social responsibility, identification, brand attractiveness, brand coherence, brand distinctiveness, brand prestige, brand attitude, purchase intention,

PurposeThe paper's purpose is to analyse the influence of online shopping information dependency and innovativeness on the acceptance of internet shopping.Design/methodology/approachThe impact of online shopping information dependency, domain‐specific innovativeness and technology acceptance model (TAM) variables on future shopping intention has been tested through structural equation modelling techniques. The sample consisted of 465 Spanish consumers who had never purchased online.FindingsData analysis shows that consumer innovativeness and online shopping information dependency have a direct and positive influence on future online shopping intention and that the basic TAM hypotheses are fulfilled. Online shopping information dependency can be increased with interfaces that are easier to use, but only if perceived usefulness remains high. Consumer innovativeness positively influences internet exposure and the ease‐of‐use perception of the shopping medium, referred to throughout this paper as “shopping channel”.Practical implicationsThis research enables companies to know which aspects of their communication strategies to highlight in order to get non‐purchasing web users to participate in e‐shopping. Perceived ease of use and online shopping information dependency has a significant influence on shoppers' willingness to purchase online. This shows that web content and design are key tools in the increase of future online purchasing. It is also recommended that managers target some of their advertising campaigns to the more innovative users.Originality/valueThere are still too few studies that analyse the effects of innovativeness and online shopping information dependency on non‐purchasing web users' behaviour. This work aims to combine the influence of online shopping information dependency, innovativeness and the traditional TAM in order to construct an improved model for internet shopping acceptance. It will use an integrated model to do so.

PurposeThe main purpose of this paper is to analyse the moderating effect of consumer altruistic values upon two drivers of brand credibility in cause‐related marketing (CrM): cause‐brand fit and consumer attribution of altruistic brand motivations.Design/methodology/approachThis is a quantitative study. Data have been collected through personal interviews at households using the random route sampling technique. The sample is formed by consumers of insurance and personal hygiene products, using different brand‐social cause combinations. Data have been analysed through structural equation modelling and multigroup analysis to test the moderation hypotheses.FindingsFindings show that altruistic consumers use mainly altruistic attribution to form their judgement on brand credibility in CrM messages, whereas non altruistic consumers base their assessment on cause‐brand fit.Research limitations/implicationsReal brands have been used in the empirical study and thus further research should replicate the study with fictional brands in order to avoid the effect of consumer prior information.Practical implicationsThe findings have relevant implications for CrM campaign managers in helping them to understand how to increase brand credibility in CrM messages. They should emphasize altruistic motivations if their target comprises more altruists or brand‐cause fit if non‐altruists outweigh.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the literature by making explicit the moderating role of altruistic values on two antecedents of brand credibility (cause‐brand fit and altruistic attributions) in a CrM campaign.

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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.