Consumer behavioural intentions in cause-related marketing. The role of identification and social cause involvement

Abstract

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.

How Does It Fit? Exploring the Congruence Between Organizations and Their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Activities

“…Furthermore, the framework shows that there may be a lot of space between functional fit and image fit, as previously distinguished by Bigné Alcañiz et al (2010) and Bigné et al (2012). Products and services is the category that connects best to the original concept of functional fit.…”

“…Ailawadi et al (2014), for instance, showed that the effects of CSR activities varied between the four CSR domains they distinguished, and Grau and Folse (2007) found that local donations, as opposed to national ones, had a positive effect on cause-related marketing outcomes. Likewise, Bigné-Alcañiz et al (2010) found that consumers' social cause involvement moderated the relationship between their consumer-company identification and their behavioral intentions. The costs involved for the stakeholders are another important aspect: Andrews et al (2014) showed that price discounts moderated the effects of cause-related marketing campaigns, while Folse et al (2010) found that purchase quantity affected consumers' participation intentions.…”

“…Various studies provide empirical support for this assumption, mostly using mediation analysis (Bigné Alcañiz et al 2010;Bigné et al 2012;Bower and Grau 2009;Gorton et al 2013;Myers et al 2012;Rifon et al 2004;Samu and Wymer 2014;Zdravkovic et al 2010). …”

“…Another explanation may be in the operationalization of fit in the various studies, which appears to differ considerably (cf. Bigné Alcañiz et al 2010). In the (mainly experimental) studies, CSR fit reflects a local and univocal manipulation in the experimental materials.…”

“…Bigné Alcañiz et al (2010) and Bigné et al (2012) distinguished between functional and image fit. Functional fit refers to the type of products (or services) that an organization stands for; image fit refers to a similarity based on brand associations.…”