A Qualitative Study of Cause-Related Marketing Campaigns and Consumers’ Purchase Intention of On-Demand Ride Services in Egypt

Abstract

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has become a matter of interest for academics and practitioners especially in the form of Cause-Related Marketing (CRM). The paper aims to revisit CRM campaign dimensions shaping consumer responses in terms of attitude toward firms and purchase intention in a less research market such as Egypt. Exploratory qualitative interviews were employed of thirteen in-depth interviews and one focus group (seven participants) with Egyptians using on-demand ride services. The current study shed the lights on the main CRM campaign factors affecting purchase intention and firm attitude. Those factors are cause involvement, consumers’ participation effort, company-cause fit, corporate credibility, altruistic attribution, campaign feedback, socio-demographic dimensions, and skepticism. Results revealed that campaign feedback has a master effect on consumers’ attitudes and purchasing behavior and wasn’t studied heavily in the literature. Also, the importance of the cause itself and how consumers are personally involved in the social issue is of great concern. Consumers’ skepticism and degree of participation effort required from consumers result in negative effects on their attitude toward firms which in turn affect their purchase intention. Yet, managers should inform consumers by how the company is using their donations, additionally; they should hamper consumers’ skepticism and enhance their trust in the socially conscious brands. People have to be updated with the campaign’s achievement and progress on a regular base. Eventually, determining the antecedents of CRM campaigns would help managers in selecting the best partners for an effective social venture.