When consumers are skeptical of a company “doing good” : examining how company-cause fit and message specific-ness interplay on consumer response toward corporate social responsibility (CSR)

Lim, Rachel Esther

doi:10.26153/tsw/2193

Cited by 1 publication

(6 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The use of persuasion knowledge is associated with skepticism (Friestad and Wright, 1994). This idea is exemplarily illustrated by Lim (2019) whose results indicate that low CSR fit leads to higher levels of situational CSR skepticism. However, situational CSR skepticism is not only influenced through CSR communication tactics, but also influences consumer outcomes.…”

Section: Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…Previous studies on CSR communication already used this type of fictitious company in their research design (e.g. Lim, 2019;P erez et al, 2020) because the food industry is a crucial part of the overall economy and is present in consumers' daily life (Maloni and Brown, 2006). The name of the fictitious restaurant chain was chosen to be Nutric Food.…”

Section: Corporate-ngo Partnershipsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous research tackling CSR communication strategies mainly focused on unspecific CSR activities such as companies supporting a cause (e.g. Bae, 2018;Becker-Olsen et al, 2006;Dhanesh and Nekmat, 2019;Ellen et al, 2006;Kim, 2014;Lim, 2019;P erez et al, 2020;Shim et al, 2017), or CSR sponsorships (e.g. Elving, 2013;Forehand and Grier, 2003;Kim and Ferguson, 2019;Rifon et al, 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…, 2006; Dhanesh and Nekmat, 2019; Ellen et al. , 2006; Kim, 2014; Lim, 2019; Pérez et al. , 2020; Shim et al.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Yet, research suggests that consumer skepticism is a major factor for the decreasing effectiveness of CSR communication (Connors et al, 2017;Du et al, 2010;Skarmeas and Leonidou, 2013). Higher consumer skepticism has been shown to lead to more negative consumer attitudes (Lim, 2019)-which provide the basis for subsequential behavioral processes (Petty and Cacioppo, 1986). This can potentially lead to more negative electronic Word-of-Mouth (eWOM)-which nowadays is a key determinant of corporate reputations (Van Norel et al, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Consumer skepticism towards Corporate-NGO partnerships: the impact of CSR motives, message frame and fit

Schade

Wang

Prooijen

2022

CCIJ

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

PurposeCorporate-NGO partnerships are gaining increasing importance as part of a company's CSR effort. This study aims to understand which communication tactics (CSR motive, CSR message frame, CSR fit) lead to more positive consumer outcomes in the context of corporate-NGO partnerships, and whether consumer skepticism and consumer trust mediate the proposed relationships.Design/methodology/approachAn online experiment was conducted (N = 298) to examine the theoretical predictions, involving a 2 (CSR motive: firm-serving/public-serving) x 2 (CSR message frame: narrative/expositive) x 2 (CSR fit: high/low) between-subjects design.FindingsThe results confirmed that consumer attitudes and electronic Word-of-Mouth (eWOM) can be affected by CSR motives and CSR fit. Also, CSR skepticism and consumer trust both mediate the relationship of CSR motives and consumer outcomes.Practical implicationsThe results of this study make a strong case for expressing public-serving CSR motives and refraining from firm-serving CSR motives when communicating about a corporate-NGO partnership to consumers.Originality/valueFocusing on the communication tactics of corporate-NGO partnerships extends existing literature by uncovering whether and how the factors driving effective communication in other CSR activities can be applied to the context of corporate-NGO partnerships.

show abstract

Section: Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 94%