CSR Branding Model in Iran Banking Industry based on Structural Equation Modeling with the Focus on Brand Social Identity

The literature on CSR branding models show that little attention has paid to service industries such as banking industry. The aim of this research is to present a CSR branding model in Iran’s banking industry by applying the SEM method. We interviewed eighteen banking experts via a semi-structured interview and used a thematic analysis approach to analyze the data.  This process helped us to figure out the components associated with CSR branding model in Iran’s banking system which in turn helped us to design a questionnaire for quantitative phase of our study. The questionnaire were distributed among 520 customers in three branches of each sixteen public and private banks which had chosen on the basis of multiple cluster sampling method. We analyzed the collected data by applying SEM method and the l i s r el software. The results show that the hypothesis of the research were confirmed and all effective factors on the CSR brand in the conceptual model were effectual in creating a strong social brand in the banking industry. Furthermore, the brand social identity variable had the most effective impact in creating a social brand. The findings, also indicate that the three brand image, brand reputation, and brand performance were reflective and can be measurement component of the CSR brand in the bank.