Ambivalent perception of cause-related marketing: investigating the (in)congruence of opposite motivational perceptions on consumer evaluations

Yuting Wang, Yao Chen, Jie Fang, Bingqing Xiong

Research output: Journal PublicationArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Purpose: Despite the popularity of leveraging cause-related marketing (CRM) to make societal contributions and bolster business profits, sellers face a profound dilemma when conducting CRM due to consumers’ ambivalent understanding of sellers’ motivation for the initiative. Therefore, it is imperative to unravel consumers’ ambivalent understanding of CRM and determine how sellers can effectively employ CRM to elicit positive evaluations from consumers. Design/methodology/approach: This study gathered survey data from 217 participants and applied a polynomial regression model and response surface analysis for disentangling ambivalent perception of CRM by investigating the influence of (in)congruence between perceived egoistic and altruistic motivation. Findings: The incongruence between perceived egoistic and altruistic motivation can positively influence consumers’ evaluations of sellers. Moreover, when perceived egoistic and altruistic motivations are congruent, increasing their absolute level also enhances consumers’ evaluation of sellers. Moreover, sellers’ platform function usage behavior can amplify the positive effect of incongruence but has no salient moderating role on the congruence effect. Originality/value: Differing from prior literature that predominantly focused on either the positive or negative interpretation of CRM, this study reveals the coexistence of both positive and negative viewpoints and disentangles the congruence and incongruence effect between the two motivational understandings.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)192-213
Number of pages22
JournalIndustrial Management and Data Systems
Volume125
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2 Jan 2025

Keywords

  • Ambivalent perception
  • Cause-related marketing
  • Platform function usage
  • Polynomial regression model
  • Response surface analysis
  • Stereotype content model

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Management Information Systems
  • Industrial relations
  • Computer Science Applications
  • Strategy and Management
  • Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

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