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Corporations have engaged in cause-related marketing (CRM) based on consumer expectations toward ethical and sustainable corporate management. However, it is equally important to understand how to do so effectively. The role of cause proximity has been examined as an important factor that determines the effectiveness of CRM messages. Limited research, however, has considered moderating variables in the context of cause proximity. This study aimed to investigate the effect of the interplay between cause proximity and message strategy on attitudes toward the ad and ad believability. Based on an experimental design, this study applies construal level theory to demonstrate the effect of a construal fit between the spatial distance of the cause and how the message is presented on consumer attitudes toward ads and ad believability. Results show that the effects of message strategy mattered only for the global CRM cause. Furthermore, the findings show a mediating role of ad believability between cause proximity and message strategy on attitude toward the ad. This study provides empirical evidence for the advantage of using abstract messages in maximizing consumer reactions such as attitudes and believability when addressing global causes in CRM ad campaigns. Specifically, it offers insights on the impact of a matched condition between the spatial distance of the cause and language abstractness in CRM advertising.
Taemin Kim; Jeesun Kim. How Spatial Distance and Message Strategy in Cause-Related Marketing Ads Influence Consumers’ Ad Believability and Attitudes. Sustainability 2021, 13, 6775 .
AMA StyleTaemin Kim, Jeesun Kim. How Spatial Distance and Message Strategy in Cause-Related Marketing Ads Influence Consumers’ Ad Believability and Attitudes. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (12):6775.
Chicago/Turabian StyleTaemin Kim; Jeesun Kim. 2021. "How Spatial Distance and Message Strategy in Cause-Related Marketing Ads Influence Consumers’ Ad Believability and Attitudes." Sustainability 13, no. 12: 6775.
Although consumer skepticism about corporate social responsibility (CSR) is on the rise, research is sparse on the psychological dynamics of this skepticism, particularly when CSR communication serves as a company’s crisis response strategy. Employing two between-subjects design experiments, this study aims to fill this gap by looking at the role consumer CSR skepticism plays in consumer reactions to CSR communications in different types of crises. The study 1 results show that dispositional CSR skepticism did not moderate the effect of crisis type on attitudes and intentions when CSR was used as a post-crisis response strategy. The study 2 findings, however, indicated that situational CSR skepticism significantly mediated the impact of crisis type and CSR motives on purchase intentions only when the crisis stemmed from some accidental rather than preventable circumstance. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Chang-Dae Ham; Jeesun Kim. The effects of CSR communication in corporate crises: Examining the role of dispositional and situational CSR skepticism in context. Public Relations Review 2019, 46, 101792 .
AMA StyleChang-Dae Ham, Jeesun Kim. The effects of CSR communication in corporate crises: Examining the role of dispositional and situational CSR skepticism in context. Public Relations Review. 2019; 46 (2):101792.
Chicago/Turabian StyleChang-Dae Ham; Jeesun Kim. 2019. "The effects of CSR communication in corporate crises: Examining the role of dispositional and situational CSR skepticism in context." Public Relations Review 46, no. 2: 101792.
Despite widespread discussion of the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities on consumer perceptions, little research has examined how consumers cope with CSR-based crisis response messages as a bolstering strategy. To fill this gap, we propose a framework integrating situational crisis communication theory with the persuasion knowledge model, applying the model to an experiment with a 2 (topic knowledge − crisis type: accidental vs. intentional) × 2 (persuasion knowledge− CSR motives: intrinsic vs. extrinsic) × 2 (agent knowledge− CSR history: long vs. short) between-subjects factorial design. In Study 1, we found interaction effects between CSR motives and crisis type on word-of-mouth intention and purchase intention. In addition, inferences about CSR motives interacted with perceptions about CSR history on purchase intention. In Study 2, we replicated study 1 and found that crisis responsibility mediated the main effect of crisis type on behavioral intentions, but neither the main effect of CSR motives and CSR history nor the interactions effects among those variables were mediated by crisis responsibility. Our results indicate that consumer inferences from a company’s CSR-based crisis communications play a significant role in increasing consumer behavioral intentions in two situations: when a crisis is accidental and when a CSR history is short. Ethical and theoretical implications are discussed.
Chang-Dae Ham; Jeesun Kim. The Role of CSR in Crises: Integration of Situational Crisis Communication Theory and the Persuasion Knowledge Model. Journal of Business Ethics 2017, 158, 353 -372.
AMA StyleChang-Dae Ham, Jeesun Kim. The Role of CSR in Crises: Integration of Situational Crisis Communication Theory and the Persuasion Knowledge Model. Journal of Business Ethics. 2017; 158 (2):353-372.
Chicago/Turabian StyleChang-Dae Ham; Jeesun Kim. 2017. "The Role of CSR in Crises: Integration of Situational Crisis Communication Theory and the Persuasion Knowledge Model." Journal of Business Ethics 158, no. 2: 353-372.