Consumer Participation in Cause-Related Marketing: An Examination of Effort Demands and Defensive Denial

Katharine M. Howie (), Lifeng Yang (), Scott J. Vitell (), Victoria Bush () and Doug Vorhies ()
Additional contact information
Katharine M. Howie: University of Mississippi
Lifeng Yang: University of Mississippi
Scott J. Vitell: University of Mississippi
Victoria Bush: University of Mississippi
Doug Vorhies: University of Mississippi

Journal of Business Ethics, 2018, vol. 147, issue 3, No 13, 679-692

Abstract: Abstract This article presents two studies that examine cause-related marketing (CRM) promotions that require consumers’ active participation. Requiring a follow-up behavior has very valuable implications for maximizing marketing expenditures and customer relationship management. Theories related to ethical behavior, like motivated reasoning and defensive denial, are used to explain when and why consumers respond negatively to these effort demands. The first study finds that consumers rationalize not participating in CRM by devaluing the sponsored cause. The second study identifies a tactic marketers can utilize to neutralize consumers’ use of defensive denial. Allowing the consumer to choose the sponsored cause seems to effectively refocus their attention and increases consumers’ threshold for campaign requirements. Implications for nonprofits and marketing managers include a tendency for consumers to be more likely to perceive a firm as ethical and socially responsible when they are allowed to choose the specific cause that is supported.

Keywords: Cause-related marketing; Consumer participation; Defensive denial; Motivated reasoning; Prosocial behavior; Corporate social responsibility (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (24)

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10551-015-2961-1 Abstract (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:147:y:2018:i:3:d:10.1007_s10551-015-2961-1

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer. ... cs/journal/10551/PS2

DOI: 10.1007/s10551-015-2961-1

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Business Ethics is currently edited by Michelle Greenwood and R. Edward Freeman

More articles in Journal of Business Ethics from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().