The Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Long-Term Relationships in the Business-to-Business Market

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of partner firms' corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities on long-term relationships in business-to-business (B2B) industries. We developed a research model to capture the correlations between a partner firm's CSR reputation (i.e., business practice, CSR reputation, and philanthropic CSR reputation), trust, information sharing, risk-reward sharing, and long-term relationships. Drawing on the stakeholder and social exchange theories, we hypothesized that a partner firm's CSR reputation would affect long-term relationships through trust, information sharing, and risk-reward sharing. Through empirical analysis, we found that business practice CSR is positively related to long-term relationships through trust and B2B partnership. We also present some theoretical and managerial implications of this study.