Corporate Social Responsibility and Community Perception in High-Andean Areas of the Junín Region

Abstract

Corporate social responsibility has become a strategic mechanism for strengthening relationships between organizations and the communities located within their areas of influence. In this context, the present study aimed to determine the influence of perceived corporate social responsibility on favorable community perception among residents of high-Andean communities in the Junín region of Peru. The research adopted a quantitative approach, with an applied, explanatory, and cross-sectional non-experimental design. The sample consisted of 112 community members selected through non-probability convenience sampling. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire based on a five-point Likert scale and analyzed through Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) using SmartPLS 4. The findings revealed that perceived corporate social responsibility positively and significantly influences favorable community perception (β = 0.833; p < 0.001), explaining 69.9% of its variance (R² = 0.699). Among the dimensions examined, environmental responsibility exerted the strongest influence, followed by philanthropic responsibility, health and safety responsibility, economic responsibility, and legal responsibility, whereas ethical responsibility did not show a statistically significant effect. These results indicate that high-Andean communities primarily value corporate actions related to environmental protection, social well-being, collective health, and local economic development. Consequently, corporate social responsibility emerges as a key factor for strengthening organizational legitimacy and social acceptance in extractive industry contexts.