CSR–Product Quality Trade-off Belief

What it measures

Measures the extent to which a consumer believes that a company's commitment to social responsibility necessarily reduces product quality and functional performance. Originally labelled 'resource-synergy beliefs' by Gupta & Sen (2013), reflecting a zero-sum view of CSR. Higher scores indicate greater scepticism about whether CSR and product quality can coexist.

Response format

7-point Likert (strongly disagree / strongly agree)

Scale items

• Socially responsible behavior by firms is often accompanied by inferior product offerings.
• When companies focus on CSR, the quality and performance of their products suffer.
• Companies that engage in socially responsible behavior often produce products that are inferior on performance.
• Products that are made in a socially responsible manner are often worse on important functional features such as performance than those that are not socially responsible.
• Resources devoted to social causes come at the expense of improved product performance.

Full scale items shown. Always cite the original source when using this scale in research.

Usage notes & scoring

Originally developed by Gupta & Sen (2013) as a 'resource-synergy beliefs' scale (pretest alpha = .95, n = 46). Adapted by Bodur et al. (2016) in Study 3 (n = 147 undergraduates); alpha = .94. Validity not explicitly tested. Useful in research examining consumer scepticism about CSR and ethical product claims.

Recommended companion scales

Citation

Bodur, H.O., Tofighi, M., & Grohmann, B. (2016). When should private label brands endorse ethical attributes? Journal of Retailing, 92(2), 204–217.

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