Abstract
PurposePast research on cause-related marketing (CRM) suggests that these socially beneficial initiatives are more effective when linked with hedonic than utilitarian products. Little is known, however, about the process underpinning this effect. This paper aims to investigate why and under what circumstances CRM enhances the appeal of hedonic products by testing the mediation of guilt and introducing the moderating role of cause-product fit.Design/methodology/approachThe authors test a model of moderated mediation in two studies. Study 1 shows that the effectiveness of combining CRM with hedonic consumption is explained by the mediating role of feelings of guilt. Study 2 demonstrates that this mediation depends on the level of fit or congruency between the cause and the product.FindingsResults suggest that CRM campaigns offer the opportunity to improve the consumption experiences of hedonic products by reducing the feelings of guilt intrinsically connected with these options. Moreover, fit moderates the emotional processes activated by CRM initiatives. When fit is high, CRM reduces guilt and improves consumers’ experiences when purchasing hedonic alternatives.Originality/valueThe study extends current understanding of how CRM can promote hedonic consumption and contributes further to research on guilt as an emotion able to promote responsible consumption decisions. Moreover, the study introduces and tests the impact of cause-product fit in predicting consumers’ ethical purchase intention. For managers of hedonic brands, the study offers important implications on how to deploy CRM campaigns to foster better customer experiences.
Highlights
Cause-related marketing (CRM) virtuously activates relationships between non-profit organizations, companies and consumers in support of socially desirable goals (Kotler, et al, 2012; Lafferty et al, 2016)
When compared to recent findings by Hagtvedt and Patrick (2015), results indicate that the applicability of CRM as a marketing technique could be extended significantly to various areas of non-expensive hedonic consumption and that the mediating role of guilt is supported for products which are expected to be less guilt inducing than luxury goods (Kivetz and Simonson, 2002a, 2002b)
Study 2 replicated these findings on different products and tested the role of fit as a moderating variable of guilt reduction
Summary
Cause-related marketing (CRM) virtuously activates relationships between non-profit organizations, companies and consumers in support of socially desirable goals (Kotler, et al, 2012; Lafferty et al, 2016). Existing research has examined the main effect of CRM programs on intentions to purchase a brand (Chang, 2008; Folse et al, 2010), actual product choice (Arora and Henderson, 2007; Chun and Cheng, 2015), consumer willingness to pay (Koschate-Fischer et al, 2012) and bidding behavior in a charity auction context (Elfenbein and McManus, 2010). Previous studies (Strahilevitz, 1999; Kim and Johnson, 2013) show that psychological factors, such as personal cause affinity (Arora and Henderson, 2007) or emotional involvement (Baghi et al, 2009), have a central role in responses to CRM, as they influence to what extent consumers engage emotionally with the link between the product and the social cause (see Lafferty et al, 2016 for a review)
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