Aesthetics of CSR communication and perception of ethical leadership, impact on purchase intention in high and low rank CSR firms

We examined the behavioral outcomes of individuals' perceptions of the aesthetics and ethics in firms' corporate social responsibility (CSR) communications. Considering CSR communication as a key factor in building organizational trustworthiness and acknowledging the behavioral outcomes already established in the literature, this paper delves into the potential influence of aesthetic communication on perceptions of ethical leadership. Using the content analysis of CSR communications and ordinary least squares (OLS), the study investigates to what extent consumers' perceptions of a firm's ethical leadership and the aesthetic quality of its communications affect purchase intentions. Using a sample of 519 executive and non-executive students with management and economics backgrounds, we documented a positive relationship of perceptions of an organization's ethical leadership and the aesthetic attributes of its CSR communications with purchase intentions. The analysis demonstrates that respondents do not differentiate between firms classified as having high or low national CSR rankings. This research contributes to the literature on CSR by exploring the interplay between aesthetic judgments and perceptions of ethical leadership and offering a fresh perspective through the relatively unexplored lens of aesthetics in the field of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) sustainability.