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NTU Management Review Vol. 32 No. 3 Dec. 2022

satisfaction mediates suppliers’ engagement in CSR and suppliers’ firm performance.
This study focuses on the stakeholder theory commonly used in CSR research and
the role of vertical and horizontal organizations in CSR practices, based on the concept of
primary and secondary stakeholders (Freeman, 1984). In the face of the rapidly changing

retail environment, to reduce cognitive risk, retailers look for trusted suppliers who can
meet the needs of critical stakeholders and make this as their primary goal (Connelly,
Ketchen, and Slater, 2011). Therefore, there is a solid vertical organization of commitment

and cooperation between retailers and suppliers, and the application of more resources
to achieve retailers’ operational goals (Dyer and Chu, 2003). Additionally, firms may
need to adapt themselves to observe changes in the external competitive environment to
maintain their competitive advantages and positions. Competitor identification can raise a
firm’s awareness of competitive threats and opportunities in the highly competitive retail

industry (Zajac and Bazerman, 1991). With the ability of identifying competitors, firms
can determine the CSR behavior of actual and potential competitors, develop effective
CSR strategies to attract potential customers, and meet existing customers’ needs so that

firms are exempt from adverse threats to performance (Yu and Cannella, 2007).
In sum, the key research questions of this study are as follows: (1) In the B2B
context, how does retailers’ customer satisfaction mediate the relationship between
suppliers’ CSR engagement and suppliers’ firm performance? (2) How do suppliers’
vertical inter-organizational commitments moderate the relationship between suppliers’

CSR and retailers’ customer satisfaction? (3) How do suppliers’ competitor identification
moderate the mediating relationship among CSR, customer satisfaction, and firm
performance?

2. Design/Methodology/Approach

In this study, we based on stakeholder theory to propose some hypotheses as
follows. First, retailers’ customer satisfaction mediates the positive relationship between

suppliers’ CSR engagement and firm performance. Second, vertical inter-organizational
commitments strengthen the positive effect of customer satisfaction and supplier
performance. Finally, competitor identification moderates the mediating relationship
among CSR, retailers’ customer satisfaction, and firm performance.

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