Corporate Social Responsibility and Digital Tools

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.

Cause-related marketing (CRM) is an important type of corporate social responsibility that offers engagement initiatives to consumers, brands and non-profit organizations. This study aims to explore the factors affecting Tunisian consumers’ intention to participate in cause-related marketing campaigns. Building on the previous literature on CRM, the authors focused on the factors that predict consumer’s intention to purchase products supporting social causes. Taking into consideration these determinants, a qualitative study was conducted with ten consumer-members of a Tunisian virtual community via individual semi-structured interviews conducted online. The results show that the three types of fit (cause-brand fit; cause-consumer fit; brand-consumer fit), consumer-cause identification, the involvement in the product category, the attribution of altruistic motivations and the attitudes towards CRM are the factors favoring the purchase intention of the Tunisian consumer. These results corroborate prior research and provide more particular information on Tunisian customers. The present findings can help companies in Tunisia design stronger cause-related marketing initiatives.KeywordsCause-related marketing (CRM)Consumer behaviorCause-brand fitConsumer-cause identificationAltruistic motivationsPurchase intention

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.

Cause-related marketing uniquely integrates business objectives with social causes, thus simultaneously satisfying usual consumer needs and moral considerations to support social campaigns. As cause-related marketing (CRM) becomes more prevalent, companies will need to be more effective and efficient in launching cause-related marketing campaigns. Simply having a cause-related campaign was once sufficient to distinguish a company; increasing competitiveness in this arena means that campaigns have to be more distinctive and pertinent to successfully gain a position against competitors. While numerous studies have identified factors that influence consumer intention to purchase cause-related products, just few of them have examined moderating influences. Therefore, this study sought to identify factors that moderated the influence of personal characteristics on the intention to purchase cause-related products. Data were obtained via online surveys from 393 English speaking Lithuanian students. Results confirmed that altruism, materialism and individualism have positive direct relationships with the intention to purchase cause-related products; product type and guilt did not have a moderating effect on those relationships, but cause involvement is an important moderator. These findings contribute to the theory of cause-related marketing by identifying moderators as being a specific type of personal characteristic (e.g., cause-involvement) and ruling out others (e.g., guilt), or product type. Furthermore, these finding provide marketing managers insights for planning and positioning cause-related marketing campaigns by showing what factors amplify the effects of altruism, materialism and individualism in this context. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ee.27.5.15166

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.

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.

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.

This study examines the impact of Persuasion Knowledge (PK) on the effectiveness of Cause-Related Marketing (CrM), exploring how congruence between a brand and its supported cause influences consumer responses.High congruence tends to elicit positive consumer reactions (Gupta & Pirsch, 2006), whereas low congruence may lead to negative reactions (Drumwright, 1996).As CrM campaigns proliferate, consumers develop increasing familiarity and critical awareness-defined as Persuasion Knowledge-which enables them to recognize, analyze, and evaluate persuasive tactics (Friestad & Wright, 1994).This awareness enhances either trust or skepticism depending on the perceived credibility of the message, amplifying consumer responses accordingly (Isaac & Grayson, 2017).Using serial mediation models, three studies were conducted to explore these dynamics.Study 1 demonstrates that high-congruence CrM campaigns positively affect individuals with high Persuasion Knowledge, whereas lowcongruence campaigns generate negative effects in this group.Study 2 reinforces these findings, highlighting the moderating role of Persuasion Knowledge, where Attitude Toward the Advertisement influences behavioral variables, while Attitude Toward the Brand does not necessarily have the same effect.Study 3 assesses brand strength by controlling a single brand with different causes and examining additional dependent variables such as Brand Equity and Word-of-Mouth.This study finds stronger effects among individuals with high PK, who exhibit heightened sensitivity to brand-cause congruence.These findings contribute to CrM literature by positioning Persuasion Knowledge as a moderating factor and emphasizing the importance of congruence in optimizing consumer responses to CrM initiatives.Additionally, this research extends previous studies (Isaac & Grayson, 2017) by examining Persuasion Knowledge in the context of CrM.For practitioners, these insights offer valuable guidance for CrM campaign planning, suggesting that selecting causes aligned with brand identity enhances campaign effectiveness, particularly among consumers with high Persuasion Knowledge.This targeted alignment has the potential to strengthen purchase intentions, brand perceptions, and the overall impact of CrM initiatives across diverse consumer segments.

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.

A Qualitative Study of Cause-Related Marketing Campaigns and Consumers’ Purchase Intention of On-Demand Ride Services in Egypt

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.

Cause’s Attributes Influencing Consumer’s Purchasing Intention: Empirical Evidence from Pakistan

Cause‐related marketing (CRM) partnerships between luxury firms and charitable organizations have grown in popularity, yet no study has examined such luxury CRM campaigns thus far. Using a fictitious campaign by the Hotel Adlon Kempinski Berlin and the Plan International Germany charity, the authors conducted an experimental CRM study among 281 actual luxury consumers. Realizing CRM campaigns in the luxury segment can be promising for luxury firms and charities. In particular, a CRM campaign works best when the donation magnitude is high (25% vs. 1%) and the price of the luxury service offering is moderate (€180 vs. €450). Furthermore, luxury campaigns enhance the attitudes of luxury customers toward charitable organizations, especially if they are unknown brands. Yet this study also offers a warning that luxury campaigns can be risky if consumers who have previously supported the charitable organization perceive the campaign as too high profile. Ultimately, this study reveals that CRM luxury campaigns play a major role for fundraising success.Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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.