Topic: corporate social responsibility

The Role of Corporate Social Responsibility Orientation in Green Demarketing Publicity & Advertising

Hye Jin Yoon, Yoon Joo Lee, Jinho Joo, and Youngjee Ko (Ph.D. candidate), “The Role of Corporate Social Responsibility Orientation in Green Demarketing Publicity & Advertising,” has been accepted for presentation at the 2023 ICA conference in Toronto, Canada.

Abstract: Green marketing asks consumers to buy more of a green product, while green demarketing recommends buying less of what you need and doing more with what you have. With an online experiment, this research found that for individuals with lower corporate social responsibility orientation (CSRO), any mix of green or demarketing publicity or ad did not lower perceptions of the “brand as honest.” On the other hand, individuals with higher CSRO perceived the brand to be more honest when demarketing publicity was followed with a demarketing advertisement (vs. a green advertisement). These effects on purchase intention (if one needed to buy a product of this type) and anticipated product satisfaction (which could help lower repeat and follow-up purchases) occurred through the mediating role of “brand as honest.” Inarguably an uphill battle, demarketing could have societal and environmental benefits while increasing trustworthiness for companies and building a solid and ongoing relationship with consumers. Thus, this paper proposes that companies should put in continuous efforts in demarketing for a more sustainable future.

Does Culture Matter? Measuring Cross-Country Perceptions of CSR Communication Campaigns about COVID-19

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has brought several challenges to businesses and societies. In response, many corporations have supported local communities and authorities in the management of the pandemic. Although these initiatives, which can be considered forms of corporate social responsibility (CSR), were highly coupled with explicit CSR communication campaigns, little is known about whether these campaigns were effective. Previous research indicates that culture can shape people’s perceptions of CSR initiatives and communications, suggesting that businesses pay attention to careful consideration of cultural norms for effective CSR communication. However, the COVID-19 pandemic as a new CSR setting may challenge earlier findings. This study empirically investigates whether three cultural factors (individualism/collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, and power distance) affect public perceptions measured as recall of and favorability towards corporate COVID-19 response initiatives across six countries. Findings from a representative survey of adults across these countries show that respondents in individualistic and collectivistic countries recall these CSR communication campaigns about these corporate COVID-19 response initiatives quite differently, and these are related to differences in power distance and uncertainty avoidance. However, no difference was found in overall corporate favorability, indicating that cultural factors did not affect levels of favorability towards such initiatives. This, we argue, can be explained by the global dimension of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is the context of these CSR initiatives. This study contributes to CSR communication literature with empirical findings from a global pandemic setting. It offers businesses and managers empirical grounds to understand the communicative impact of COVID-19 response initiatives, which can inform future CSR actions.

). Interdependent self-construal and number of Twitter followers: Consumer responses to alcohol industry Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) campaign on Twitter

Abstract: Twitter has become an important means of communicating alcohol industry CSR campaigns. However, little is known about individual differences in consumer responses to CSR campaigns in the context of Twitter. An online experiment was conducted to explore the effects of interdependent self-construal on purchase and electronic word of mouth intentions through attitudes toward CSR campaigns on Twitter. Results found that the indirect effects were stronger when the number of Twitter followers was higher. Also, the indirect effects were presented for females, but not for males. Theoretical and managerial implications of these findings were also discussed in more detail.