The impact of congruence in cause marketing campaigns for service firms

Purpose – Several studies have examined sponsor‐cause congruence as an influence on consumer response to cause marketing campaigns. This paper aims to assess the relationship between sponsor‐cause congruence and consumer responses to cause marketing programs. In addition, it aims to test the possible existence of an interaction of congruence and service type of a cause sponsor (utilitarian vs hedonic) on consumer response.Design/methodology/approach – A 2×2 experimental design was used to assess the impact of congruence and firm type. A total of 176 students participated in the main experiment. Sponsor‐cause linkages were presented using mock press releases.Findings – Results indicated no main effects differences existed for the sponsorship response variables collectively, but perceived sincerity and attitude toward sponsor were significantly more positive for congruent sponsor‐cause linkages and attitude toward sponsor was significantly more positive for utilitarian sponsors. The congruence‐service type ...

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