How implementing the UN sustainable development goals affects customers' perceptions and loyalty

When firms work to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), they contribute to environmental protection and social and economic welfare. But what are the implications for the firms themselves, particularly in terms of potential improvements to customer-organization relationships? This article seeks to answer that question in depth by investigating the distinct influences of implementing environmental, social, or economic SDGs on consumers' perceptions of the firm's reputation, trust, and user-organization identification, which in turn may affect their loyalty intentions. Survey responses from 210 employees and students of a professional training organization reveal that in this educational context, social and economic SDGs are more relevant than environmental SDGs. Implementing SDGs has positive implications for the organization, in the form of increased user loyalty, which is not a direct effect but rather is fully mediated by trust and user-organization identification. Reputation does not affect loyalty though. In addition, companies' compliance with SDGs should be consistent with their business objectives; SDG-washing is ineffective. This research thus expands scarce empirical knowledge in this emerging field by helping scholars and practitioners understand the unique processes through which achieving SDGs affects users' perceptions and future behaviors.