Cause-related marketing and start-ups: moderating role of cause involvement

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vivek Aggarwal ◽  
Vinod Kumar Singh

PurposeCause-related marketing (CrM) through social campaigns is becoming one of the main strategic marketing tools for large businesses. The purpose of this study is to find out the significance of CrM for start-ups and to evaluate the moderating role of cause involvement of consumer on the impact of CrM campaigns on purchase intention of consumers.Design/methodology/approachBoth structural equation modelling and hierarchical analysis were used to evaluate the responses of 1,425 male and female consumers in India towards CrM campaign.FindingsThe results revealed that the effect of CrM campaigns on purchase intention of consumers is significantly moderated by consumers’ cause involvement. Thus, companies must extend support to causes having high consumer involvement.Research limitations/implicationsBased on their findings, the authors suggest finding out the effects of CrM on the long-term sustainability of the start-ups in more detail, especially in developing countries like India. The scope of this study is one country-based; thus, research findings may not be generalised.Practical implicationsSmall businesses that are able to understand the needs of their own communities and recognise that through their efforts they can bring large impact on social issues and will see success through their socially responsible mindset. Society today needs businesses to support good causes. The best model of CrM, especially for start-ups, is the one in which while making a payment for a service or purchasing a product, the consumer is asked to make an additional payment for the social cause.Social implicationsSociety today needs businesses to support good causes. CrM campaigns provide consumers a chance to help the less fortunate and do so in regular and convenient ways. The study indicates the importance of both corporate citizenship and social responsibility among small businesses.Originality/valueWhile the current results show that the majority of studies were based on large business, this paper shows that the CrM can be useful for start-ups, medium and small businesses also. The suggested model can be an innovative way to implement CrM without incurring any additional cost. The conclusions confirm within a wider context the role of cause involvement as a moderator of the purchase intention and can further assist start-ups and small-scale companies in designing better targeted CrM campaigns benefiting the society at large.

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (8) ◽  
pp. 781-801 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ouidade Sabri ◽  
Hai Van Doan ◽  
Faten Malek ◽  
Hager Bachouche

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that the positive effect of packaging transparency on purchase intention is moderated by product quality risk (PQR) associated with the product category.Design/methodology/approachTwo separate experiments were conducted. Study 1 was designed to test the mediating role of perceived quality to account for the positive effect of transparency on purchase intention. Two types of packaging (opaque vs transparent) for a product associated with a high level of PQR were examined. Study 2 extended the findings by introducing the moderating role of PQR. A 2 (type of packaging: opaque vs transparent)*2 (PQR: low vs high) between subjects design was used.FindingsThe moderating role of the product PQR level is established: transparent packaging improves the product perceived quality and brand purchase intention when the product is associated with a high PQR, whereas there is no such preference for transparent packaging when the product is associated with a low PQR.Practical implicationsThe results offer insights to better understand the potential gains from adopting transparent packaging. If a brand manager's main goals are to develop sales, costly investments in research and development of transparent packaging appear to be fruitful only for products associated with high PQR.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to packaging, cue utilisation and perceived risk literatures by evidencing the moderating role of PQR to explain the positive effect of transparency on purchase intention.


2015 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 150-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ming-Chuan Pan ◽  
Chih-Ying Kuo ◽  
Ching-Ti Pan

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine consumer reactions to product categories, online seller reputation, and brand name syllables. Design/methodology/approach – This paper uses four experimental designs to explore the seller reputation, product category, and brand name syllable effects in internet shopping. The authors chose sellers of (low/high) repute from Yahoo Mall. ANOVA is used to evaluate the results. Findings – Seller reputation moderates the effect of the brand name syllable level on purchase intention and product category moderates the effect of the brand name syllable level on purchase on internet (experiment 1). Consumers take the longest time to make purchasing decisions when buying credence goods or buying from sellers of low repute and that the response time mediates the moderating role of the product category (experiment 2) or reputation (experiment 3). Moreover, the effect of brand name syllable levels chosen/assigned by sellers of low repute is weakened for consumers with low (vs high) skepticism toward non-store shopping (experiment 4). Practical implications – This study is helpful to online sellers if they can identify their reputation, product category and those consumers have skepticism, they can create extra profit through brand name syllable practice. Originality/value – This paper extends the literature on consumers’ brand name syllable processing by identifying important moderators and probing into the decision process. The results allow us to substantiate prior research and suggest prescriptive strategies for internet retailers.


2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 695-712 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michela Matarazzo ◽  
Riccardo Resciniti ◽  
Biagio Simonetti

Purpose Building on the scant literature on cross-border acquisitions (CBAs) in the consumer perspective, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of the acquirer’s cause-related marketing (CRM) on consumers’ repurchase intentions of the products of the post-acquisition target. In addition, the study aims at analyzing the moderating role of acquirer’s CRM on the relationship between corporate ability (CA) and country image (CI) on consumers’ repurchase intentions of the products of the post-acquisition target. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on a sample of Italian consumers (n=351), the authors examined the roles played by the acquirer’s CRM on consumer behaviour by considering an Italian target firm with a high reputation and comparing eight foreign acquiring firms with different combinations of CRM (poor/good), CA (poor/good) and CI (high/low). Findings The authors found that CRM, CA as well as CI have a significant impact on Italian consumers’ intention to repurchase the products of the post-acquisition target. Furthermore, it is shown that good CRM reduces the negative influence of a poor CA and a low CI on post-acquisition repurchase intentions and strengthen the positive influence, thus confirming the moderating role of CRM. Originality/value The research investigates, in the context of CBAs, the impact of the acquirer’s CRM on the host country consumers’ repurchase intentions after the CBA, which has not previously been examined. It can help managers to understand the conditions under which CBAs will be favourably evaluated.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Debarun Chakraborty

PurposeOnline food ordering apps (OFOAs) have become increasingly popular, and consumers have widely recognized their benefits, particularly during pandemics or lockdowns. Despite the growing popularity of OFOAs, little is known about technology acceptance theories and their impact on purchase intention. The current study proposes the amalgamation of three theories to bridge this gap, better explaining customer behaviour toward OFOAs.Design/methodology/approachTo create a model, the researcher applied technology acceptance theories, visibility and purchase intention. To obtain results, the researcher used structural equation modelling (SEM) and moderation analysis on 432 responses obtained through a questionnaire.FindingsAccording to the research, all constructs were found to have a favourable and significant impact on the intention to use OFOAs, except compatibility. The moderating effect of visibility on intent to purchase is shown in the study. The study's findings add to the knowledge of consumer behaviour and practice.Research limitations/implicationsThis work sheds light on technology acceptance theories that ensure that OFOA platforms are used indefinitely. Furthermore, the significance of visibility as a mediator of purchase intention provides a deep insight into customer behaviour.Originality/valueThis model, which combines technology acceptance theories' original constructs with visibility to moderate purchase intention on OFOA platforms, is the first of its type in the current literature. Furthermore, this theoretical progress paves the way for future research.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tengfei Guo ◽  
Shiquan Zhong ◽  
Xuelian Wang ◽  
Geng Li

PurposeIn this research, the authors aim to investigate the impact of product display quantity on consumers' online purchase intention through the diminished pain of payment, in light of signaling theory and mental accounting theory. Additionally, the authors test the role of price in this psychological mechanism.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use a combination of online studies and field experiments to test our predictions. Four online studies are conducted to test the main effect of product display quantity on purchase intention (Studies 1A and 1B), the mediating effect of the diminished pain of payment (Study 2), and the moderating role of price (Study 3). Two field experiments are conducted to strengthen the robustness of our findings.FindingsThe findings suggest that product display quantity has a significantly positive impact on purchase intention, mediated by the diminished pain of payment, and this effect is moderated by price.Originality/valueThis is the first study to investigate the effect of product display quantity on online purchase intention. This research advances the discussion of product display quantity, which provides retailers and consumers with a convenient way to communicate with each other and leads to a more relaxed purchase experience.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Harry Jay Cavite ◽  
Panya Mankeb ◽  
Suneeporn Suwanmaneepong

PurposeOrganic rice forms the largest portion of the Thai organic food market. Because of its increasing popularity, marketers need to better understand consumer behaviour to address emerging concerns regarding product safety and quality and to tailor better marketing strategies relevant to the development of organic rice. As such, this study aims to examine consumers' purchase intention towards organic rice, using traceability information, and to investigate the direct and moderating roles of product traceability knowledge, using the theory of planned behaviour.Design/methodology/approachResponses were collected from 243 organic rice consumers in a farmers' market in Chachoengsao Province, Thailand, following a convenience sampling approach. The gathered data were analysed using structural equation modelling to evaluate the strength of the relationship between the constructs.FindingsThe findings reveal that subjective norms, health consciousness and product traceability knowledge have a significant positive influence on consumers’ intention to purchase organic rice. This study also establishes the moderating role of product traceability knowledge in perceived behavioural control and purchase intention, indicating that elaborated product information through traceability is essential for consumers who feel capable of buying the product. However, the direct effects of attitude and perceived behavioural control are insignificant, indicating the presence of external barriers to the purchase of organic rice, and that people may have a negative attitude towards the product. In addition, the cost perception result reveals that consumers consider price as an indicator of organic product quality, thereby increasing their desirability.Social implicationsThe findings of this study will help community enterprises in Thailand develop a more effective marketing strategy based on the identified motivators of organic rice purchase intention.Originality/valueThis study develops a model that integrates important factors related to organic food consumption to generate a more comprehensive analysis of this mainstream research. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is also the first study to investigate the moderating role of product traceability knowledge to obtain a new and more focused understanding of how this factor influences purchase intention when applied explicitly to organic food. Finally, the findings provide theoretical contributions and implications for both the community enterprise and policymakers on developing strategies for organic rice marketing among community enterprises in Thailand.


2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 902-916 ◽  
Author(s):  
Morteza Maleki Minbashrazgah ◽  
Fatemeh Maleki ◽  
Maedeh Torabi

Purpose Developing green consumption, organic and green meat and poultry consumption have been increased recently. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of food’s sensory characteristics (e.g. organic food beliefs) and non-food factors (e.g. price transparency) on consumers’ green purchase behavior. So, according to the moderating role of price transparency, affecting factors on green chicken purchase intention and behavior are examined. Design/methodology/approach Evaluating the model, the authors used measures from previous research. The authors distributed questionnaire in four chain stores in four different geographical regions in Tehran. The structural model and relations were examined by using Smart PLS 2.0 software to simultaneously estimate the measurement and structural models. Findings Structural equation analysis revealed that level of trust, consumer’s organic food beliefs and perceived environmental responsibility have positive impact on green purchase intention. Also price transparency moderator role confirmed that moderators can affect consumers’ actual behavior. Research limitations/implications As our sample was just from Tehran, the research results may lack generalizability to all people in Iran. Therefore, future researchers are encouraged to retest the proposed model in other cities and also in other countries with different level of economic development. Practical implications This paper includes suggestions for managers and producers to develop green food products consumption especially green chicken. Also it has implications for spreading out green consumption among people with high environmental involvement. Originality/value Despite conducted research, the moderating role of price transparency has been used only rarely to investigate consumers’ green purchase behavior.


2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 153-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janet Kleber ◽  
Arnd Florack ◽  
Anja Chladek

Purpose Cause-related marketing (CRM) is a sales strategy that is used to improve the success of a product by including a donation to a charitable cause in its price. While marketers can present CRM donations to consumers as either absolute amounts or percentages, the predominant practice in marketing is to use the latter. As the influence of such presentation formats is not well understood, the purpose of this paper is to systematically examine their effects while taking into account the numerical ability (numeracy) of the consumers. Design/methodology/approach In two experiments, the presentation format of the donation amounts (absolute vs percentage) were manipulated and individual differences in numeracy were measured. The product type (hedonic vs utilitarian) and sales price were varied. We found this effect for high and low price levels and for hedonic and utilitarian products. Findings The results of both experiments consistently supported the hypothesis presented in this paper that for people with lower numeracy, their purchase intentions were higher when absolute donation amounts were presented. We found this effect for high and low price levels and for hedonic and utilitarian products. Originality/value The present paper shows that the current practice of presenting donations in percentages is inferior to presenting donations in absolute amounts because a large number of consumers have trouble interpreting percentages appropriately. Therefore, it indicates that the default option for marketing managers should be to present donations in absolute amounts for hedonic and utilitarian products with low and high prices.


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