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The aim of the article is to analyze the effect of cause-related marketing on the attitude–behaviour gap of green consumption in the cosmetics industry. Specifically, the authors examine the relationship between attitude towards the environment, attitude towards green consumption, subjective norms of green consumption, green consumption intention, green consumption behaviour and cause-related marketing.

A cross-sectional research design was used to test the results of a random sample of 241 respondents and quantitative research was conducted using the data collected through an online questionnaire.

The research expanded the current knowledge on the effect of cause-related marketing on consumers’ green purchase behaviour and the findings suggested that green cosmetics producers and sellers should clearly define their target audience before choosing the type of cause-related marketing, as it mainly influences those consumers who have a positive attitude towards green consumption.

The implications of the research are relevant for marketing specialists, managers and agencies who are looking to promote green cosmetics products.

Before promoting green cosmetics products, it is important to understand who the target consumer is and whether they have a positive attitude towards the environment, green consumption and also if they are affected by acquaintances’ opinions.

The study contributes to the already existing academic literature by providing a greater understanding of the effect of cause-related marketing on the attitude–behaviour gap of green consumption.

Cause-related marketing – linking product sales with donations to a cause – are popular with consumers because they produce warm-glow feelings (the positive route). But when they involve large donations, they may trigger consumer scepticism, reducing the warm glow (the negative route). Drawing on the elaboration likelihood model, the purpose of this paper is to examine whether large donations in cause-related marketing can produce consumer scepticism and reduce the warm-glow effect and positive attitude towards the retailer.

An experiment varying the donation size (large, medium, small) in a cause-related marketing offer run by an office equipment retailer is set up. Hypotheses are tested using bootstrapping regression analyses.

The negative route has the greater effect: scepticism towards the offer mediates the relationship between donation size and the warm glow. Furthermore, scepticism towards a large donation is higher (lower) for respondents scoring low (high) on altruism and high (low) on familiarity with cause-related marketing.

When using cause-related marketing, retailers should choose their features and target audience carefully in order to reduce scepticism, e.g., small donations should be offered in promotions targeting consumers who are familiar with cause-related marketing and show low altruism.

This study contributes to the recent research examining the negative effects of cause-related marketing by explicitly conceptualising and measuring scepticism towards cause-related marketing. The findings are also valuable because they indicate the importance of a shift in focus, away from the conventional question of cause-related marketing effectiveness to the more specific and under-investigated problem of the appropriate core target consumers.

The aim of this study is to assess the direct and indirect impact of the prominence dimensions of fit between a brand and a cause on consumer intentions to purchase cause-related products by considering cases with more versus less positive attitudes towards a brand and a higher versus lower social cause affinity.

The study is based on data obtained via a survey of 403 respondents in Lithuania. A between-subjects study design with different brands and causes was used to identify the role of the differences in brand attitude and cause affinity on the message strength.

The data analysis has revealed that the specific prominence dimensions of fit (relationship visibility, relationship explicitness, visuals/colours, local attributes) have a direct and indirect impact, via the message strength, on consumer intentions to purchase cause-related products. Additionally, the mediation of the message strength was dependent on attitudes towards a brand but not on cause affinity.

This is the first attempt to contribute to filling the research gap regarding the impact of the prominence dimensions of fit on the intention to purchase a cause-related product. Paying special attention to message strength mediation allowed for the assessment of both the direct and indirect effects of the individual dimensions of fit.

To date, cause-related sport marketing (CRSM) has not received much academic attention. However, it is particularly relevant given recent estimates on the amounts that will be spent on cause-related efforts in 2002. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to set forth a framework for managing cause-related sport marketing programs. The framework is derived using both past research on causerelated marketing and branding theory. It theorizes the necessary conditions that must be present if the CRSM program is to result in the intended outcomes of 1) enhanced brand image, 2) enhanced brand loyalty and 3) consumer brand switching.

The purpose of this paper is to describe research which tested a Thai model of cause‐related marketing's impact on corporate image.

Data were gathered from 1,071 participants in an established award winning cause‐related program in Thailand and analyzed using multiple regression.

Findings indicated that a cause‐related marketing program can create positive attitudes toward corporate image. One specific demographic characteristic of respondents, household income level, showed a significant influence with participants from lower income households developing more positive attitudes than those from higher income households.

The data were gathered from participants in one program only, hence future research could extend these findings to other programs to test their generalisability.

The proposed model serves as a basis for marketers to understand the influence of a cause‐related marketing program on the attitudes of Thai consumers who participated in the program toward corporate image. The results highlighted the importance of matching the company, its target market, participants in the program and the communication about the program to achieve desired results.

This empirical study contributes to cause‐related marketing research by focusing on a previously unresearched group, the participants in a program. In addition it was undertaken in an emerging market, Thailand.

The purpose of this study is to explain how cognitive and emotional responses may influence decisions to purchase cause-related products.

An experimental design clarifies how autonomic reactions determine altruistic choices in a simulated shopping environment. Eye-tracking and electrodermal response measurements were set to predict choices of hedonic vs utilitarian cause-related vs unrelated products.

Emotional arousal, pleasure and attention to the cause-related bundle are associated with altruistic behaviour in hedonic choices. When facing utilitarian choices, customers focus on brand logo and donation amount while experiencing pleasure, but emotional arousal does not increase marketing effectiveness in this case.

The experiment may be replicated in the real-world shopping environment, but spurious influences will be difficult to control. Distracting cues such as background music and scents used to increase positive emotions may affect intensity of emotive and cognitive processes.

The results highlight the prominence of automatic reactions in customers’ choices. In the present instance, managers’ effort should be directed to the raising of altruistic visual cues of the donation-based promotion and positive emotional responses through guilt reducing effects.

The study pioneers the use of eye-tracking coupled with skin conductance measurement in experimental designs aimed at clarifying the role of autonomic reactions such as emotional arousal, pleasure and attention in the effectiveness of emotionally charged marketing campaigns.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of four types of cause-related marketing (CRM) strategies on consumer responses to a fashion brand and to assess the relative effectiveness of each.

An experiment was conducted with young adult consumers (n=344) and undergraduates (n=415). Using a between-subject design, each participant was randomly assigned to one of four CRM scenarios and completed a questionnaire.

Across all CRM conditions, the effect of CRM strategy on consumer responses (e.g. perceived brand distinctiveness/credibility/attractiveness, customer–brand identification, brand attitude, customer loyalty) was significant. The effect of corporate social responsibility image on perceived brand distinctiveness was strongest for cause-related event marketing, followed by cause-related experiential marketing, transaction-based CRM and sponsorship-linked marketing.

By providing information about the relative effectiveness of four types of CRM strategies, this research aids fashion marketers in their selection of the CRM strategy that generates the best performance. Adding an event component to their CRM activity would increase the effect of CRM strategies on consumer responses.

This research contributes to the extant literature on CRM by identifying types of CRM strategies, their relative effectiveness, and key variables (e.g., C–B identification) that explain the impact of CRM strategies on consumer responses.

Companies have become increasingly active in developing relationships between their brands and popular causes in such areas as the environment (e.g. nature conservancy) and health issues (e.g. breast cancer awareness crusade). As such alliances become a more important strategic component of the brand’s marketing mix, managers seek direction as to how to generate the most impact with these tie‐ins. This article uses associative learning principles as a framework for understanding how to facilitate building connections between brands and causes so as to increase the value of this highly visible marketing activity. Specific associative learning principles are detailed and applied, improving the use of cause‐related marketing alliances.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the roles of employees’ involvement with the sponsored sport and cause in determining their beliefs about cause-related sport sponsorship.

Respondents completed a survey that included the measures of sport involvement, cause involvement, and sponsorship beliefs adapted from previous studies. The final sample included 131 attendees who identified themselves as employees of sponsors of a cause-related sport event in a web-based post-event survey. A multiple regression analysis was performed to test hypotheses.

Despite the prevailing logic that companies can enhance the perception of goodwill by sponsoring sport that is important to their employees, employees’ sport involvement was found to have no effect on their sponsorship beliefs. In contrast, cause involvement alone explained a large amount of the variance in those beliefs.

The findings contribute to the literature by indicating that how employees evaluate cause-related sport sponsorship may be different from their evaluation process of traditional sport sponsorship without the cause affiliation. This research highlights the need to conduct further internal marketing research specific to cause-related sport sponsorship.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of corporate social responsibility on customer satisfaction, loyalty and repurchase with or without cause-related marketing or cause marketing across Islamic companies.

An experimental survey of Iranian university students was conducted to investigate the customer satisfaction, loyalty and purchase intention with companies using social marketing methods such as corporate social responsibility along with cause marketing and cause-related marketing. A total of 400 usable surveys were obtained in SRBIA University of Tehran, while possessing the greatest ability to consume more hoteling services companies and mobile producers beyond Iranian students.

The results indicated that through an experimental research by including social marketing in products or service companies such as mobile producers and hotel services companies in Iran (as an Islamic country), there are same levels of loyalty and repurchase intentions, but different levels of customer’s satisfaction. Furthermore, the authors found out there is no significant difference regarding the effect of cause marketing and cause-related marketing on loyalty and repurchase intentions. Also, it is different on customer’s satisfaction given the company type.

The sampling frame for this research was limited to students in one of Iran capital city universities. The results are not exactly generalized to all the populations for Iranian product or service consumers. Also, the sampling methods used in this research might have generated bias due to time and resources constraints. So, it is recommended for future studies to consider broader samplings more than university students and beyond only the consumers of international product or service companies.

No study has used corporate social responsibilities to explain customer satisfaction while providing cause marketing and cause-related marketing as corporate social marketing in service companies influencing the customer loyalty and repurchase intentions.