estimate

1 ,426b ,182 ,173 ,81403

a. Nationality = French b. Predictors: (Constant), PERC_AV Coefficientsa,b

Model Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients

t Sig.

B Std. Error Beta

1 (Constant) 1,333 ,409 3,259 ,002

PERC_AV ,585 ,127 ,426 4,614 ,000

a. Nationality = French b. Dependent Variable: PD_AV T-Test for the hypothesis 1 Group Statistics Nationality N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean

NatCult2a Swedish 100 3,47 ,937 ,094

French 100 3,11 1,072 ,107

NatCult2b Swedish 100 3,93 ,977 ,098 French 100 4,04 1,004 ,100

NatCult2c Swedish 100 3,20 1,073 ,107 French 100 3,48 1,150 ,115

NatCult2d Swedish 100 3,26 1,177 ,118 French 100 3,70 1,068 ,107

NatCult2e Swedish 100 3,42 1,084 ,108

French 100 3,63 1,134 ,113

115

Independent Samples Test t-test for Equality of Means

Sig. (2-tailed) Mean Difference Std. Error Difference

NatCult2a Equal variances assumed ,012 ,360 ,142

Equal variances not assumed ,012 ,360 ,142

NatCult2b Equal variances assumed ,433 -,110 ,140 Equal variances not assumed ,433 -,110 ,140

NatCult2c Equal variances assumed ,077 -,280 ,157 Equal variances not assumed ,077 -,280 ,157

NatCult2d Equal variances assumed ,006 -,440 ,159 Equal variances not assumed ,006 -,440 ,159

NatCult2e Equal variances assumed ,182 -,210 ,157

Equal variances not assumed ,182 -,210 ,157

T-Test for the hypothesis 3 Group Statistics Nationality N Mean Std. Deviation

Perception1: Profitability is the most important goal for skin care companies.

Swedish 100 3,15 1,306

French 100 2,06 1,043 Perception2: The most important goal for skin care companies is to be ethical in their business.

Swedish 100 3,92 1,107 French 99 2,98 1,195

Perception3: The most important goal is to be concerned by the human condition.

Swedish 100 4,13 1,002

French 100 2,81 1,253

Independent Samples Test t-test for Equality

of Means

Sig. (2-tailed)

Perception1: Profitability is the most important goal for skin care companies.

Equal variances assumed ,000

Equal variances not assumed ,000 Perception2: The most important goal for skin care companies is to be ethical in their business.

Equal variances assumed ,000 Equal variances not assumed ,000

Perception3: The most important goal is to be concerned by the human condition.

Equal variances assumed ,000

Equal variances not assumed ,000

116

T-Test hypothesis 4 Group Statistics Nationality N Mean Std. Deviation

Perception4: I am concerned by skin care companies'CSR activities.

Swedish 100 3,10 1,193

French 100 3,50 1,142

Independent Samples Test t-test for Equality

of Means

Sig. (2-tailed)

Perception4: I am concerned by skin care companies'CSR activities.

Equal variances assumed ,016

Equal variances not assumed ,016