@article{ICoBLAST923,
	author = {Lysander Wijaya Oeij and Antonio Pangadian and Adelina Proboyo and Fandy Tjiptono},
	title = {SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE OR MERELY A PUBLIC STUNT? CSR, SKEPTICISM, AND COMPANY EVALUATION OF CIGARETTE COMPANIES},
	journal = {International Conference on Vocational Business, Logistic, Accounting, Supply Chain, Tax (ICoBLAST)},
	volume = {1},
	number = {1},
	year = {2026},
	keywords = {},
	abstract = {Introduction/Main Objectives: Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has become astrategic tool for companies in controversial industries to enhance their public image.Indonesian cigarette manufacturers are no exception, frequently engaging in CSR initiativesthat trigger public scrutiny regarding their true intentions, i.e. whether these actions aregenuinely altruistic or simply calculated efforts to improve their reputation. Therefore, it isboth interesting and important to investigate how the public evaluates the CSR programs ofcigarette companies.Background Problems: This research aims to examine how various types of CSR initiatives(health, environment, sports, and education) affect public’s skepticism, and in turn, influenceoverall evaluations of the company.Novelty: Departing from prior studies that often treat CSR as a uniform construct, thisresearch compares the effects of various CSR types and examines the mediating role ofskepticism towards CSR in a controversial industry in Indonesia.Research Methods: An experimental study was conducted, where 144 participants wererandomly assigned to four different treatment groups (health, environment, education, andsports). The participants were given brief information about Rokoqu, a hypothetical cigarette372company, its CSR initiatives, and key facts of tobacco risks. Well-established scales wereused to measure the variables.Findings/Results: Results showed that skepticism towards CSR had a negative effect oncompany evaluation. However, CSR types did not significantly influence skepticism.Therefore, skepticism did not mediate the relationship between CSR initiatives and companyevaluation. Health and education-related CSR had no significant difference in influencingcompany evaluation, while environment and sports-related CSR affected company evaluationmore negatively than health-related CSR did.Conclusion: While CSR types do not trigger skepticism, they can affect company evaluationdifferently. Environment and sports-related CSR are found to influence company evaluationmore negatively than health and education-related CSR.Implementation Potential: CSR programs may backfire in the context of companiesoperating in controversial industries, especially if the initiatives are misaligned with theirreputation and public expectations.Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR); Cigarette company; Skepticism towardsCSR; Company evaluation.JEL Classification: M31, M140},
	pages = {371--383}	url = {https://proceedings.undip.ac.id/index.php/ICoBLAST/article/view/923}
}