Abstract
Cause-related Marketing (CRM) campaigns have been adopted by numerous corporationsworldwide due to the substantial benefits for the company, cause, and consumers and to
respond to the increasing consumer concern about social and environmental issues.
Several studies have previously focused on the investigation of factors that influence
consumer attitudes toward CRM campaigns; however, a number of scholars have pointed
out the research gap concerning cross-cultural comparisons in this regard. Most of the
cross-cultural studies focus on developed countries such as the US or UK, in which CRM
has already become a well-established marketing practice, while the Latin American
region is largely underrepresented in CRM research. For this reason, the present study
aims to address this research gap by examining the impact of factors on consumer
attitudes that are less frequently investigated, including the cultural dimension of
individualism/ collectivism, skepticism, charitable giving as a social norm, and emotions.
In addition, the consumer attitudes of Mexicans and Germans are examined in order to
extend the existing literature on cross-cultural comparisons in the context of CRM. For
the purpose of this study, an online survey is conducted that involves a total sample of
299 respondents consisting of 103 Mexican and 196 German consumers. The simple and
multiple regression analyses, as well as the mediation analyses conducted during the
investigation, demonstrate that skepticism toward CRM campaigns and the emotion of
anger negatively affect the attitudes toward the designed advertisement stimulus. In
contrast, the positive emotions of happiness and pride have a positive impact, indicating
that if the CRM advertisement evokes the emotions of pride or happiness, participants
show more favorable attitudes. The dimensions of individualism and collectivism show a
significant effect on several emotions participants experienced when exposed to the
advertisement stimulus. Further, the study results reveal mediation effects of the emotions
of happiness and pride as well as skepticism toward CRM on the relation between
horizontal collectivism and consumer attitude toward the advertisement. However, the
findings indicate that charitable giving as a social norm is not relevant to consumer
attitudes toward the CRM campaign, and the cultural dimensions of individualism/
collectivism do not significantly impact this construct. Considering the attitude toward
the advertisement, an additional analysis found no significant difference between the
Mexican and German samples. Overall, the present study provides several valuable
insights for corporations and marketers to consider for creating, adjusting, and improving
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their CRM strategies as well as campaigns in order to enhance their effectiveness by
demonstrating the pertinent role of skepticism, culture, and emotions in forming
consumer attitudes. Moreover, the investigation contributes to the existing literature on
CRM by adding further results on factors impacting consumer attitudes toward CRM and
contributing to closing the research gap regarding cross-cultural comparisons.
Key Words: Cause-related Marketing, Consumer Attitudes, Culture, Skepticism toward
Advertising, Skepticism Toward Cause-related Marketing, Charitable Giving as a Social
Norm, Emotions, Individualism, Collectivism, Mexico, Germany, cross-cultural
comparison
| Date of Award | 8 Oct 2023 |
|---|---|
| Original language | English |
| Awarding Institution |
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| Supervisor | Osmar Ernesto Arandia Pérez (Asesor) |