Local Support for the Corporate New Investment Project: The Roles of Corporate Reputation, Project’s CSR Behavior and Residential Income Level

The study investigated how corporate reputation (i.e., generalized favorability), motivation attribution of corporate social responsibility (CSR) behaviors, and income level impact local residents’ support for a corporate new investment project (CNIP). By analyzing 133 new investment projects of listed firms in China from 2004 to 2017, we found that local residents’ support for a CNIP can be positively influenced by generalized favorability and motivation attribution of CSR behaviors, but negatively influenced by their income level. The positive effect of generalized favorability is more effective when the motivation of CSR behaviors is attributed to higher altruism. Meanwhile, the interaction between generalized favorability and income level reveals that the positive effect of generalized favorability is stronger when local residents are at a higher income level. Our results also show that when altruism and income level are at a low level, the positive effect of generalized favorability will be overturned and its negative effect will emerge. Overall, this study contributes to the research on corporate reputation, CSR behavior and corporate project management.