Charitable programs and the retailer: do they mix?

Ellen, Pam Scholder; Mohr, Lois A.; Webb, Deborah J.

doi:10.1016/s0022-4359(00)00032-4

Cited by 645 publications

(531 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…In marketing literature, this theory helps explain consumers' responses to product failures (Folkes, 1984;Dawar and Pillutla, 2000) and their evaluations of companies that engage in social sponsorship (Rifon et al, 2004) or cause-related marketing (Ellen et al, 2000;Dean, 2003;Sjovall and Talk, 2004), two forms of CSR engagements. As in previous literature, Heider's (1944) When consumers observe that a company communicates about its CSR engagement but have no other information about the firm, they probably attribute this communication to the current sustainability trend, which is an extrinsic motive.…”

Section: Attribution Theory Sustainability Ratings and Company's Pementioning

confidence: 99%

“…In our study context, a company's perceived effort should reflect the degree of its commitment to the cause, inhibit consumers' scepticism toward the message (Pomering and Johnson, 2009;Du et al, 2010) and reveal a genuine social consciousness (Ellen et al, 2000).…”

Section: H1: Consumers Perceive a Company's Motives To Communicate Asmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It suggests that the action would not have been initiated without a reward and therefore appears opportunistic (Condry, 1977;Lepper and Greene, 1978). In the context of CSR communication, an internal attribution should induce more perceived sincerity, because the communication appears to represent an objective unto itself (Ellen et al, 2000).…”

Section: Perceived Motives and Corporate Brand Evaluationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, this effect is partially mediated by the company's perceived CSR effort, which indicates a framing effect of sustainability ratings that may bias perceptions of the company's CSR efforts. Perceived CSR effort also seems to offer a key variable for explaining CSR communication efficiency; despite its appearance in a few investigations (Ellen et al, 2000), it clearly deserves more attention to delineate all the factors that influence its evaluation. Sustainability ratings influence intrinsic motives, which is an interesting result in the context of company communications.…”

Section: Theoretical Managerial and Societal Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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How Sustainability Ratings Might Deter ‘Greenwashing’: A Closer Look at Ethical Corporate Communication

2011

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ABSTRACT. Of the many ethical corporate marketing practices, many firms use corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication to enhance their corporate image. Yet consumers, overwhelmed by these more or less well-founded CSR claims often have trouble identifying truly responsible firms. This confusion encourages "greenwashing" and may make CSR initiatives less effective. On the basis of attribution theory, this study investigates the role of independent sustainability ratings on consumers' responses to companies' CSR communication. Experimental results indicate the negative effect of a poor sustainability rating for corporate brand evaluations in the case of CSR communication, because consumers infer less intrinsic motives by the brand. Sustainability ratings thus could act to deter "greenwashing" and encourage virtuous firms to persevere in their CSR practices.

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Section: Attribution Theory Sustainability Ratings and Company's Pementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: H1: Consumers Perceive a Company's Motives To Communicate Asmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Perceived Motives and Corporate Brand Evaluationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Theoretical Managerial and Societal Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

How Sustainability Ratings Might Deter ‘Greenwashing’: A Closer Look at Ethical Corporate Communication

2011

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“…And 86 percent of U.K. respondents said they would be more likely to purchase from a company associated with a cause (Ellen, Mohr, and Webb, 2000). In summary, it is possible for stakeholders to gain from applications of the CSR concept without harming others if the initiatives are voluntary and are not subsidized by taxpayers.…”

Section: Evidence On Voluntary Csrmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of corporate social responsibility and irresponsibility policies

Armstrong

Green

2013

Journal of Business Research

125

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This article reviews experimental evidence on the effects of policies intended to promote behavior by firms that is more socially responsible and less socially irresponsible. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) can provide firms with opportunities for profit, but changes are likely to increase total welfare only if firms adopt them freely and without taxpayer subsidies. Mandated CSR circumvents people's own plans and preferences, distorts the allocation of resources, and increases the likelihood of irresponsible decisions. Evidence that government policies will increase welfare and a compelling argument that proven benefits justify reductions in freedom are necessary in order to justify CSR mandates. To date, this has apparently not been achieved. Corporate social irresponsibility (CSI) is concerned with whether firms undertake harmful actions that managers would be unwilling to undertake acting for themselves, or that a reasonable person would expect to cause substantive net harm when all parties are considered. Markets in which stakeholders are free to make decisions in their own interests provide some protection against CSI. Tort and contract law provide additional protection. Nevertheless, managers sometimes act irresponsibly. Codes of ethics that require fair treatment of stakeholders while pursuing long-term profit reduce the risk of irresponsible decisions. Management support and stakeholder accounting are important for successful implementation. Firms may wish to consider these measures; many already have.

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