Do Pro-social Ads Influence Social Attitudes and Consumer Response?

Abstract

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities can be an important tool for businesses to connect with their stakeholders. While there is growing research on the impact of CSR, there is relatively little research on how socially conscious consumers respond to socially responsible initiatives. We address this gap by quantitatively investigating the role of consumer’s social attitudes and their response to social message advertisements. Results indicate that some socially conscious consumers are generally leery of advertising and this can extend to CSR tactics. A consumer’s general attitude towards advertising mediates the relationship between their pro-social viewpoints and their attitude towards the brand, and this process is moderated by the content of the advertisement (i.e., CSR focused or neutral). The findings show that pro-social consumers do react differently to pro-social vs. traditional advertisements. This has distinct implications for managers, as it becomes more important for them to understand the pro-social attitudes of the audience before investing in CSR-focused advertising.