Driving consumer participation in corporate social innovation: the role of information quality, legitimacy, and psychological distance

As society increasingly values sustainability and social responsibility, companies are embracing social innovation activities to tackle pressing societal challenges. Understanding the factors that shape consumer participation in Corporate Social Innovation (CSI) activities is vital for their success. Drawing on the legitimacy theory, this study investigates the mediating role of legitimacy and the moderating effect of psychological distance in the relationship between information quality and consumers’ participation intention. To gather insights, a questionnaire survey was conducted, and statistical analysis was performed using data collected from 565 consumers. The results demonstrate that the information content, source, and expression quality of CSI activities significantly and positively influence consumer participation. In addition, the study identifies moral and pragmatic legitimacy as mediators, elucidating the mechanisms through which information quality influences consumers’ participation intention. Moreover, psychological distance is found to negatively moderate the relationship between moral legitimacy and consumers’ participation intention. These findings enrich our understanding of social innovation activities and provide valuable insights for companies aiming to enhance consumer participation in these activities. The research contributes to the existing body of knowledge on social innovation activities by enriching the understanding of the role of information quality in shaping consumer behavior.