An Analysis & Inter Relationship between the Factors of Perception for Cause Related Marketing Offerings

A performance evaluation model of CRM on non-profit organisations

Cause-related marketing (CRM) has received attention from companies around the world in recent years. Companies in Japan use CRM, but they are struggling with it because Japanese consumers have little interest in social contribution and have negative attitudes toward CRM. This study addresses the reason why Japanese consumers display negative attitudes toward products related to CRM from the viewpoint of company motives toward CRM. An online survey was completed by 290 university students in Japan. We estimated the data using the Discrete Choice Experiment (DCE) method. We found that Japanese consumers displayed negative willingness to pay (WTP) toward a well-known brand’s product with CRM information (β = −2.485, WTP = −106.7, p < .001). Providing information on the company’s motive for long-term commitment to CRM (the company’s positive motive for CRM) mitigates the negative effect of CRM (β = −1.721, WTP = −46.3, p < .001). Given this information, the overall assessment (WTP) of CRM (whether a CRM campaign has positive effects on product choice or not) is 2.6, which value is larger than the −45.2 WTP value where a consumer is not given this information. Our results contribute to the theoretical and practical aspects of CRM. Theoretically, we investigate the negative aspects of CRM, whereas many studies focus only on the positive aspects. We concluded that, in Japan, a company is required to demonstrate the motive behind their CRM campaign for it to have an impact on product choice.

PurposeDrawing from prior research, the purpose of this paper is to outline the benefits of cause-related marketing (CRM) campaigns for the sponsoring multinational organization and the non-profit, to examine the impact of firm–cause fit and how this fit forms and to describe consumer reactions to CRM campaigns. With this backdrop, the paper offers recommendations for how multinational corporations (MNCs) should undertake international CRM activities.Design/methodology/approachA comprehensive literature review, undertaken with a theoretical lens, helps reveal how CRM campaigns can be executed in international markets.FindingsWith accurate country market assessments, MNCs are better prepared to integrate with the local environment and deliver effective CRM strategies and value.Practical implicationsThis paper offers guidance for MNCs that are interested in expanding internationally in terms of how to develop an effective CRM in international markets. In addition, it explores relationship elements that are critical for creating a successful, synergistic relationship between the firm and the non-profit.Originality/valueWhen adopted effectively, CRM can be a valuable tool for firms as they expand internationally, by establishing relationships with local customers. This research suggests guidelines for multinationals to consider as they expand their presence globally and apply CRM in broader contexts.

PurposeAs cause‐related marketing (CRM) is usually subsumed under corporate social responsibility (CSR), in practice CSR and CRM can serve as different public relations tools. This study aims to compare the effect of CRS and CRM on customer attitude.Design/methodology/approachIn order to overcome various measurement problems, an experiment is conducted in a country characterized by a significant diversity of attitudes towards a cause.FindingsThe result indicates that both CSR and CRM have similar positive effects on customers' attitudes. However, while CRM might be more cost‐efficient, its positive effect is limited to customers with high cause affinity. In contrast, CRM has a negative effect on customers with low cause affinity, or who oppose the cause. A major finding is that CRM can compensate for negative CSR to a high degree in the cause affinity segment of the market. Therefore, a high degree of cause specificity of CSR might only be preferable if the market is characterized by broad cause affinity, or if a firm is facing negative public sentiment caused, for instance, by a product harm crisis.Originality/valueThe paper conceptualizes the difference between the cause‐unspecific and cause‐specific dimension of CSR and highlights the importance of cause affinity in cause‐specific CSR.

Research has shown that men and women respond differently to cause-related marketing (CRM) appeals with fictitious brands; however, few studies examine how CRM works for existing brands or measure long-term effects. To fill these gaps, we explore the influence of sponsor brand use and gender on responses to a CRM campaign at three points in time (premessage, postmessage exposure, and 2-week delay). We are the first study to identify the moderating effect of brand use on gendered responses to CRM messages. Nonbrand users increased their purchase intentions after CRM message exposure; this was especially true for men. Overall, our findings reinforce past research showing that CRM can positively influence short-term purchase intentions. We reveal new insights that show CRM can work especially well among nonbrand buyers; however, no significant long-term influence was found. Our results demonstrate the importance of segmenting the market by demographics and brand use as well as considering the long-term implications of CRM persuasion.

The current chapter explores how Saudi consumers perceive CRM campaigns, their awareness toward this kind of campaign, and then the effect of their perception on their willingness to participate in CRM campaigns in Saudi Arabia. In addition, it examines the effect of cause's attributes on the willingness to participate in CRM campaigns. The chapter discusses the results of 25 in-depth interviews with Saudi consumers that were conducted in one of the main shopping centres in Saudi Arabia. The following main themes emerged from the interviews: consumers' perception of CRM campaigns, matching between the charity and the company/brand, the importance of the cause to the consumer, and the proximity of the cause. In addition, results show the high impact of consumers' religious, moral, and cultural background on the decision to participate in a CRM campaign.

PurposePast research on cause-related marketing (CRM) suggests that these socially beneficial initiatives are more effective when linked with hedonic than utilitarian products. Little is known, however, about the process underpinning this effect. This paper aims to investigate why and under what circumstances CRM enhances the appeal of hedonic products by testing the mediation of guilt and introducing the moderating role of cause-product fit.Design/methodology/approachThe authors test a model of moderated mediation in two studies. Study 1 shows that the effectiveness of combining CRM with hedonic consumption is explained by the mediating role of feelings of guilt. Study 2 demonstrates that this mediation depends on the level of fit or congruency between the cause and the product.FindingsResults suggest that CRM campaigns offer the opportunity to improve the consumption experiences of hedonic products by reducing the feelings of guilt intrinsically connected with these options. Moreover, fit moderates the emotional processes activated by CRM initiatives. When fit is high, CRM reduces guilt and improves consumers’ experiences when purchasing hedonic alternatives.Originality/valueThe study extends current understanding of how CRM can promote hedonic consumption and contributes further to research on guilt as an emotion able to promote responsible consumption decisions. Moreover, the study introduces and tests the impact of cause-product fit in predicting consumers’ ethical purchase intention. For managers of hedonic brands, the study offers important implications on how to deploy CRM campaigns to foster better customer experiences.

Purpose This study examines how visual cues in cause-related marketing (CM) content on social media – such as face disclosure and selective focus – affect users’ engagement, including sharing intentions and participation, via perceived privacy concerns. Design/methodology/approach Across three experimental studies (N = 405), Study 1 explored the influence of face disclosure on psychological discomfort and privacy concerns. Study 2 confirmed the initial findings while examining disclosure effects on sharing intentions, with privacy concerns as a mediator and photo-sharing tendencies as a moderator. Study 3 employed a 2 × 2 factorial design to further validate prior results, demonstrating that selective focus (via blurring) can mitigate privacy concerns from face disclosure. Findings The moderated mediation analysis showed that increasing the visual salience of the beneficiary through face disclosure in CM content can trigger privacy concerns via heightened psychological discomfort, negatively affecting users’ intentions to share posts on Instagram. Conversely, reducing visual prominence using selective focus techniques like blurring mitigates these effects, while photo-sharing tendencies moderate the effects of privacy concerns on both sharing and participation intentions. Research limitations/implications In recent years, brands have turned to social media to launch CM campaigns, leveraging its interactive and content-sharing capabilities. However, how visual factors in CM content influence sharing and participation intentions – especially through elements that may deter these actions – remains underexplored. This study seeks to bridge this gap with empirical insights. Originality/value This study offers an alternative to the common use of emotionally salient imagery in CM by showing that reducing facial salience – particularly in depictions of a vulnerable child – can promote user engagement on Instagram by alleviating privacy concerns.

Cause-related marketing (CRM) has become an important part of a company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts. Beyond helping organizations meet their social obligations, CRM also strengthens corporate reputation, shapes brand preferences, and influences consumers’ purchase decisions. To communicate these initiatives, marketers often use different advertising appeals—one of which is the guilt appeal. As a moral emotion that encourages prosocial behavior, guilt can motivate consumers to act in ways that support social causes, making it a powerful tool in both social marketing and CRM. Yet, not all consumers view or respond to CRM messages in the same way. People differ in how they interpret and react to guilt-based messages, and these individual differences can significantly influence the success of such campaigns. One key factor shaping these responses is consumer skepticism. This study examines how skepticism moderates the impact of guilt appeals in CRM. Drawing on an experiment conducted with student participants, the results reveal that consumers with high levels of skepticism react less positively to guilt appeals compared to non-guilt messages. Conversely, consumers who are less skeptical respond more favorably when a guilt appeal is used. By highlighting the moderating role of skepticism, this study deepens our understanding more authentic and effective CRM communications.

Businesses have increasingly embraced cause-related marketing (CRM) as a tactical tool to align their brands with social causes. While CRM is widely adopted, little is known about factors influencing individual participation in such initiatives. This study investigates the impact of the warm glow effect, spirituality and brand anthropomorphism on attitudes towards CRM and how this attitude influence purchase intention, mediated by brand attitude. Price sensitivity’s moderating influence on this mediated relationship is also investigated. Variance-based structural equation modelling was used to evaluate hypotheses in a cross-sectional survey with 270 respondents, and slope analysis was used to evaluate the effects of interaction moderation. The results show that the indicated antecedents strongly affect views regarding CRM. In addition, the effect of CRM attitudes upon purchase intention is partially mediated by brand attitude. The study indicates that price sensitivity negatively moderates the mediated association. This study is among the first to look at how price sensitivity moderates the direct and indirect impacts of CRM attitude on purchase intention. Marketers can benefit from these perspectives to devise and extract greater strength from CRM strategies that will augment customer engagement when more unexplored aspects of the zone of CRM such as price sensitivity, spirituality and brand anthropomorphism get into the picture.

This research analyzes cause-related marketing (CrM) from the perspective of companies. The study aims to achieve a better understanding about what managers think about CrM by analyzing the level of acceptance and usage of this marketing tool, based on the UTAUT model. Using in-depth interviews as research method, we conclude that managers see the benefit of company partaken in initiatives as such, but not necessarily CrM. The reasons why managers choose to participate in Cause-related Marketing initiatives originate from the mix obtained through improving the firm by doing something considered socially positive. CrM was well evaluated by the participants and considered well positioned in terms of acceptance and usage, based on four factors: performance and effort expectancy, social influence, and facilitating conditions. Interviewees expressed excitement towards CrM and believe in it as a powerful tool to improve the firms’ image and consumers feeling towards it. While the literature uses several concepts (Corporate Social Responsibility or Social Marketing), the interviewees emphasize genuine caring and showing interest, time and funds to support consumers social concerns.

This study examines consumer attitudes toward cause-related marketing (CRM) in four countries: Canada, Australia, Norway, and Korea. It investigates the role of consumer values in shaping these attitudes toward CRM. The study finds that attitudes toward cause-related marketing differ significantly across countries. Attitudes toward CRM appear to be less positive in countries where it is less established (e.g., Korea) and more positive in countries where CRM is well established (e.g., Canada). Differences in attitude toward CRM are also directly correlated with personal values, specifically with internal and external values.

Cause-related Marketing (CrM) has become an increasingly popular marketing approach over the past two decades. However, neither researchers nor organizations fully understand the determinants of a successful CrM partnership. This research fills this gap. Specifically, we employ the schema theory to explore circumstances in which the CrM alliance cannot achieve a success. We use a theoretical modeling approach to report that, when consumers’ typicality-based cognitive process is assumed, the CrM activity with the partners’ more-discrepant attribute profile cannot be evaluated favorably, but the attribute-level uncertainty about the CrM alliance is less likely to feedback to the two partners. Furthermore, we argue that, under the schema-plus-tag model, consumers may not like the CrM program with a similar attribute profile. Therefore, this CrM approach may fail. To our knowledge, we are the first to apply the schema theory to explain how a CrM alliance can achieve a success.

Today, women’s experience following breast cancer is being a survivor. This experience is a demedicalized one, there are no medical connotations attached, women are not patients, they are survivors. Breast cancer activism discourse presents this survivor experience and seeks to destigmatize the disease through public awareness. The demedicalized nature of the disease and its messaging of awareness has provided an opportunity for companies to capitalize on this discourse through cause-related marketing. This paper uses Arthur Frank’s concept of the communicative body to explain the origins of the social construction of breast cancer as a demedicalized experience and to analyze new media messaging of breast cancer activism within the past decade. The analysis conducted establishes two dominant themes in breast cancer activism in new media. Firstly, the use of survivors employing Frank’s communicative body to build awareness, which can be traced back to the origins of the movement in the 1970s. Secondly, the corporate capitalization of the movement, namely the pink ribbon through cause-related marketing. This paper argues the demedicalized experience of having breast cancer still maintains its core values as a survivor-focused movement about women communicating their illness as survivors through their communicative bodies. However, the demedicalized nature has in turn allowed companies to capitalize on its messaging for their own financial gain. This paper finds that the ‘pinkwashing’ produced by cause-related marketing for breast cancer damages activist messaging through its monetization, distorting the social construction of awareness, and dividing survivors in their views of how awareness should be communicated. This ultimately creates two sides of raising awareness: one created through survivors using Frank’s communicative body, the other established by companies using cause-related marketing.

With the further development of economic globalization, transnational supply chain is faced with three bottom line principles. Enterprises need to take social benefits into account while pursuing economic benefits. Cause-related marketing is an effective way for enterprises to improve corporate image, undertake social responsibility and obtain economics benefits at the same time. In this paper, we consider a two-echelon transnational supply chain structure composed of an overseas manufacturer and a domestic retailer, and both the manufacturer and the retailer can perform cause-related marketing. By comparing the size of equilibrium solution under the two scenarios, we analyze the impact of tariff and consumer public welfare preference on the results. The results show that the retailer's CRM level in RCRM scenario is higher than that in the MCRM scenario. The tariff will reduce the channel profit, and the consumer's preference for public welfare will improve the channel profit, the retailer's implementation of CRM will bring more profit to the supply chain. Keywords- Cause-related marketing, Supply chain management, Public welfare preference, Game theory