Consumer response to retailer use of cause-related marketing: Is more fit better?

doi:10.1016/j.jretai.2007.03.006

Journal of Retailing

Volume 83, Issue 4, December 2007, Pages 437-445

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretai.2007.03.006 Get rights and content

Abstract

Although marketers increasingly rely upon cause-related marketing strategies to increase sales, controversy exists regarding whether a retailer should partner with causes offering high or low fit levels with its core business practices. The present investigation extends prior research by examining how retailer–cause fit affects consumer evaluations of retailers’ cause-related marketing strategies. The results indicate that the effects of retailer–cause fit are moderated by consumer perceptions of the retailer's motive for engaging in cause-related marketing (Study 1), by the affinity that consumers hold for the social cause component of the campaign (Study 2), as well as by the interactive effects associated with the two moderators (Study 3).

Section snippets

Fit effects on evaluation of cause-related marketing strategies

As noted earlier, one recommendation in formulating cause-related marketing strategies is for retailers to develop partnerships with causes that are related to their core business practices. Although the issue of company–cause fit has been discussed in the literature (e.g., Hoeffler and Keller 2002), few studies have empirically examined its effects on consumer reactions to cause-related marketing strategies. Accordingly, we next look at the evidence available regarding how retailer–cause fit

The moderating role of retailer motivation for cause-related marketing

As noted earlier, one basis for expecting that retailer–cause fit will positively affect consumer evaluations of cause-related marketing comes from the brand extension literature (cf. Pracejus and Olsen 2004). Higher levels of perceived similarity between a core brand and a brand extension enable categorization processes that result in the transfer of evaluations from the core brand to the extension (Boush and Loken, 1991, Keller and Aaker, 1992). In a similar manner, greater perceived fit

Studies 1 and 2: exploring the individual roles of retailer motivation and affinity towards the cause

To test H₁–H₃, we conducted two studies using undergraduate business students as research participants. In both studies, retailer–cause fit was manipulated and the effectiveness of this manipulation was assessed via a three-item, nine-point semantic differential scale gauging the fit between (1) the retailer's core product-line and the cause, (2) the images of the retailer and the cause, and (3) the target markets of the retailer and the cause (1 = very poor; 5 = neutral; 9 = very good). Responses to

Methods

The pretests and main experiment for Study 3 were all conducted using an online survey website program. Invitations to participate were sent to actual consumers via email addresses purchased from a double opt-in list service. Thus, while Studies 1 and 2 utilized homogenous undergraduate student samples in order to maximize internal validity, the sample and methodology used in Study 3 help increase the external validity associated with our findings.

Verification of experimental conditions

An initial analysis of responses to the MOTIVE measure confirmed the effectiveness of the retailer motivation manipulation. More positive motives were attributed to the retailer in the positive motive condition (M = 6.24) than in the negative motive condition (M = 4.00; F = 223.87, p < .001). Additionally, a median split was performed on subjects’ responses to the AFFINITY measure (median = 5.33), resulting in a positive (M = 7.67) and a negative (M = 3.27) cause affinity condition (F = 2961.86, p < .000). A

General discussion

Several recent articles in this journal have included calls for research that provide a more comprehensive understanding of retail-level branding (e.g., Grewal et al., 2004, Levy et al., 2005, Peterson and Balasubramanian, 2002). Consistent with these calls, the current investigation focuses on the potential for a retailer's cause-related marketing strategy to influence consumer perceptions that contribute to retailer image and that ultimately impact the retailer's competitive advantage in the

References (22)

Kusum L. Ailawadi et al.
Understanding Retail Branding: Conceptual Insights and Research Priorities
Journal of Retailing
(2004)
Dhruv Grewal et al.
Retail Branding and Customer Loyalty: An Overview
Journal of Retailing
(2004)
Michael Levy et al.
The Concept of the ‘Big Middle’
Journal of Retailing
(2005)
Robert A. Peterson et al.
Retailing in the 21st Century: Reflections and Prologue to Research
Journal of Retailing
(2002)
John W. Pracejus et al.
The Role of Brand/Cause Fit in the Effectiveness of Cause-Related Marketing Campaigns
Journal of Business Research
(2004)
Norman H. Anderson
Foundations of Information Integration Theory
(1981)
Michael J. Barone et al.
The Influence of Cause-Related marketing on Consumer Choice: Does One Good Turn Deserve Another?
Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science
(2000)
David M. Boush et al.
A Process-Tracing Study of Brand Extension Evaluation
Journal of Marketing Research
(1991)
Tom J. Brown et al.
The Company and the Product: Corporate Associations and Consumer Product Responses
Journal of Marketing
(1997)
Business in the Community (2005). “Blockbuster and Starlight Children's Foundation” (accessed May 27, 2006), [available...

Peter A. Dacin et al.

Corporate Identify and Corporate Associations: A Framework for Future Research

Corporate Reputation Review

(2002)

Cited by (323)

Execution novelty: Improving brand evaluations in cause sponsorship
2023, Journal of Business Research
This research examines the effect of execution novelty—the degree to which the execution of a brand’s cause sponsorship is unexpected—on brand evaluations. Four studies show that execution novelty enhances brand evaluations when consumers’ perceptions of fit between the brand and the supported cause (i.e., CSR fit) is high, but decreases brand evaluations when CSR fit is low. Process evidence supports that this interactive effect of execution novelty and CSR fit on brand evaluations is mediated by elaboration valence (i.e., the favorability of consumers’ thoughts about the brand). This research also demonstrates that execution novelty is particularly effective in improving brand evaluations of less (vs. highly) involved consumers when CSR fit is high. These findings have implications for the successful implementation of cause sponsorship campaigns.
Hotel philanthropy and brand attitudes: Can donation type and amount influence customers' warmth perceptions and attitudes?
2023, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management
Using two types of donations (time and monetary), this study employs a serial moderated mediation model to explain how and why donation type can influence consumers' brand attitudes. To achieve this goal, three experimental studies were conducted, collecting 475 useable data from an online platform. The hypotheses were tested through SPSS software. Findings reveal that time (vs. monetary) donation results in more positive attitudes. This relationship is serially mediated by perceived warmth and brand warmth. However, time donation produces higher perceived warmth and positive brand attitudes when the donation amount is low while monetary donation yields higher perceived warmth and positive brand attitudes when the donation amount is high. Findings contribute to our understanding of the complex effect corporate philanthropy has on consumer outcomes and provide novel insights for managing corporate philanthropy efforts.
Corporate social responsibility and customer's responses: CSR authenticity and government intervention during the COVID-19 pandemic
2023, Heliyon
COVID-19 had unparalleled social and economic impacts in many countries, including Indonesia. Companies are urged to develop corporate social responsibility (CSR) in this challenging environment to support society. As CSR enters a more developed stage, the government's role in initiating and promoting it has also been recognized. First, this study explores the company's motives for engaging in CSR, as well as the role of government by interviewing three CSR officials. Further, this study investigates the effects of CSR motives, CSR authenticity, and corporate brand image on community well-being and customer citizenship behavior, with government intervention as a moderating variable, by an online survey to analyze nine hypotheses. Using purposive sampling, 652 respondents from five local companies in Indonesia participated in the survey, and the data were analyzed using SmartPLS. The interviews showed two CSR motives and the role of government, and the survey showed mixed results on the impact of CSR motives on CSR authenticity and corporate brand image, the positive impacts of CSR authenticity and corporate brand image on community well-being, and customer citizenship behavior. Although high levels of government intervention are noticeable, this variable was not found to be a significant moderator. This study highlights the importance of how customers perceive CSR motives and authenticity, so companies should consider it when developing CSR activities. Engaging in CSR initiatives during a crisis may improve a company's brand image and customer citizenship behavior. However, companies should appropriately manage their CSR communications to avoid customers' suspicion about the CSR motives.
CSR attributions and the moderating effect of perceived CSR fit on consumer trust, identification, and loyalty
2023, Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services
Although many companies have engaged in corporate social responsibility (CSR) actions to elicit positive customer responses, the motivation behind CSR actions plays an important role in how effective they are, often leading to unexpected outcomes. While previous literature has placed a strong emphasis on value- and strategy-driven CSR actions, the changing consumer perceptions of and responses to these CSR actions remain less understood. Therefore, the current study investigates 1) how a company's CSR attribution affects consumer trust, identification, and loyalty and 2) how the perceived CSR fit moderates these relationships. The results indicate that value-driven, strategic, and stakeholder-driven attributions have positive effects on consumer trust, influencing consumer-company identification and loyalty positively. Further, we find that perceived CSR fit significantly moderates the relationship between strategic attribution and trust and between trust and loyalty. This study provides meaningful implications for both academia and industry, as it illustrates the changes in consumer views following the global pandemic relative to consumer views revealed in earlier studies.
The influence of corporate social responsibility appeals (CSRAs) on product sales: Which appeal types perform better?
2023, Journal of Retailing
This paper examines product-package Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) messages called Corporate Social Responsibility Appeals (CSRAs) that directly convey CSR messages to shoppers on product packages. Using a multi-source dataset of more than 10 million transactions from a large grocery chain, this paper first presents a typology consisting of seven CSRA types that provide buyers functional or symbolic benefits and examines their effects on product sales. Second, the paper presents the analysis of the moderating effects of store-generated promotions (price promotions and feature advertisements) and product types (virtue and vice) on the effects of functional and symbolic CSRAs and seven CSRAs on weekly sales. Results show that functional CSRAs perform better than symbolic CSRAs and that price promotions strengthen the sales of functional CSRAs. Featured advertising was also found to positively influence the sales of Functional CSRAs, but is found to have no impact on Symbolic CSRAs. Finally, the results show that Functional CSRAs are a better strategy for virtue products than Symbolic CSRAs. This paper concludes with managerial implications, theoretical contributions, and additional findings regarding price elasticity, sales trajectory, and sales performance across product categories.
The negative effect of CSR-CSI domain overlap in CSR-linked sport sponsorship
2023, Journal of Business Research
This study aimed to examine (1) the effect of the corporate social responsibility-corporate social irresponsibility (CSR-CSI) domain overlap conditions on attitudes toward the sponsor via two serial mediators (i.e., perceived firm-serving motives for CSR activity and CSR perception of the sponsor) and (2) the moderating effect of cause involvement. Four experiments were conducted: Study 1 assessed the mediation model, and Studies 2, 3, and 4 tested the moderated mediation model. Participants reported a negative mediation mechanism in the high CSR-CSI domain overlap condition (i.e., when CSR was strongly associated with CSI) compared to those in the low CSR-CSI domain overlap condition (i.e., when CSR was weakly associated with CSI). Furthermore, this negative effect was weakened when the participants were highly involved in the cause. The findings provide sponsors with CSI insights into the effective CSR-CSI domain overlap strategy in the sport sponsorship field.

View all citing articles on Scopus

¹: Tel.: +1 515 271 2758.

²: Tel.: +1 305 348 3330.

View full text

Consumer response to retailer use of cause-related marketing: Is more fit better?

Abstract

Section snippets

Fit effects on evaluation of cause-related marketing strategies

The moderating role of retailer motivation for cause-related marketing

Studies 1 and 2: exploring the individual roles of retailer motivation and affinity towards the cause

Methods

Verification of experimental conditions

General discussion

Journal of Retailing

Journal of Retailing

Journal of Retailing

Journal of Retailing

Journal of Business Research

Foundations of Information Integration Theory

The Influence of Cause-Related marketing on Consumer Choice: Does One Good Turn Deserve Another?

Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science

A Process-Tracing Study of Brand Extension Evaluation

Journal of Marketing Research

The Company and the Product: Corporate Associations and Consumer Product Responses

Journal of Marketing

Corporate Identify and Corporate Associations: A Framework for Future Research

Corporate Reputation Review