Feeling Connected to the Cause: The Role of Perceived Social Distance on Cause Involvement and Consumer Response to CSR Communication (original) (raw)

Abstract

Despite the importance of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in empowering women, little is known about which communication strategies are effective for a successful CSR initiative. This study investigated how social distance influences consumer evaluations of a CSR activity supporting women's empowerment via consumers' cause involvement by employing a 2 (social distance: low vs. high) x 2 (gender: female vs. male) online factorial experiment (n = 140). Results indicate that consumers evaluated the CSR activity more positively when they were exposed to in-group messages than out-group messages. The impact of social distance was moderated by gender differences. Implications are discussed.

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