CSR Attribution and Customer Engagement as Antecedents of Brand Trust and Purchase Intention in Cross-Border E-Commerce: A PLS-SEM Investigation among Vietnamese Consumers

The rapid expansion of cross-border e-commerce (CBEC) has introduced significant challenges related to trust, loyalty, and purchase intention, particularly in emerging markets. Despite growing scholarly attention to customer experience and perceived value in digital commerce, limited research has investigated the roles of corporate social responsibility (CSR) attribution and customer engagement in shaping consumer behavioral outcomes within CBEC platforms. Drawing on Attribution Theory and Social Exchange Theory, this study examines how CSR attribution and customer engagement influence brand trust, brand attachment, brand loyalty, and purchase intention among CBEC consumers. Primary data were collected from 200 valid respondents in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) via SmartPLS 4.0. The findings reveal that customer engagement significantly enhances both brand trust (β = 0.669, p < 0.001) and brand attachment (β = 0.221, p = 0.010). CSR attribution positively influences brand trust (β = 0.168, p = 0.012) but does not directly affect brand attachment. Brand trust emerges as a critical predictor of brand attachment (β = 0.479, p < 0.001), purchase intention (β = 0.275, p < 0.001), and brand loyalty (β = 0.291, p = 0.005). Notably, brand loyalty does not significantly predict purchase intention, challenging conventional assumptions in domestic e-commerce literature (Dang et al., 2023). These results contribute to the theoretical understanding of consumer decision-making in CBEC contexts and offer actionable implications for platform managers seeking to enhance engagement, strengthen CSR communication, and foster sustainable customer relationships in emerging economies.