Feeling Connected to the Cause: The Role of Perceived Social Distance on Cause Involvement and Consumer Response to CSR Communication (original) (raw)
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Journal of Advertising, 2007
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives have become increasingly popular among American corporations. A common form of such activity, referred to as cause-related marketing (CRM), involves a company's promise to donate a certain amount of money to a nonprofit organization or a social cause when customers purchase its products/services. A well-known CRM program has been General Mill's ongoing Yoplait campaign with the slogan "Save Lids to Save Lives," which promises to donate 10¢ to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation for each yogurt lid returned by customers. To date, this CRM campaign has raised over 10 million dollars for the foundation. Varandarajan and Menon (1988) categorize CRM among CSR initiatives that "Do Better by Doing Good." In other words, CRM not only increases the company's revenues but also contributes to societal welfare. They define CRM as: The process of formulating and implementing marketing activities that are characterized by an offer from the firm to contribute a specified amount to a designated cause when customers engage in revenue-providing exchanges that satisfy organizational and individual objectives. (Varandarajan and Menon 1998, p. 60) CRM is perhaps more prevalent nowadays than ever before. From the classic American Express campaign launched in 1983 to the recent Yoplait "Save Lids to Save Life" program, This research was supported by a USDA grant awarded to the first author.
Antecedents to participation in corporate social responsibility programs
Purpose – In today’s competitive marketplace, companies are devoting an increasing amount of time and money to establishing themselves as socially responsible, in an effort to appeal to the value system of their target customers (Sen and Bhattacharya). In the current study, the paper focuses on corporate social responsibility (CSR) appeals in which the company promises to donate a portion of the purchase price to a charitable cause and requests a matching donation from the customer. More specifically, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the joint effects of status, proximity to CSR, and empathy towards the cause on consumers’ willingness to donate money to a charity. Design/methodology/approach – The study used written scenarios and a 2 X 2 X 2 between subjects quasi experimental design to test the hypotheses. The authors predicted that status would interact with empathy and proximity of the cause to influence customers’ donation behavior. Findings – The results supported these predictions. Status seeking individuals exhibited higher levels of prosocial behaviors when the cause was a national one, particularly when the individual felt empathy towards the distant cause. Conversely, empathy feelings had a positive impact donation intent when the cause was a local one and status seeking was not activated. Originality/value – The results of this study have significant implications for marketers and managers who are considering launching a CSR program. By aligning the cause with the type of consumer, corporations may be able to obtain a higher response rate from customers, thereby increasing the level of consumer involvement and engagement.
2007
Consumers increasingly expect companies to make a broader contribution to society. The business benefits of doing so, however, are currently not evident. Prior studies conclude that consumers' purchase decisions are positively influenced by socially responsible initiatives. However, this insight appears to be of little practical relevance if the level of awareness of such initiatives among consumers is very low. emphasise that if CSR is to act as a point of differentiation, awareness of a firm's CSR activities is crucial. We empirically test this awareness level. In doing so we respond to call for research to determine the extent to which consumers are aware of CSR activities businesses engage in. We also determine the extent to which consumers are aware of the social issues firms engage with their CSR programs, a critical antecedent to making sense of firms' CSR-related claims.
Effects of message appeal and service type in CSR communication strategies
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Studies highlight the importance of corporate social responsibility (CSR) for companies' stakeholders. Consumers, however, are often unaware of such initiatives. Understanding how to effectively communicate socially responsible initiatives is an important challenge for both researchers and managers, who invest considerable resources in CSR initiatives. This study examines consumers' responses to two types of CSR initiatives (environment- related and employee-based) using two types of message appeals (emotional and rational) across two service types (hedonic and utilitarian). Responses provide data on consumers' awareness of CSR initiatives, attitudes toward the company, perceived company uniqueness, emotional response, and attributions of company motives to engage in CSR activities. Rational appealsmore effectively communicate environment-related CSR initiatives, whereas emotional appeals more effectively communicate employee-based CSR initiatives. Effects on consumers' attributions of companymotives to engage in CSR are significant in both service types. Finally, rational message appeals affect consumers' CSR awareness and emotional responses in utilitarian service.
The main purpose of this research is to analyze the role of consumer identification with the company and consumer involvement with the social cause in consumer behavioural responses to Cause-related Marketing. A theoretical model was empirically estimated based on data taken from 595 consumers of insurance and personal hygiene products and using structural equation modelling. A multigroup analysis was performed in order to test the moderating effect of consumer involvement with the social cause. Findings confirm that company-consumer identification is a powerful cognitive connection able to generate positive consumer behavioural responses to Cause-related Marketing. Furthermore, when the consumer feels more involved with the social cause, the positive influence of consumer identification on product purchase intention is amplified; however, identification influence on intention to support Non-Profit Organisation is reinforced when consumer feels less involved with the social cause.
Examining consumer attitudes toward CSR and CSA messages
Public Relations Review
This study conducts a 2 (message type: CSR vs. CSA) x 2 (source: company vs. nonprofit organization) factorial online experiment to examine impacts on individuals' attitude changes and WOM intention regarding a company. Values-driven attributions and perceptions of company-cause fit were measured as mediating variables. Results indicate that individuals inferred more values-driven motives from CSR messages than CSA messages, which ultimately led to more positive attitude changes toward the company. Theoretical implications for both CSR and CSA scholarship are discussed. Several implications for companies and strategic communicators are offered.