Abstract:
Based on a survey conducted in China and Sri Lanka, the study examined consumer expectations of corporate social
responsible strategies (CSR) in a product harm crisis. Mainly four CSR strategies were considered namely, economic,
legal, ethical and philanthropic. A self administrated, pre-tested questionnaire survey was used in response to the
fictitious product harm crisis scenario. Total 201 respondents participated in the survey. Study reveals that Chinese
expect legal responsibilities from the business while Sri Lankans expect ethical, legal, and philanthropic
responsibilities in the face of company culpable crisis. Moreover, economic and legal CSR expectations vary
significantly between China and Sri Lanka whereas ethical and social CSR expectations do not vary between these two
cultures. These findings provide useful..guidance for crisis managers and CSR implementers in selecting CSR
strategies in crisis and for further academic inquiries.
