The generous consumer: Interpersonal generosity and pro-social dispositions as antecedents to cause-related purchase intentions
Introduction
What do world starvation, tobacco, and positive body image have in common? They are all causes aligned with marketing tactics being used to lure consumers to change the world with their wallets. Firms today offer a litany of ways to combine purchases with social change opportunities. Purchase a meal, and Tacos 4 Life will donate a meal in a developing country, hoping to decrease childhood starvation through their Meal 4 Meal program (Tacos4Life, 2018). CVS continues to ban the sale of tobacco in its stores in an effort to create the nation’s first tobacco-free generation, augmenting their cause-marketing campaign with multi-million-dollar donations to support smoking prevention programs (Japsen, 2018). Unilever didn’t adopt a cause as much as it created one: raising self-esteem through positive body images. Unilever’s Dove Soap has built a plethora of marketing campaigns around the concept of feeling confident and comfortable about the way you naturally are (Unilever, 2019).
This isn’t simply altruism on the part of companies, it is a sound business strategy that resonates with consumers, serves as a buffer against the competition, and positively impacts the bottom line. The Cone Communications CSR Study revealed that 87% of consumers will purchase a product because a company advocates for an issue they care about while 76% will refuse to purchase a company’s products or services upon learning it supported an issue contrary to their beliefs (Cone, 2017). In Unilever’s Sustainable Living Plan, Unilever makes the case that brands with the strongest purpose orientations have significantly outperformed their less sustainable counterparts. Kantar Consulting backs up this claim through their Purpose 2020 study which maintains that brands with a high sense of purpose have seen their brand valuation increase by 175% over past 12 years compared to a growth rate of 70% for brands with a low sense of purpose (Curry & Smith, 2018).
As the world of cause-related marketing continues to capture the attention of consumers, brands, and companies, it is important to explore the antecedents and implications of this phenomenon. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to build and test a conceptual model surrounding the idea of a generous consumer – and what may lead a consumer to buy products affiliated with cause-related marketing. Our research centers on three themes. First, there is an increased interest in cause-related marketing, as evidenced by both the number of companies involved and the breadth of industry applications. Second, the extant literature in pro-social behaviors and dispositions provides helpful insight into understanding why individuals engage in pro-social behaviors, which can be used to explore consumer participation in cause-related marketing initiatives. Third, research in the domain of generosity provides a foundation for linking generous tendencies with purchase intentions.
Section snippets
Conceptual framework
The extant literature on cause-related marketing provides insight into what types of consumers might be attracted to this purpose-driven technique. However, little attention has been paid to the role that pro-social behaviors of consumers play in this domain. Pro-social perspectives have garnered attention in other contexts of marketplace activity, including charitable giving and donations. Given that cause-related marketing is often aligned with the giving of time, knowledge, and resources to
Sample
Data were collected using an online panel of American citizens. The survey contained questions that measured cause-related purchase intentions, social responsibility, empathetic concern, moral reasoning, and past helpfulness. To educate panelists on what cause-related marketing is, panelists recieved information on cause-related marketing inspired by Eastman et al. (2019). Specifically, panelists were given a definition of cause-related marketing, as well as examples of both portion of sales
Results
A structural model was constructed based on the theoretically driven hypotheses (see Fig. 1). The structural model showed good fit [X2 (390) = 893.42, CFI = 0.94, IFI = 0.94, TLI = 0.93, RMSEA = 0.06, SRMR = 0.05]. Squared multiple correlations of the endogenous variables indicated that the model explained 66% of the variance in interpersonal generosity, and 32% of the variance in purchase intentions. Structural equation modeling was used to test the path hypotheses (direct effects), and
Discussion
Given the continued and growing interest in cause-related marketing initiatives, our research is important, as it contributes to the understanding of the dispositions and behaviors that precede consumer engagement with such activities. Our exploration of pro-social behaviors, and the development of consumer generosity, in particular, provides important insight for future theoretical development and managerial action. Our research centered on three themes: 1) an increased interest in
Conclusion
In today’s competitive environment, business leaders must craft intelligent strategies that resonate with the desires of consumers beyond traditional economic models of value and reasoning. To such ends, many brands have begun to engage in cause-related marketing strategies in hopes of creating a competitive advantage in the marketplace. This paper engages this phenomenon by exploring the antecedents of engagement in cause-related marketing. We present new research that further clarifies the
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
Molly Rapert, Associate Professor of Marketing at the Sam M. Walton College of Business, received her undergraduate and masters degrees from the University of Arkansas. Returning to the University of Arkansas after receiving her doctorate from University of Memphis, Dr. Rapert teaches in the area of Marketing Management and Global Consumers. She also serves as the director of the Walton Center for Teaching Effectiveness. Her research work has appeared in outlets including Journal of Business
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Molly Rapert, Associate Professor of Marketing at the Sam M. Walton College of Business, received her undergraduate and masters degrees from the University of Arkansas. Returning to the University of Arkansas after receiving her doctorate from University of Memphis, Dr. Rapert teaches in the area of Marketing Management and Global Consumers. She also serves as the director of the Walton Center for Teaching Effectiveness. Her research work has appeared in outlets including Journal of Business Research, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, and Journal of Managerial Issues. Some of her awards include: The UA Baum Teaching Award (2012), the Marketing Management Association National Teaching Award (2010), and the Arkansas Alumni Association Excellence in Teaching Award (2002).
Anastasia Thyroff, Associate Professor of Marketing at Clemson University, received her M.M.R. from the University of Georgia and Ph.D. from the University of Arkansas (2013). Dr. Thyroff’s research interests are in market systems and macromarketing. Dr. Thyroff is comfortable using a wide-range of methodologies to answer the research questions at hand. Her research has appeared in outlets including the Journal of Business Research, Journal of Interactive Marketing, Marketing Theory and the Journal of Consumer Affairs. Some of her recent awards include: The SMA Paper in Conference Award (2013), The SMA Solomon Best Paper in Buyer Behavior Track (2012), Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching Award (2012), and The Journal of Consumer Affairs Best Article Award (2011).
Sarah Grace is a Ph.D. Candidate in Marketing at the University of Arkansas. Her research explores the intersection of markets and culture, with the aim of understanding marketing’s contributions to society. Recent recognitions include: The AMS Review/Sheth Foundation Doctoral Competition for Conceptual Articles (2019), The Macromarketing Best Doctoral Student Conference Paper (2018), and University of Arkansas Distinguished Doctoral Fellowship (2017).