Perceived CSR initiatives and intention to purchase game items: The motivational mechanism of self-esteem and compassion

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of perceived corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives moderated by a user characteristic (heavy users) on game-item purchase intention and uniquely propose that this moderation is serially mediated by self-esteem and compassion. Design/methodology/approach: A 2 (CSR initiatives: high vs low) by 2 (user characteristic: heavy vs non-heavy users) experimental design was employed to test the propositions in the context of an online mobile game. Findings: The results demonstrate that heavy users with high-perceived CSR initiatives have a higher intention to purchase game items. The results also show that self-esteem and compassion fully and serially mediate the effect of moderation on the intention to purchase game items. Originality/value: This serial mediation mechanism has rarely been proposed and tested in previous studies and may contribute to extending the literature.