IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v9y2017i6p1016-d101320.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Role of Company-Cause Fit and Company Involvement in Consumer Responses to CSR Initiatives: A Meta-Analytic Review

Author

Listed:
  • Grzegorz Zasuwa

    (Department of Economics and Management, Faculty of Social Sciences, The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, al. Racławickie 14, 20-950 Lublin, Poland)

Abstract

The marketing literature suggests that company-cause fit is of key importance to developing a successful socially responsible initiative. However, controversy exists regarding the level of this fit. While some studies report that high fit between a company and a cause has beneficial effects on consumer responses to such efforts, other research identifies negative impacts. This paper aims to obtain a deeper insight into this issue by examining the moderating role of company involvement in a cause. A meta-analysis of 51 experimental studies, yielding a total sample size of 11,335 subjects, shows that company-cause fit influences consumer responses to CSR initiatives most positively when a company with a positive reputation is highly involved in a cause, that is, when the company donates at least products. If such a company provides its beneficiary with only monetary contributions (i.e., low involvement), the effects of fit are significantly less influential.

Suggested Citation

  • Grzegorz Zasuwa, 2017. "The Role of Company-Cause Fit and Company Involvement in Consumer Responses to CSR Initiatives: A Meta-Analytic Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(6), pages 1-16, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:9:y:2017:i:6:p:1016-:d:101320
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/9/6/1016/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/9/6/1016/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Julie Pirsch & Shruti Gupta & Stacy Grau, 2007. "A Framework for Understanding Corporate Social Responsibility Programs as a Continuum: An Exploratory Study," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 70(2), pages 125-140, January.
    2. Pracejus, John W. & Olsen, G. Douglas, 2004. "The role of brand/cause fit in the effectiveness of cause-related marketing campaigns," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 57(6), pages 635-640, June.
    3. Namin Kim & Youri Sung & Moonkyu Lee, 2012. "Consumer Evaluations of Social Alliances: The Effects of Perceived Fit Between Companies and Non-Profit Organizations," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 109(2), pages 163-174, August.
    4. Karaosmanoglu, Elif & Altinigne, Nesenur & Isiksal, Didem Gamze, 2016. "CSR motivation and customer extra-role behavior: Moderation of ethical corporate identity," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(10), pages 4161-4167.
    5. Lee, Eun Mi & Park, Seong-Yeon & Rapert, Molly I. & Newman, Christopher L., 2012. "Does perceived consumer fit matter in corporate social responsibility issues?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 65(11), pages 1558-1564.
    6. Larry V. Hedges, 1982. "Fitting Categorical Models to Effect Sizes from a Series of Experiments," Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics, , vol. 7(2), pages 119-137, June.
    7. Pavlos Vlachos & Nikolaos Panagopoulos & Adam Rapp, 2013. "Feeling Good by Doing Good: Employee CSR-Induced Attributions, Job Satisfaction, and the Role of Charismatic Leadership," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 118(3), pages 577-588, December.
    8. Yuan-Shuh Lii & Monle Lee, 2012. "Doing Right Leads to Doing Well: When the Type of CSR and Reputation Interact to Affect Consumer Evaluations of the Firm," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 105(1), pages 69-81, January.
    9. Yuan‐Shuh Lii & Kuang‐Wen Wu & May‐Ching Ding, 2013. "Doing Good Does Good? Sustainable Marketing of CSR and Consumer Evaluations," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 20(1), pages 15-28, January.
    10. Jaedeock Lee & Mauricio Ferreira, 2013. "A role of team and organizational identification in the success of cause-related sport marketing," Sport Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(2), pages 161-172, April.
    11. Zasuwa, Grzegorz, 2016. "Do the ends justify the means? How altruistic values moderate consumer responses to corporate social initiatives," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(9), pages 3714-3719.
    12. Folse, Judith Anne Garretson & Niedrich, Ronald W. & Grau, Stacy Landreth, 2010. "Cause-Relating Marketing: The Effects of Purchase Quantity and Firm Donation Amount on Consumer Inferences and Participation Intentions," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 86(4), pages 295-309.
    13. Lafferty, Barbara A., 2007. "The relevance of fit in a cause-brand alliance when consumers evaluate corporate credibility," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 60(5), pages 447-453, May.
    14. Zdravkovic, Srdan & Magnusson, Peter & Stanley, Sarah M., 2010. "Dimensions of fit between a brand and a social cause and their influence on attitudes," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 151-160.
    15. T. D. Stanley, 2001. "Wheat from Chaff: Meta-analysis as Quantitative Literature Review," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 15(3), pages 131-150, Summer.
    16. Lee, Jaedeock & Ferreira, Mauricio, 2013. "A role of team and organizational identification in the success of cause-related sport marketing," Sport Management Review, Elsevier, vol. 16(2), pages 161-172.
    17. Rim, Hyejoon & Yang, Sung-Un & Lee, Jaejin, 2016. "Strategic partnerships with nonprofits in corporate social responsibility (CSR): The mediating role of perceived altruism and organizational identification," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(9), pages 3213-3219.
    18. Samu, Sridhar & Wymer, Walter, 2009. "The effect of fit and dominance in cause marketing communications," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 62(4), pages 432-440, April.
    19. Becker-Olsen, Karen L. & Cudmore, B. Andrew & Hill, Ronald Paul, 2006. "The impact of perceived corporate social responsibility on consumer behavior," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 59(1), pages 46-53, January.
    20. Ali, Raza & Lynch, Richard & Melewar, T.C. & Jin, Zhongqi, 2015. "The moderating influences on the relationship of corporate reputation with its antecedents and consequences: A meta-analytic review," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 68(5), pages 1105-1117.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Mochales, Gerardo & Blanch, Javier, 2022. "Unlocking the potential of CSR: An explanatory model to determine the strategic character of CSR activities," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 310-323.
    2. James J Murphy & Molly Conlin & Bryan Haugstad, 2023. "An experimental test of cause-related marketing and charitable giving," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 75(4), pages 890-901.
    3. Brian P. McCullough & Jonathan C. Casper & Danielle M. Kushner Smith, 2022. "Fan Responses of Sponsored Environmental Sustainability Initiatives," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-16, October.
    4. Luis Ignacio Álvarez-González & Nuria García-Rodríguez & María José Sanzo-Pérez, 2018. "Online Voluntary Transparency in Spanish Retail Firms. Measurement Index and CSR-Related Factors as Determinants," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-20, October.
    5. Tsungjen Shih & Shaojung Sharon Wang, 2021. "Cause-Related Marketing in the Telecom Sector: Understanding the Dynamics among Environmental Values, Cause-Brand Fit, and Product Type," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-16, May.
    6. Antonio K. W. Lau & Stacy H. N. Lee & Sojin Jung, 2018. "The Role of the Institutional Environment in the Relationship between CSR and Operational Performance: An Empirical Study in Korean Manufacturing Industries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-17, March.
    7. Yu Jia & Jinglu Yan & Tianyuan Liu & Jun Huang, 2019. "How Does Internal and External CSR Affect Employees’ Work Engagement? Exploring Multiple Mediation Mechanisms and Boundary Conditions," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(14), pages 1-17, July.
    8. Langan, Ryan & Kumar, Anand, 2019. "Time versus money: The role of perceived effort in consumers' evaluation of corporate giving," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 295-305.
    9. Dong Yang Hao & Guo You Qi & Jing Wang, 2018. "Corporate Social Responsibility, Internal Controls, and Stock Price Crash Risk: The Chinese Stock Market," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-22, May.
    10. Juil Lee & Sang-Joon Kim & Insu Kwon, 2017. "Corporate Social Responsibility as a Strategic Means to Attract Foreign Investment: Evidence from Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-11, November.
    11. Dongho Yoo & Jieun Lee, 2018. "The Effects of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Fit and CSR Consistency on Company Evaluation: The Role of CSR Support," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-16, August.
    12. Yunjeong Ahn & Jieun Lee, 2019. "The Effect of Participation Effort on CSR Participation Intention: The Moderating Role of Construal Level on Consumer Perception of Warm Glow and Perceived Costs," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-14, December.
    13. Naveed Ahmad & Rana Tahir Naveed & Miklas Scholz & Muhammad Irfan & Muhammad Usman & Ilyas Ahmad, 2021. "CSR Communication through Social Media: A Litmus Test for Banking Consumers’ Loyalty," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-15, February.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Menno D. T. Jong & Mark Meer, 2017. "How Does It Fit? Exploring the Congruence Between Organizations and Their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Activities," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 143(1), pages 71-83, June.
    2. Tejaswi Patil & Zillur Rahman, 2023. "Mapping the Cause-Related Marketing (CRM) field: document co-citation and bibliographic coupling approach," International Review on Public and Nonprofit Marketing, Springer;International Association of Public and Non-Profit Marketing, vol. 20(2), pages 491-520, June.
    3. Xiaojun Fan & Nianqi Deng & Yi Qian & Xuebing Dong, 2022. "Factors Affecting the Effectiveness of Cause-Related Marketing: A Meta-Analysis," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 175(2), pages 339-360, January.
    4. Anran Zhang & Pamela Saleme & Bo Pang & James Durl & Zhengliang Xu, 2020. "A Systematic Review of Experimental Studies Investigating the Effect of Cause-Related Marketing on Consumer Purchase Intention," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-23, November.
    5. Mendini, Monica & Peter, Paula C. & Gibbert, Michael, 2018. "The dual-process model of similarity in cause-related marketing: How taxonomic versus thematic partnerships reduce skepticism and increase purchase willingness," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 195-204.
    6. Anran Zhang & Alex Scodellaro & Bo Pang & Hui-Yi Lo & Zhengliang Xu, 2020. "Attribution and Effectiveness of Cause-Related Marketing: The Interplay between Cause–Brand Fit and Corporate Reputation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-17, October.
    7. Schyvinck, Cleo & Willem, Annick, 2018. "A typology of cause-related marketing approaches in European professional basketball," Sport Management Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(4), pages 347-362.
    8. Bodur, H. Onur & Tezer, Ali & Grohmann, Bianca, 2023. "Execution novelty: Improving brand evaluations in cause sponsorship," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    9. Saha, Sajeeb & Ranjan, Kumar Rakesh & Pappu, Ravi & Akhlaghpour, Saeed, 2023. "Corporate giving and its impact on consumer evaluations: A meta-analysis," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    10. Langan, Ryan & Kumar, Anand, 2019. "Time versus money: The role of perceived effort in consumers' evaluation of corporate giving," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 295-305.
    11. Waßmann, Jan, 2011. "Corporate Social Responsibility in der Marketing- und Markenforschung: Ein systematischer Überblick zum aktuellen Stand der empirischen Forschung," Research Papers on Marketing Strategy 5/2011, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Lehrstuhl für BWL und Marketing.
    12. Lee, Jaedeock & Ferreira, Mauricio, 2013. "A role of team and organizational identification in the success of cause-related sport marketing," Sport Management Review, Elsevier, vol. 16(2), pages 161-172.
    13. João Guerreiro & Paulo Rita & Duarte Trigueiros, 2016. "A Text Mining-Based Review of Cause-Related Marketing Literature," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 139(1), pages 111-128, November.
    14. van Rekom, Johan & Go, Frank M. & Calter, Dayenne M., 2014. "Communicating a company's positive impact on society—Can plausible explanations secure authenticity?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 67(9), pages 1831-1838.
    15. Deepa Rohit & Rajesh Panda, 2018. "Cause-Brand Association and Consumer Attitude: A Review," Indian Journal of Commerce and Management Studies, Educational Research Multimedia & Publications,India, vol. 9(1), pages 61-71, January.
    16. Nicole Koschate-Fischer & Isabel V. Huber (née Stefan) & Wayne D. Hoyer, 2016. "When will price increases associated with company donations to charity be perceived as fair?," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 44(5), pages 608-626, September.
    17. Rana Essam Shazly & Abeer A. Mahrous, 2020. "Capture the hearts to win the minds: cause-related marketing in Egypt," International Review on Public and Nonprofit Marketing, Springer;International Association of Public and Non-Profit Marketing, vol. 17(3), pages 255-276, September.
    18. Shang, Jingzhi & Basil, Debra Z. & Wymer, Walter, 2010. "Using social marketing to enhance hotel reuse programs," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 63(2), pages 166-172, February.
    19. Anne Hamby & Niusha Jones & Guohong Yu, 2021. "Exploring the effects of for‐profit and nonprofit size congruency: An exchange perspective on cause‐related marketing," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(1), pages 274-292, March.
    20. Mobin Fatma & Zillur Rahman, 2016. "Consumer responses to CSR in Indian banking sector," International Review on Public and Nonprofit Marketing, Springer;International Association of Public and Non-Profit Marketing, vol. 13(3), pages 203-222, October.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:9:y:2017:i:6:p:1016-:d:101320. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.