Enhancing the Effectiveness of Cause-Related Marketing: Visual Style, Self-Construal, and Consumer Responses

Huijian Fu, Jiayu Meng, Yiman Chen, Wei Cai, Jinhui Lai and Haiying Ma ()
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Huijian Fu: School of Management, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510520, China
Jiayu Meng: School of Management, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510520, China
Yiman Chen: School of Management, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510520, China
Wei Cai: Investment Banking Department, China Citic Bank Corporation Limited Hangzhou Branch, Hangzhou 310020, China
Jinhui Lai: School of Management, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510520, China
Haiying Ma: School of Internet Finance and Information Engineering, Guangdong University of Finance, Guangzhou 510521, China

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 18, 1-18

Abstract: The visual presentation of cause-related marketing (CRM) messages is gaining increasing attention from researchers and practitioners. This study delves into the impact of the visual style of CRM messages on consumer responses and the moderating role of self-construal. The results demonstrate that visual style has a significant effect on consumer responses, as cause-focused messages engender a higher brand attitude and purchase intention than product-focused messages (Studies 1 and 2). Meanwhile, the effects of visual style on both consumers’ brand attitude and purchase intention are mediated by the perceived self-serving motives. Importantly, self-construal moderates the relationship between visual style and consumer responses (Study 2). Cause-focused messages lead to enhanced brand attitudes and purchase intentions than product-focused messages by reducing the perceived self-serving motives for consumers with an interdependent self-construal, although not for consumers with an independent self-construal. Grounded in these findings, the theoretical contributions and practical implications are discussed.

Keywords: cause-related marketing; visual style; self-construal; self-serving motives; attribution theory (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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