**Hypothesis 6 (H6).** *CSR towards shareholders has a positive impact on overall CSR.*

The utility formulation can be conceptualized as:

$$\text{CSR} = \mathbf{a}\_0 + \mathbf{a}\_1 \cdot \text{Evn} + \mathbf{a}\_2 \cdot \text{Soc} + \mathbf{a}\_3 \cdot \text{Cus} + \mathbf{a}\_4 \cdot \text{Emp} + \mathbf{a}\_5 \cdot \text{Splr} + \mathbf{a}\_6 \cdot \text{Sh} + \varepsilon\_1 \tag{1}$$

CSR: Consumers' perspectives on CSR Evn: CSR towards the environment Soc: CSR towards society Cus: CSR towards customers Emp: CSR towards employees Splr: CSR towards suppliers Sh: CSR towards shareholders

#### *2.2. Brand Attitude*

Brand attitude is considered as the consumers' willingness to show a favorable or unfavorable reaction toward a certain brand [51]. An individual's attitude toward any brand is based on the information or knowledge he or she has gained through particular sources, such as their family, friends, networking, cultural, and global aspects [52]. On the other hand, together with engagement, those attitudes are founded through consumers' experiences [53]. Gradually, consumers form their attitude toward the brand: they may trust, like, or be loyal to the brand [54]. In this study, brand attitude refers to consumers' attitudes towards brands that are socially responsible. Based on firms' CSR engagement, customers may have a positive view of companies or brands [55–57]. According to previous research [58], CSR can be important for improving brand attitude. The following hypothesis is developed:

**Hypothesis 7 (H7).** *CSR has a positive influence on brand attitude.*

#### *2.3. Purchase Intention*

Purchase intention is the inclination of consumers towards products or services. Specifically, after making a certain evaluation, consumers have an intention to buy products or use services [59]. Many factors influence consumers' intentions [60]. The final decision relies on consumers' preferences as well as external aspects [61]. In this study, purchase intentions refer to consumers' intentions to purchase products from companies taking on social responsibility [62]. Based on the theory of reasoned actions [63], personal attitudes and behaviors have a relationship. According to [64], in the Italian banking industry, CSR practices related to the environment, society, and ecosustainable projects are important; at the same time, customers believe that there is a link between CSR practices and their choice of banks. In the hospitality industry, during the COVID-19 pandemic, CSR practices encouraged customers to prepay services [65]. In the wine industry, CSR towards the environment receives a great deal of attention [66]. Therefore, we assume that purchase intention is influenced by CSR and brand attitude. Thus, we form the final two hypotheses:

#### **Hypothesis 8 (H8).** *CSR positively influences purchase intention.*

**Hypothesis 9 (H9).** *Brand attitude has positively impact on purchase intention.*

The utility formulation can be conceptualized as:

$$\mathbf{BR} = \mathbf{b}\_0 + \mathbf{b}\_1 \, \mathbf{C} \mathbf{S} \mathbf{R} + \varepsilon\_2 \tag{2}$$

$$\text{PI} = \text{c}\_0 + \text{c}\_1 \text{ CSR} + \text{c}\_2 \text{ BR} + \text{c}\_3 \tag{3}$$

BR: brand attitude

PI: purchase intention

The conceptual model related to CSR, Brand attitude, and Purchase intention is demonstrated in Figure 1.

**Figure 1.** Conceptual model.

#### **3. Research Methodology**

#### *3.1. Collect Data and Questionnaire*

A survey research method was conducted to obtain insights into CSR and its influence on brand attitude and purchase intention as well as test the proposed conceptual model. All question items of the questionnaire were composed to attain the most precise data to accept or reject the hypotheses in the proposed model. Multidimensional analysis results are needed; consequently, demographic information is collected. The research is exempt from the regulations of the Institutional Review Board (IRB) regarding the involvement of human subjects according to the Helsinki declaration. The reason is the research posed almost no risks to human subjects. Ethical principles were abided by including privacy and confidentiality, etc. [67]. The questionnaires contain information about the reason for conducting the survey, instructions on answering, and a statement on assuring their

privacy and confidentiality. There are two parts to the questionnaires. The first part contains 40 questions that asks consumers about their perspective on CSR towards the environment, society, customers, employees, and suppliers, and overall CSR of a hypothetical company, as well as their brand attitude and purchase intention. The second part contains 10 questions about personal information. A 5-point Likert scale (totally disagree = 1 to totally agree = 5) is used to evaluate the variables [68]. The questionnaire was first composed in English and then translated into three languages, including Chinese, Indonesian, and Vietnamese. Therefore, respondents across three areas (Taiwan, Indonesia, and Vietnam) can understand the questionnaire holistically without any confusion during the answering process.

The questionnaires were distributed mainly via Google Forms to alleviate the accumulation of defective data that might otherwise impact the analysis results. Through the qualitative research results, as the preliminary survey, the observed variables have been adjusted and supplemented to match the research. To collect the data, a nonprobability convenience sampling was accepted with the purpose of theory testing [69]. The eligibility criteria are consumers over 16 years old residing in the three target countries with acceptable reading comprehension. Initially, 616 participants took part in the survey, however, 11 respondents were not from the three target areas, 9 samples were under 16 years old, and 32 samples were disqualified because survey takers missed some questions or answered questions carelessly (all answers are the same, etc.). After eliminating improper samples, the number of qualified samples was 564, including 186 respondents from Vietnam, 189 from Indonesia, and 189 from Taiwan. The reliability of research constructs can be assessed by using Cronbach's alpha values [70] in each dataset and the pooled data.
