The Rhetoric of CSR and Brand Equity in an Era of COVID-19 Pandemic: A Structural Equation Modellig Framework

The paralysis of the world business activities is of no cause other than the manifestation of coronavirus pandemic. Its consequences on businesses have pulled a lot of attention from both scholars and practitioners. Thereby, organisations have further realized that engagements in CSR philanthropic gestures are part of measures to enhance brand equity by generating the right brand knowledge structures with the appropriate consumers thus enhancing value-endowed pedigree to products. However, several organisations still have risen challenge of addressing the pandemic with different commendable initiatives. Part of what forms the spectre of argument in this investigation is to examine CSR's influence on Brand Equity in the era of Covid 19 pandemic. We examined the effect of modified Carroll's CSR Pyramid elements on brand equity. Data were retrieved from the customers of consumer goods products using systematic random sampling. Meanwhile, 255 questionnaires were used for further analysis. The data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modelling (CB-SEM). Results revealed that corporate philanthropy, economic, and legal responsibility have a statistically significant relationship with customer brand equity in Lagos state, Nigeria. This indicates that corporate philanthropy, economic and legal responsibilities are the predictor for brand equity. Findings from our survey further revealed continued progress in CSR of companies over this period of covid-19. The study recommends that stakeholders consider the factors analyzed in this study for more effective brand equity, specifically during the Covid-19 pandemic and beyond.