Impact of Cause-Related Marketing on Brand Attitude: Systematic Review and Future Research Directions

Abstract

ABSTRACT Cause-related marketing (CRM) is an effective brand strategy involving partnering with charities or causes. A decade of research indicates CRM influences brand attitude, which is a consumer’s liking for a brand or an item they have purchased. However, the literature on this relationship is ambiguous without giving clear convulsive insights. Hence, this review targets to elucidate the way CRM influence brand attitude. The current study employed the “Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta – Analysis” (PRISMA) to identify and select the studies included in the review. Further, the review employed the principles of concept matrix and thematic analysis to synthesize knowledge from the identified articles. In this study, CRM strategies are comprehensively examined in terms of how they build the attitude strength of corporate brands and influence cognitive, affective, and conative dimensions of brand attitude. The study findings reveal how CRM (a) influences, (b) strengthens, and (c) alters the consumer’s attitude regarding the brand. Furthermore, it presents potential research directions and a sequence of research questions along with its implications and limitations.