Thesis
The effects of brand-cause fit in CRM on consumer
beliefs and intentions
Name: Friso Berkelmans Student number: 5898064 Supervisor: Dr. M. Vock Date: 14-2-2014
Abstract
The present study focuses on the effect of fit in a CRM message on consumer beliefs and intentions. The beliefs and intentions that are studied are perceived corporate abilities,
purchase intent and admiration for the brand. But more importantly, the present research tries to find an answer to why consumer beliefs and intentions may be influenced by the existence or lack of fit in a CRM message. It does so by suggesting that the effects of fit on perceived corporate abilities, purchase intent and admiration for the brand is mediated by feelings of warmth and competence towards the brand. Furthermore, it is hypothesized that the effect of fit on feelings of warmth and competence towards the brand are mediated by the motivations consumers perceive to be behind the charitable support. The results of the study indicate that fit in a CRM message does not affect any of the studied constructs. Therefore the proposed mediation effects are not confirmed by the results. However part of the model is confirmed as perceived motivations influence feelings of warmth and competence towards the brand, furthermore the results show feelings of warmth and competence affect consumer beliefs and intentions.
Table of contents
1. Introduction 4.
2. Theoretical Framework 8.
2.1 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Cause Related Marketing (CRM) 8.
2.2 Consumer responses to CSR 10.
2.3 Brand-cause fit 11.
2.3.1 Different types of fit 12.
2.3.2 Effects of brand-cause fit in previous studies 13.
2.6 Attribution Theory 16.
2.7 Motivation behind supporting the cause 16.
2.8 Warmth and competence 19.
2.9 Perceived corporate abilities 21.
2.10 Purchase Intent 24.
2.11 Admiration 25.
3. Models 27.
4. Research design & Methodology 28.
4.1 Independent variables 28.
4.2 Results pre-test 29.
4.3 Dependent constructs 31.
4.4 Additional measures 32.
4.5 Data collection and sample 32.
4.6 Scale reliability and overview data 34.
5. Results 37.
5.1 Manipulation Check 37.
5.2 Analyses 38.
5.3 Summary of the results 57.
5.4 Controlling for nobility of the cause 58.
5.5 Additional analyses 59.
5.6. Models of significant findings 61.
6. Conclusion & Discussion 62.
6.1 Managerial Implications 65.
6.2 Limitations & Future Research 66.
7. References 67. 8. Appendix 74. 8.1 CRM messages (stimuli) 74. 8.2 Questionnaire 75. 8.3 Process Analyses 80. 3
1.Introduction
Companies are linking their brands to charitable causes more and more (Nan & Heo, 2007). For example, in 2011, 1,7 billion dollars was spent on corporate cause sponsorship by American companies (Chinni, 2012). Pampers supporting UNICEF is an example of a
company sponsoring a charitable cause. Pampers by Procter & Gamble has been donating one vaccine for tetanus for each sale of a pack of Pampers to UNICEF. Pampers and UNICEF have been cooperating in this fashion since 2006. Every year P&G connects its brand Pampers to UNICEF for three months, with the collective goal to ban the disease tetanus in mothers and their infant children. So far, Pampers by P&G and UNICEF have donated over 300 million vaccines worldwide (Du, Bhattacharya & Sen, 2010). This form of brand promotion and corporate social responsibility, where companies donate a portion of their revenues or profits to a social cause is known as cause related marketing (Pracejus & Olsen, 2004). Companies link their brands to charitable causes because they believe the positive affect consumers have towards the charitable cause, might transfer to their brand (Baghi, Rubaltelli & Tedeschi, 2009). For example, a company that produces bottled water can support a charitable cause that produces clean drinking water in Africa. The same water company could also choose to support a cause that gives vaccinations to African children. Both causes are important and noble. However, a cause that focuses on drinking water is more related to a bottled-water company than a charitable cause that provides vaccinations. In this study it is tried to find out whether people infer more positive beliefs about a company that supports a cause that is related to the company, than about a company that supports a cause that has no connection to the supporting company. It is important to research this topic since companies are very serious about their image. They even engage in CRM in order to create or maintain a positive image (Baghi et al., 2004). Furthermore, companies can choose the causes they support. Therefore it is important for companies to know whether consumers
infer different beliefs when there is a clear connection between the brand and the cause, than when there is no clear connection between the two. In other words if the cause a company supports affects the way a company is viewed, the company can control the way it is viewed by consumers.
The results of previous studies regarding the effects of brand-cause fit in CRM messages on consumers are largely divided. Certain studies point out the importance of congruence or fit between the brand and the cause in terms of getting more donations for the charity, more positive responses to the marketing effort and more positive corporate associations and purchase intent (Pracejus & Olsen, 2004; Trimble & Rifon, 2006; Bigne-Alcaniz, Curras-Perez, Ruiz-Mafe & Sanz-Blas, 2012), while other researchers do not find evidence for the importance of fit between a brand and the cause it supports (Lafferty, 2009; Hoek & Gendall, 2008). This study can contribute to the existing body of literature by analyzing whether and how brand-cause fit affects perceived corporate abilities, purchase intent and admiration for the brand, as the results of this study will either confirm or dispute the importance of brand-cause congruency. It is important to understand for marketers how CRM activities reflect on the company engaging in these activities, as they are trying to improve or uphold a
companies’ image through CRM. The present study focuses on the effects of fit in CRM messages on the outcomes perceive corporate abilities, purchase intent and admiration for the brand. Those outcomes are chosen since the results of previous studies are inconclusive on the effect of fit on purchase intent. Furthermore, the effects of fit on perceived corporate abilities and admiration for the brand seem underexposed.
The main contribution of the present study is that it is tried to better understand why consumers respond to fit in CRM messages in certain ways, particularly in view of the
contradictory findings regarding the effects of high and low fit in previous studies. Therefore, feelings of warmth and competence towards the brand are studied as a potential mediator of
the effects of fit in CRM messages. The present study therefore contributes to the existing body of knowledge about the effects of brand-cause fit in CRM by linking brand-cause fit to the work of Aaker, Vohs and Mogilner (2010). According to those authors, people evaluate companies in terms of ‘warmth’ and ‘competence’. The present study proposes that the effects of brand-cause fit on perceived corporate abilities, purchase intent, and admiration towards the brand are mediated by feelings of ‘warmth’ and ‘competence’ towards a company. This is where the main contribution of the present study lies. The present study tries to give a deeper insight in how the effects of brand-cause fit on perceived corporate abilities, purchase intent and feelings of admiration towards the brand are explained.
Furthermore, it is hypothesized that the feelings of warmth and competence towards a brand, caused by the lack or existence of fit in the CRM message, are mediated by the perceived motivation consumers believe to be behind the charitable support. This mediating effect of perceived motivation is based on the work of Ellen, Webb and Mohr (2006). Their study established that perceived strategic and values-driven motives behind a CSR program have a mediating effect on the positive correlation between fit and purchase intent. The present study hypothesizes that perceived strategic and values-driven motives have a mediating effect on the effect of fit on feelings of warmth and competence towards the brand.
The research question that is addressed in the present study is the following: Are consumer beliefs and intentions more positive in a high cause fit condition than in a low brand-cause fit condition and is this effect mediated by feelings of warmth and competence towards the brand and the perceived motivations behind the support for the charitable cause?
Furthermore, the following sub questions are addressed in this research: • What are CSR and CRM?
• What is fit in a CRM message?
• How can feelings of warmth and competence mediate the effects of fit?
• Are feelings of warmth and competence mediated by perceived strategic and values-driven motives behind the charitable support?
• What are the effects of fit in a CRM message on consumers purchase intentions, perceived corporate abilities and admiration for a brand?
• Are those effects mediated by feelings of warmth and competence towards the brand? The results of the present study have managerial relevance for people that are employed in marketing. Marketers will be most likely helped by the results from the present study since this study will hopefully let them know more about the effects of CRM they engage in and what people infer about their company based on CRM activities. For marketers it is important to know how the actions of a company reflect on the way they are viewed by consumers. Furthermore if brand-cause fit affects consumer beliefs about a company, this knowledge is of great value to marketers. After all, this would mean marketers can influence the way consumers view their company by choosing which charitable causes to support.
In the present study, the subsequent theoretical framework will address the most important theoretical aspects of this research. CSR and CRM will be explained, just like the concepts of fit, the mediators ‘warmth’ and ‘competence’ and the dependent variables perceived
corporate abilities, purchase intent and admiration towards the brand. After the theoretical framework, the methodology that was used will be addressed. The results will be presented in the chapter following the methodology. Finally, the study ends with a conclusion and a discussion. In the latter part, flaws of the present study and suggestions for future research on the topic will be discussed.
2. Theoretical Framework
2.1 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Cause Related Marketing (CRM)
In order to thoroughly explain CRM, one must start by explaining corporate social responsibility (CSR), as CRM is part of a companies’ CSR strategy (Pracejus & Olsen, 2004). CSR is explained by Vallaster, Lindgreen and Maon (2012) as the activities companies undertake in order to manage the impact of their activities on society and the environment. These CSR activities are not part of the legal obligations of a company and go further than the companies’ own interests. Examples of CSR initiatives companies engage in include corporate philanthropy, cause-related marketing, support programs for equal right for minorities, and making sure their products are manufactured in a green or responsible way (Bhattacharya & Sen, 2004). Companies perform CSR activities in order to create brand value, either directly or indirectly. Through CSR activities a company tries to get its
stakeholders to view the company in a more positive way, which can lead to more support, a stronger corporate image and stronger ties with stakeholders (Vallaster et al., 2012; Du, Bhattacharya & Sen, 2010). Bhattacharya and Sen (2004) explain that it is not just the company that can gain potential benefits from engaging in CSR. The issue that is addressed gains in public awareness. Furthermore when a company works together with a charitable cause or NGO, that organisation can benefit from the potentially good reputation the company may have.
An increasingly more popular form of CSR is that companies are relating their products to charitable causes (Pracejus & Olsen, 2004). Companies can do so by engaging in cause-related marketing (CRM). Pracejus & Olsen (2004) give the following definition of CRM: “Promotions in which the amount given to a charitable cause is directly linked to the purchases consumers make.” Companies can for example donate a percentage of every sale
of a certain product to a charitable cause. Companies engage in CRM because they want the positive affect consumers have towards the charitable cause to transfer to their brand. In that way companies hope to gain or maintain a positive brand image, while at the same time supporting a charitable cause (Baghi, Rubaltelli & Tedeschi, 2009). An example of such cause-related marketing campaign is ‘Buckets for the Cure’, by Kentucky Fried Chicken. KFC started a campaign in 2010 in order to raise money for the NGO Komen for the Cure, an organisation that tries to raise funds and awareness for breast cancer. KFC donated a
percentage of their sold buckets to the NGO. Another example of a cause-related marketing campaign is Nike’s ‘Lace up. Save lives’ campaign. Nike urged their fans to buy and wear red shoe laces. All the proceeds of the sold shoe laces were donated to a charitable
organisation called Red, an organisation that tries to raise awareness for AIDS in Africa. By supporting a charitable cause in such a fashion, a company shows it is dedicated to find a solution to a certain societal problem. Engaging in CRM is a possibility for companies to show their corporate social responsibility and differentiate their brand from others.
Furthermore CRM is used as a brand positioning tool (Nan & Heo, 2007; Baghi, Rubaltelli & Tedeschi, 2009; Bigne-Alcaniz, Curras-Perez, Ruiz-Mafe & Sanz-Blas, 2012). Another reason companies perform CRM is because they want to seem altruistic. Being perceived as altruistic has been shown to positively affect consumers’ attitudes towards a brand or company (Lichtenstein, Drumwright & Braig 2004). Other important potential benefits a company can gain from engaging in CRM are the potential rises of market share and
customer loyalty, since research has shown that when price and quality of products are equal consumers would rather buy from a company that engages in CRM than from a company that does not (Bronn & Vrioni, 2001).
2.2 Consumer responses to CSR
The influence of CSR activities on consumers’ perceptions of a company and its products has been studied before (Mohr & Webb, 2005; Dean, 2003; Du, Bhattacharya & Sen, 2007). For example Mohr and Webb (2005) have found that the more a company is involved in CSR, the more positive consumers evaluate the company. Furthermore, a high level of CSR activities was shown to positively affect consumer’ intention to purchase the company’s products. Similar results were found by Dean (2003), who also found that consumers’ attitudes toward a company were positively related to performing CSR activities. Simply donating money to charity was shown to be effective in order to increase attitudes towards the company; the effectiveness of CSR did seem to depend on the company’s reputation. Consumer loyalty has also been shown to be positively affected by CSR activities (Du, Bhattacharya & Sen, 2007). A study by Du et al. (2007) has indicated that CSR has a positive influence on loyalty and the likelihood consumers will buy from a company. The effects of CSR did depend on the degree to which CSR was integrated into a companies’ strategy. When consumers believed the CSR activities were simply performed in order to gain benefits, the CSR was far less effective. Other positive outcomes of CSR activities were found by Sen, Bhattacharya and Korschun (2006). They found that performing CSR activities was positively related to consumers’ purchase intention, but also to the willingness of people to work for the company and the willingness to invest in the company. In that particular study the effects of CSR also seemed to be moderated by a company’s motives to perform the CSR activities. The previously found results concerning CSR activities are also applicable to studies regarding CRM, as CRM is part of a company’s CSR program (Pracejus & Olsen, 2004). As explained previously, the present study focusses on the effects of fit between a brand and the supported charity. Therefore, the concept of fit in CRM will be explained in the next section.
2.3 Brand-cause fit
Congruence or fit between a brand and the supported charitable cause plays an important role in CRM. Companies want to tie their brand and their products to charitable projects, as a way of linking their brand and their products to the positive associations of such a cause. When there is a logical link between the brand and the supported cause, this can be explained as “brand-cause fit” between the two (Braghi, Rubaltelli & Tedeschi, 2009; Nan & Heo, 2007). Nan and Heo (2007) define brand-cause fit in CRM as: “The overall perceived relatedness of the brand and the cause with multiple cognitive bases.” Or in other words by Lafferty (2007): “Perceived fit is the degree of similarity and compatibility that consumers perceive between a social cause and brand.” A low fit between the brand and the supported cause, means that there is no logical link between them. It is then difficult for consumers to understand why the brand chose to support this specific charitable cause. However, a high fit is in place when the cause and the brand or product are clearly related. In the article of Nan and Heo (2007), the researchers give the example of a brand of orange juice. When the orange juice brand supports a cause that wants people to live healthy, a high fit is in place since healthy living and drinking orange juice are closely linked in the minds of consumers. On the other hand the fit is low when the brand of orange juice supports a charity that wants people to drive safely, since there is no clear link between orange juice and traffic accidents in the minds of
consumers. In CRM fit can be multi-dimensional, since fit can exists in multiple ways. Like Nan and Heo (2007) fit can exist on multiple cognitive bases. For example, there can be a high fit when there is a clear connection between the core business of the brand and the operations of the cause. But their can for example also be a high fit between a brand and a cause when the brand and the cause share similar values (Nan & Heo, 2007). The next section will focus on the different types of fit that can exist between a brand and a cause.
2.3.1 Different types of fit
As stated in the previous section, different types of brand-cause fit exist regarding
collaborations between companies and NGO’s. Berger, Cunningham and Drumwright (2004) have focussed on the challenges and opportunities of different types of fit in social alliances. Each form of fit relies on a different connection between a company and a cause. The
company and the cause may for example be connected through products matching with the cause, but can also be connected through shared values. The following types of fit are defined.
Mission fit entails that a company and a supported cause are connected through a shared vision. The supported cause is representative of a company’s mission or vision. Resource fit is in place when companies strike an alliance to obtain resources, since each organization owns resources the other one needs. Management fit is based on strong personal connections between management of two organizations. When employees have strong feelings for supported cause, work force fit is in place. Target market fit entails that the supporters of a cause also form a company’s target market. When a company’s products have a strong connection with the operations of the supported cause, one can speak of product-cause fit. Cultural fit arises when the organizational culture of a company matches the organizational culture of the supported non-profit organization. Another form of fit is cycle fit, which can occur when a company and supported non-profit cause are active in similar cycles. This entails that both companies in the alliance are for example active in the same seasons. In the present study the focus is limited to the effects of product-cause fit in CRM messages. The product of the organization used in the stimuli will match the operations of the charitable cause in the high fit condition and will not match the operations of the charitable organization in the low fit condition. The next section will focus on previous findings regarding the effects of brand-cause fit.
2.3.2 Effects of brand-cause fit in previous studies
The effects of brand-cause fit in CRM on consumers perceptions, evaluations and intentions towards the brand have been studied extensively (Nan & Heo, 2007; Pracejus & Olsen, 2004; Trimble & Rifon, 2006; Hoek & Gendall, 2008). As stated before, the results of these studies are mixed. While certain authors find evidence that supports a belief in the importance of fit or congruence between the brand and the cause, other studies indicate fit between the brand and a cause is not that important. For example Nan and Heo (2007) have focused on the effects of performing CRM on favorability towards the ad, the brand and the company. They also looked at the different effects of high brand-cause fit and low brand-cause fit on
favorability towards the ad, brand and company. Their results showed that consumers like companies that perform CRM better than companies that do not engage in CRM activities. Furthermore, their results show that there is no difference in favorability towards the ad, brand or company between the high brand-cause fit condition and the low brand-cause fit condition. However, they did find that brand consciousness worked as a moderator for the effect of fit on attitude towards the ad and towards the brand. People who scored high on brand consciousness are very careful about what brands they buy, since they believe brands reflect who they are. The study by Nan and Heo (2007) shows that for people who score high on brand consciousness, brand-cause fit does elicit more positive feelings towards the ad and the brand but not towards the company. On the other hand, Pracejus and Olsen (2004) did find different effects for a high fit and a low fit between a brand and the cause it supported. The results of their study show that people are more willing to buy from a brand that has a high fit with the charity it supports than from a brand that has a low fit with the supported charity. The study even indicates that a high brand-cause fit can result in five to ten times the sales and donations then CRM under a low fit condition. Pracejus and Olsen (2004) attribute the effects of fit to positive affect transfer from the cause to the brand and the logical link
between the brand and the cause. Trimble and Rifon (2006) also point out the importance of fit between a company and the charitable cause. Their study shows that consumers become more skeptic about the intentions of a company when there is low fit between the brand and the cause. Hoek and Gendall (2008) on the other hand did not find support for the importance of fit or congruency between the brand and the supported cause. Their research indicates people did not choose the brand that had a high fit with a supported cause more often than the low fit brand-cause condition. They attribute this finding to the belief that consumers do not process the CRM message with high involvement. The belief that consumers process CRM messages with low involvement opposes the belief in previous studies, since it is commonly assumed consumers do process these messages with high involvement (Pracejus & Olsen, 2004; Trimble & Rifon, 2006). Hoek & Gendall (2008) also believe there is a need for further research regarding the effects of CRM messages on consumer behavior, since most research regarding the effects of CRM have focused on cognitive responses to CRM messages. A study by Lafferty conducted in 2007, indicated that fit in a CRM message did not affect attitudes or purchase intentions, regardless of the level of credibility of the brand. Lafferty (2007) attributes her unexpected outcomes to the perceived importance of the cause being more important than fit. A later study by Lafferty (2009) again showed that the level of fit did not affect consumers’ purchase intention or attitude towards the brand. In this study Lafferty (2009) showed that consumers’ purchase intention and attitude towards the brand are
influenced more by the perceived importance of the supported cause. On the contrary, a recent study by Bigne-Alcaniz et al. (2012) does find evidence for the importance of high brand-cause fit, since their results indicate high brand-cause fit leads to more positive brand attitudes, higher purchase intent and more support for the social cause. However, the study by Bigne –Alcaniz et al. (2012) differs from previous studies, since they find a moderating role of fit instead of the more commonly assumed mediating role of brand-cause fit. The
researchers find that there is a positive effect of the consumer beliefs elicited through the CRM message on brand attitude. This positive effect is reinforced when high fit is in place between the brand and the cause. Barone, Norman and Miyazaki (2007) find positive effects for fit in CRM on purchase intentions, attitude towards the brand, intentions to donate and intentions to recommend the company. However these effects were moderated by perceived motives behind the support and whether consumers had affinity with the cause. In line with the study by Trimble and Rifon (2006), Barone et al (2007) find that motivations behind the charitable support play a role in the effects of fit. Furthermore, they find that fit is more effective when consumers have high affinity for the cause. Similar conclusions about the perceived motivations behind the support are made by Becker-Olsen, Cudmore and Hill (2006). Their study showed that fit in a CRM message does have a positive influence on consumer beliefs, attitudes towards the brand and their intentions. However, these effects were only found to be positive if the perceived motivations behind the support were viewed as altruistic instead of egoistic. Furthermore, the authors show that fit was only an effective influencer of the positive outcomes when the support was seen as proactive, as opposed to reactive. The authors also found that fit had a negative effect on consumer beliefs, attitudes and intentions when fit was low. Interestingly, low fit was not ineffective when the
motivations were seen as egoistic or profit driven. The authors believe this is due to there not being a discrepancy between what the company does and what the company promises. The existing body of research on the importance of fit between a company and the supported cause is inconclusive. In the present study the importance of fit is also put to the test. As the study tests whether high brand-cause fit leads to more positive results for a company than low brand-cause fit. Furthermore it is proposed that the effects of fit are being mediated by
feelings of ‘warmth’ and ‘competence’ towards the company. Which can be viewed as a contribution to the existing body of knowledge regarding the topic of fit in CRM.
2.4 Attribution Theory
An explanation for why consumers infer believes about a company from fit or the lack thereof with the supported cause in a CRM messages, can be found in the attribution theory (Settle & Golden, 1974). Attribution theory initiated in the field of social psychology. The theory focusses on how people come to causal inferences and on what kind of effects these inferences have (Folkes, 1988). Attribution theory therefore has also become a popular theory in the field of consumer behavior. In the field of consumer behavior it is for example being used in order to explain consumer reactions to marketing efforts (Folkes, 1988). In relation to CRM, attribution theory is used to explain that consumers attribute certain perceived
motivations on the part of the company for engaging in CRM (Ellen, Mohr and Webb, 2000). Consumers evaluate whether the support for a charitable organization is given for egoistic or altruistic reason. In other words, does the company only support the cause in order to gain from it? Or does the company support the cause because they care about the cause and its goals? In the present study it is hypothesized that fit or the lack thereof influences what kind of motivations consumers perceive to be behind the support for the cause.
2.5 Motivation behind supporting the cause
The motives consumers attribute to be behind support in CSR and CRM actions have been shown to play an important part in the effectiveness of those activities (Handelman & Arnold, 1999; Becker-Olsen, Cudmore & Hill, 2006). Positive perceived motives behind CRM can even make or break the effort, since consumers may even be more interested in the reasons behind the support for the charity than the charitable support itself (Gilbert & Malone, 1995). Furthermore, CRM activities tend to be successful when the motivations behind the support
are perceived as altruistic and tend to be unsuccessful when motivations are perceived to be egoistic (Cui, Trent, Sullivan & Matiru, 2003).
Traditionally, earlier studies have distinguished between perceived corporate motives behind CRM to be either egoistic or altruistic (Handelman & Arnold, 1999; Webb & Mohr, 1998; Becker-Olsen, Cudmore & Hill, 2006). However, the qualitative part of a more recent study by Ellen et al. (2006) has indicated consumers distinguish between four different corporate motives behind CRM. Consumers tend to distinguish between self-centered or other-centered motives. The self-centered motives include strategic and egoistic motives, while the other-centered motives include values-driven and stakeholder-driven motives. Shortly explained, when perceived motives are seen as egoistic consumers perceive the company to be
exploiting the NGO and think the company only engages in the CRM to benefit and enrich itself. However, when motivations are seen as strategic, consumers believe the company also engages in the CRM to benefit but they do not think as negatively of the company. When motivations are perceived as strategic, consumers think the company engages in the CRM in order to increase sales, or to keep and attract customers. These goals are viewed as normal goals of a company and are therefore accepted by consumers and not viewed as negative motivations for engaging in CRM (Whetton and Mackey, 2002, Ellen et al. 2006). The other-centered motives include stakeholder-driven motives and values-driven motives. Stakeholder-driven motives can be explained as consumers believing the company engages in the CRM because its stakeholders expect the company to do so. Values-driven motives on the other hand are viewed as positive motivations behind the support. Since when consumers perceive motivations behind the support as values-driven, they believe the company engages in the CRM because it actually cares about the cause and its goals (Ellen, Webb & Mohr, 2006).
In the present study it is hypothesized that fit in a CRM message will lead to positively perceived motivations behind the charitable support. Ellen, Webb and Mohr (2006) and
Trimble and Rifon (2006) state that when there is no connection between the brand and the supported cause, consumers will find the charitable support suspicious. Therefore, they will perceive motivations behind the support to be self-centered or egoistic on the part of the company. On the other hand results by Fein (1996) and Ellen et al. (2006) show that high fit in a CRM messages does not raise suspicion behind the perceived motives behind the charitable support. Furthermore, a high fit between the brand and the cause has been shown to make the company be more seen as expert than in a low fit condition (Hoeffler & Keller, 2002). Since the support for the charity seems logical and natural to consumers, they perceive the motives behind the support to be strategic and values-driven (Fein, 1996; Ellen et al., 2006). In line with the study by Ellen, Webb and Mohr (2006), the present study hypothesizes that in the high fit condition the perceived motivations behind the charitable support will be perceived as strategic and values-driven. The second hypothesis is also based on studies by Fein (1996) and Ellen, Webb & Mohr (2006), since those studies show that low fit between the brand and the cause raises suspicion and skepticism in consumers since the support seems illogical. This lack of fit is hypothesized to cause consumers to perceive the motivations behind the support as negative. Therefore it is also hypothesized that low fit will lead to the perceived motivations behind the support to be egoistic and stakeholder-driven.
H1: Respondents in the high fit condition will score higher on perceived values-driven and strategic motives behind the charitable support, than respondents in the low fit condition.
H2: Respondents in the low fit condition will score higher on egoistic and stakeholder-driven motives behind the charitable support, than respondents in the high fit condition.
In the next section the key mediating constructs of warmth and competence are explained. Warmth and competence are assumed to be the mediators explaining the effects of fit on consumer beliefs and intentions.
2.6 Warmth and Competence
According Aaker, Vohs and Mogilner (2010) consumers attribute feelings of ‘warmth’ and /or ‘competence’ to companies, based on a companies’ actions. The authors state consumers evaluate and form perceptions of companies in a similar way as they form perceptions of other human beings (Aaker, Fournier & Brasel, 2004). In human behavior, certain actions are classified as warm, while others are classified as competent. Being helpful, generous, kind and honest are seen as ‘warm’ traits, while being intelligent, competitive, skillful and effective is seen as competent traits (Aaker, 1997). Aaker, Mogilner and Vohs (2010) state that in a similar way, actions of companies also lead consumers to view them as being ‘warm’ or ‘competent’. For example, a company that is viewed as being very generous or helpful to its clients is viewed as a warm company. On the other hand, a company that is for example viewed as very skillful, effective and profitable is viewed as a competent company. The notion that consumers attribute human traits to companies and brands is supported by the idea that brands have personalities (Aaker, 1997). Furthermore marketers often try to
humanize products and brands, which is easily being accepted by consumers (Aggarwal & McGill, 2007).
As was previously hypothesized, high fit will lead to perceived values-driven motivations behind the charitable support and to perceived strategic motivations behind the charitable support. The present study elaborates on these assumptions by hypothesizing that perceived strategic motivations will lead to a company being viewed as competent. Furthermore it is hypothesized that perceived-values driven motives will cause the company to be viewed as warm. These hypotheses are posed since perceived strategic motivations behind charitable support signal to consumers that the company is engaging in a logical marketing effort, aimed at enlarging or reinforcing its market position in a responsible, logical expert way. The
assumptions made about a company when motivations behind the charitable support are in
line with being viewed as a competent company (Fein, 1996; Hoeffler & Keller, 2002 ; Whetton and Mackey, 2002 ; Ellen et al. 2006). Furthermore, it is hypothesized that perceived values-driven motivations behind the charitable support will cause consumers to attribute feelings of warmth towards the company. A company that engages in charitable support because it cares about the cause and its goals and supports for honest reasons is likely to be viewed as a warm company. Since traits like kindness, generosity and honesty cause consumers to view a company as warm (Aaker, Mogilner & Vohs, 2010).
It is assumed that high fit will lead to perceived strategic and values-driven motivations behind the charitable support. It is also assumed that perceived values-driven motivations will lead to feelings of warmth towards the company and that perceived strategic motivations will lead to feelings of competence towards the brand. It can therefore also be assumed that the high fit condition will lead to higher feelings of warmth and competence towards the brand since these are mediated respectively by values-driven motives and strategic motives. It is also hypothesized that low fit will lead to the self-centered perceived egoistic motives, the opposite of values-driven motives. Furthermore it has been assumed that low product-cause fit will lead to perceived stakeholder-driven motives, the opposite of the positively perceived strategic motives behind the charitable support (Ellen et al., 2006). It is therefore also
hypothesized that low fit will lead to lower feelings of warmth and competence towards the brand and that these feelings are mediated by perceived egoistic and stakeholder-driven motives. Therefore the following hypotheses are posed:
H3: High product-cause fit will lead to higher feelings of both a)warmth and b)competence towards a company, in comparison to low product-cause fit.
H4: The effect of fit on feelings of warmth towards the brand is mediated by perceived values-driven motives behind the charitable support.
H5: The effect of fit on feelings of competence towards the brand is mediated by perceived strategic motives behind the charitable support.
H6: Low product cause fit will lead to lower feelings of a)warmth and b)competence in comparison to the high fit condition, these effects will be mediated by a)perceived egoistic and b)stakeholder driven motives.
2.7 Perceived corporate abilities
As shown in the section about the effects of CSR in previous studies, positive effects of CSR have been found in abundance. However, the effect of CSR on perceived corporate abilities seems to be underexposed. First of all, perceived corporate abilities are explained by
Zeithaml (2000) as several elements that make up a companies’ expertise. Examples of corporate abilities are the ability to be innovative or the ability to continuously improve product quality. Luo and Bhattacharya (2006) also define product quality as a corporate ability. The study by Luo and Bhattacharya (2006) has also partly focused on the effect of CSR on perceived product quality, but the researchers saw corporate abilities as a moderator for the effect of CSR on a firm’s market value. Another study that touched upon the effect of CSR on perceived product quality is a study by Brown and Dacin (1997). The results of their study show that what consumers know about a company influences their evaluation of a companies’ products. Furthermore, their results also show that perceptions of a companies’ CSR activities influence evaluations about a company’s products. The present study goes beyond the findings of Brown and Dacin (1997) by adding the mediators warmth and competence, which have been explained earlier in this thesis. A study conducted by Creyer and Ross (1996) also focused on perceived product value, but does so in relation to whether a company behaves ethically or not. Their results show that simply behaving in an ethical way
does not lead to higher perceived product value. However when a company behaves in an unethical manner, consumers demand lower prices.
In the present study, it is proposed that high or low brand-cause fit in a CRM message affects perceived corporate abilities in the minds of consumers and that these effects are mediated by feelings of warmth and competence towards the brand. Corporate abilities are explained by Zeithaml (2000) as several elements that make up a companies’ expertise. Examples of corporate abilities are the ability to be innovative, the ability to continuously improve product quality or the ability to deliver high service quality. Luo and Bhattacharya (2006) also define perceived product quality as a corporate ability. Perceived corporate abilities can best be explained as the abilities consumers perceive a company to excel in (Zeithaml, 2000; Luo & Bhattacharya, 2006).
Perceived corporate abilities are believed to be influenced by a CRM message based on the work of Brown and Dacin (1997). They state that people do not get all the information they need in consumption situations. Consumers therefore fill in the blanks by using other information they have about the company to evaluate a companies’ products. Brown and Dacin (1997) have shown that people tend to rely on corporate associations like perceived corporate abilities and a companies’ CSR activities in order to evaluate a companies’ reputation and its products. The authors do not talk about CRM messages specifically and definitely do not involve the concept of fit in their study. However, since consumers rely on corporate associations in order to evaluate reputation and products, it is plausible consumers also rely on CRM messages in order to evaluate perceived corporate abilities. Consumers may use information they receive from a CRM campaign to create an image of the brand and the company (Bigne et al. 2012; Brown & Dacin, 1997). In this study it is hypothesized that product-cause fit in a CRM message translates to feelings of warmth and competence towards the brand, based on the perceived positive values-driven and strategic motivations behind the
charitable support. These feelings of warmth and competence are expected to have a positive effect on how positive consumers view the companies’ corporate abilities. It has also been hypothesized that low product-cause fit in a CRM message will lead to low feelings of warmth and competence, mediated by the perceived negative egoistic and stakeholder-driven motivations behind the charitable support. Therefore low fit is hypothesized to lead to lower perceived corporate abilities than the high fit condition, mediated by perceived egoistic and stakeholder-driven motivations and low feelings of warmth and competence towards the brand.
H7: Perceived corporate abilities will score higher in the high fit condition than in the low fit condition.
H8: The effect of fit on perceived corporate abilities is mediated by feelings of a)warmth and b)competence towards the company. Feelings of a)warmth are mediated by perceived values-driven motives, while feelings of b)competence are mediated by strategic motives.
H9: This effect on low fit on perceived corporate abilities is mediated by a)egoistic
motivations behind the charitable support and negative feelings of warmth towards the brand, and by b) perceived stakeholder-driven motivations behind the chartable support and negative feelings of competence towards the brand.
2.8 Purchase intent
Purchase intent can be described as the intentions of consumers to either buy or not buy the products from a specific company (Cobb-Walgren, Rubble & Donthu, 1995). In the present study it is hypothesized that a high fit between the brand and a supported cause in a CRM message will lead to higher purchase intentions for consumers. Furthermore, the effect of fit on purchase intent is expected to be mediated by feelings of warmth and competence towards the brand. This idea is based on previous findings that have shown that feelings of
competence towards a brand will lead to more perceived credibility (Trimble & Rifon, 2006; Rifon, Choi, Trimble & Li, 2004). Other studies have indicated that higher corporate
credibility leads to higher intentions of buying products from that company (Goldsmith, Lafferty & Newell, 2000). It is also predicted in this study that feelings of warmth towards a company will lead to higher intentions to purchase from a specific company. In their study Ellen et al. (2006), have shown that a high fit between the brand and a supported cause leads to feelings of warmth towards the company, since the motives to support the company are being viewed as altruistic. These altruistic motives, or in other words feelings of warmth, were shown to lead to higher purchase intentions. The opposite is also hypothesized as low fit will lead to the negatively perceived motivations behind the charitable support, which will lead to low feelings of warmth and competence. Therefore the low fit condition is
hypothesized to lead to lower purchase intent than the high fit version, mediated by the negatively perceived motivations behind the charitable support and low feelings of warmth and competence towards the brand. Since it is hypothesized that high product-cause fit will lead to feelings of warmth and competence towards the brand, the following hypotheses are posed:
H10: Consumers in the high fit condition will show higher purchase intent, in comparison to the consumers in the low fit condition.
H11: The effect of fit on purchase intent is mediated by feelings of a)warmth and
b)competence towards the company. Feelings of a)warmth are mediated by perceived values-driven motives, while feelings of b)competence are mediated by strategic motives.
H12: This effect on low fit on purchase intent is mediated by a)egoistic motivations behind the charitable support and negative feelings of warmth towards the brand, and by b)
perceived stakeholder-driven motivations behind the chartable support and negative feelings of competence towards the brand.
2.9 Admiration for the brand
Aaker, Garbinsky and Vohs (2012) have studied the effects of feelings of warmth and
competence towards a brand on purchase intent. Their results confirmed their hypothesis that feelings of warmth and competence towards a company led to an increase in purchase
intention. However, they believe that the positive effect was due to feelings of admiration towards a brand, when both attributions of warmth and competence were made. The authors have shown that the positive effect of feelings of competence towards a brand have a stronger positive effect on purchase intention than feelings of warmth towards a brand. However, when a company elicits feelings of both warmth and competence, the positive effect on purchase intentions turned out to be stronger than the effects of warmth and competence combined. This synergetic effect is contributed by the authors to feelings of admiration towards the brand. In the present study it is tested whether stronger feelings of admiration towards a brand are elicited in the high fit condition than in the low fit condition. Since it is previously hypothesized that the high fit condition elicits stronger feelings of both warmth and competence than the low fit condition, mediated by the positively perceived motivations behind the charitable support. The opposite is also hypothesized, based on the work of Ellen
et al. (2006), low fit is expected to lead to lower scores on admiration for the brand than the high fit condition. This effect is hypothesized to be mediated by the negatively perceived motivations behind the charitable support and low feelings of warmth and competence towards the brand.
H13: In the high fit condition consumers will show stronger feelings of admiration towards the brand than in the low fit condition.
H14: The effect of fit on feelings of admiration towards the brand is mediated by feelings of a)warmth and b)competence towards the company. Feelings of a)warmth are mediated by perceived values-driven motives, while feelings of b)competence are mediated by strategic motives.
H15: The low fit condition is expected to score lower on admiration for the brand than the high fit condition. This effect on low fit on admiration for the brand is mediated by a)egoistic motivations behind the charitable support and negative feelings of warmth towards the brand, and by b) perceived stakeholder-driven motivations behind the chartable support and negative feelings of competence towards the brand
3. Models
The conceptual model is presented below:
The model representing the hypotheses is presented below:
Fit Warmth/Competence PCA Purchase Intent Motivation Admiration Fit Motives Strategic & Value
Motives Ego & Stakeholder
Warmth & Competence Warmth & Competence PCA Purchase Intent Admiration 27
4. Research Design & Methodology
The research question posed in the present study is the following: Are consumer beliefs and intentions more positive in a high brand-cause fit condition than in a low brand-cause fit condition and is this effect mediated by feelings of warmth and competence towards the brand and the perceived motivations behind the support for the charitable cause? An experiment is carried out in order to find an answer to this question. An experiment was chosen, since the study focuses on the causal effects of fit on consumer beliefs and intentions (t’Hart, Boeije & Hox, 2005). Furthermore, it is tested whether motivations behind the charitable support and feelings of warmth and competence mediate the effect of fit on
consumer beliefs and intentions. By manipulating the independent variable, it is tried to make predictions about the dependent variables in order to establish a causal effect between the independent and dependent variables (t’Hart, Boeije & Hox, 2005).
4.1 Independent variables
The experiment consists of a questionnaire, which has been filled out by 133 respondents. The respondents were randomly divided into two groups. One group of respondents was exposed to a stimulus that featured a short story about a company that performed low
product-cause fit CRM. The other group of respondents was exposed to a similar story. Only this stimulus contained a story in which the same company performed high product-cause fit CRM. This type of fit was chosen for manipulation since this type of fit between a company and NGO is relatively easily noticed by consumers (Berger, Cunningham & Drumwright, 2004). The company of focus in the stimuli was a fictional coffee brand called “Arabica”. A fictional brand was chosen in order to prevent initial beliefs consumers may have about a real brand affecting their responses. In the low fit condition, coffee brand Arabica was going to
provide financial support for a fictional organization called “Healthy Living”. This fictional charitable organization tried to prevent children in third world countries from dying from diarrhea. While this is Ngo fights for a noble cause, it is not related to a coffee brand in any way and therefore functioned as the low fit stimulus. On the other hand, in the high fit condition coffee brand Arabica supported a fictional charity that did have a clear connection with a coffee brand. In the high fit condition, Arabica was going to provide financial support for “Progression”. Progression is also a fictional NGO, that tries to improve the living
conditions of coffee farmers in third world countries. A coffee brand has a clear connection to the living circumstances of coffee farmers and therefore functioned as the high fit condition. The results of a pre-test showed that respondents did indicate a clear link between coffee brand Arabica and the organization that focused on coffee farmers. In the next section the pre-test and subsequent results will be presented and discussed further.
4.2 Results pre-test
A pre-test was used to indicate whether or not the two stimuli had the intended effect of showing a high product-cause fit scenario and a low product-cause fit scenario. Fit was measured on a three-item scale, based on a scale previously used by Trimble and Rifon (2006). The questions on this scale all had to do with whether or not there was a match between the brand and the supported cause. An example of these questions is: “There is a clear link between the operation of Arabica and Progression/Healthy Living”. The items were measured on a seven point scale. Ranging from “Totally Disagree” to “Totally Agree”. Since only sixteen respondents partook in the pre-test, no significance could statistically be tested. Fortunately, respondents in the high fit condition indicated fit-scores on the three items of mostly four and higher. While respondents in the low fit condition indicated fit-scores of
mostly four and lower. A reason why respondents in the low fit condition indicated they understand why Arabica chose Healthy Living could be that Healthy Living has very noble goals. This does not necessarily mean respondents perceive fit between the cause and the brand. Especially the responses to the first and third question indicate that the manipulation seems to work, as is depicted in table 1 and 2.
Table 1: High Fit Condition
Question 1.Totally disagree 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Totally Agree Total responses Arabica and Progression are a good match 0 0 0 2 0 2 2 6 I understand why Arabica chose to support this cause
0 0 1 1 0 2 2 6 There is a clear link between Arabica’s business and Progression 0 0 1 1 1 0 2 6
Table 2: Low Fit Condition
Question 1.Totally disagree 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Totally Agree Total responses Arabica and
Healthy Living are a good match
0 3 1 4 1 1 0 10 I understand why
Arabica chose to support this cause
1 1 0 0 5 3 0 10 There is a clear link between Arabica’s business and Healthy Living 1 2 1 4 2 0 0 10 30
4.3 Dependent constructs
The present study mainly contributes to the existing body of research by stating that the on perceived corporate abilities, purchase intent and admiration for the brand are mediated by feelings of warmth and competence towards the company giving charitable support. Furthermore, the perceived motivation behind the charitable support is hypothesized to mediate the feelings of warmth or competence inferred from the level of fit in the CRM message. The constructs that are hypothesized to be affected by the existence or lack of fit in a CRM message are “perceived corporate abilities”, “purchase intent” and “admiration towards the brand”. Every construct has been measured on the basis of previously conducted studies. Whenever possible, measurement scales previously used to measure these constructs were applied in the present study as well. If measurement scales were not available,
constructs were measured by means of definitions of those constructs found in academic literature. In order to establish feelings of warmth and competence towards the brand, a scale previously used by Aaker (1997) was used. In order to measure perceived motivation behind the charitable support a scale use by Ellen et al. (2006) was used. The scale measuring perceived corporate abilities was established by combining definitions used by Brown and Dacin (1997) and Luo and Bhattacharya (2006), since no clear measurement scale of
perceived corporate abilities was found in previous studies. Purchase intention was measured through a three-item scale by Spears and Singh (2004), furthermore two more items
measuring purchase intent were added based on the work of Aaker et al. (2010). Admiration for the brand was measured through scales used by Chun (2005) and Aaker et al. (2012). All items were measured on a seven point Likert scale. The entire questionnaire and therefore all items comprising the different scales can be found in the appendix.
4.4 Additional measures
The questionnaire also measured demographic variables like age, gender and level of education were measured in the questionnaire. Furthermore, the questionnaire contained items whether respondents perceived the supported cause in the scenario to be noble and whether they perceived the scenario presented in the stimulus to be credible. Perceived nobility of the cause was added as a control variable since previous studies have indicated that the perceived importance of the cause may be more important than fit (Lafferty, 2009 ; Barone, Norman & Miyazaki, 2007). The items measuring perceived nobility of the cause and credibility of the scenario were also measured on a seven point Likert-scale and can be found in the appendix of the present research.
4.5 Data collection and sample
Data collection for the pre-test began on January 10th of 2014. The pre-test mainly served to check whether or not the stimuli had the intended effect of reflecting either a high or low fit condition. On Monday January 13th of 2014 data collection began. The data was collected by approaching potential respondents online, mainly through personal e-mails and Facebook. Furthermore, snowball-sampling was used since respondents were asked to forward the link to the survey to other people (t’Hart, Boeije & Hox, 2005). By collecting the data like this it was tried to attain a divers sample of at least 100 respondents, favourably representative of the Dutch adult population. Data collection ended a week later, on Monday January 20th of 2014.
After the collection period of one week 133 respondents had filled out the questionnaire. However, a few respondents filled out none or only a very small portion of the questions.
These people were removed from the dataset, because they do not contribute any value to the analyses. After removing the unusable respondents, 113 cases remained (N=113).
Of these respondents 80 people were male, while 32 people were female. One person did not indicate his or her gender. The majority of the respondents fell in the age category 21-30 years old, as 61 respondents reported to fall into this age category. One person did not indicate his or her educational level. The second most common age group was 41-50, as 20 respondents indicated they fell into this age category. An overview of the age groups
respondents feel in is given in table 3. Table 4 provides an overview of the educational level of the respondents. Most of the respondents had enjoyed education at a very high level, as 69 respondents reported to have enjoyed education at an academic level. Furthermore 20
respondents had enjoyed education at the Dutch HBO level, which can be translated in
English to the educational level ‘University of Applied Science’. Furthermore, a new variable had to be created which indicated whether respondents read the high or low fit stimulus. The low fit condition was coded 0, while the high fit condition was coded 1. 57 respondents were exposed to the low fit stimulus and 56 respondents were exposed to the high fit stimulus.
Table 3: Age groups
Age group Frequency Percentage 11-20 2 1,8 21-30 61 54 31-40 8 7,1 41-50 20 17,7 51-60 12 10,7 61-70 7 6,3 71-80 2 1,8 Missing 1 ,9 Total 112 100 33
Table 4: Educational level Educational level Frequency Percentage Mavo/VMBO 3 2,7 Havo 3 2,7 VWO 3 2,7 MBO 9 8 HBO 26 23 WO 69 61,1 Total 113 100
4.6 Scale reliability and overview data
New items representing the scales of the following constructs were made: fit, warmth, competence, perceived values-driven motives, perceived strategic motives, perceived corporate abilities (PCA), purchase intent (PI) and admiration for the brand (AFTB).
Furthermore, the questionnaire measured whether respondents believed the supported cause in the stimulus was perceived as noble and whether they perceived the scenario described in the stimulus as credible. Scales for nobility of the cause and credibility of the scenario were also created, in order to use as control variables in the analyses. The following table 5 depicts the reliability of each scale, as well as the means, standard deviation and the minimum and maximum values. All items have been checked for missing values and counter-indicative items. Hot deck was used to replace missing values. Hot deck fills in the missing data by adding scores for the missing data, based on scores of other respondents with similar scores on other items. An advantage of handling missing data this way is that the full sample of respondents can still be used, since list wise deletion of respondents with missing data is not necessary (Myers, 2011). Furthermore, recoding of counter-indicative items has been done when needed. In order to form the scale for purchase intent, one item had to be recoded. That item stated: I would never buy Arabica coffee. Initially, 1 meant totally disagree and 7 meant totally agree. After rescaling, this was the other way around and every item indicated the
same (1=7, 2=6, 3=5, 4=4, 5=3, 6=2, 7=1). Furthermore, reliability of the scales was enhanced if possible by deleting an item from the scale. This was done for the scale
measuring perceived strategic motivations behind the charitable support. The item that asked whether respondents believed Arabica was trying to increase its profits by supporting the charity was deleted from the scale, in order to increase Cronbach’s Alpha for the scale from ,4 to ,74. The scores for Cronbach’s Alpha presented in table 5 are the scores after deleting items from the scales in order to increase reliability.
Table 5: Scale reliability and overview data
Scale Cronbach’s Alpha Mean Standard Deviation Minimum Maximum Fit ,94 5,06 1,66 1 7 Values-driven motives ,63 4,63 1,25 1 7 Strategic Motives ,74 5 1,04 1 7 Egoistic motives .59 4,57 ,98 2 7 Stakeholder-driven motives ,48 4,53 1,12 2 7 Warmth ,93 4,67 1,07 1 7 Competence ,88 4,60 ,99 1 7 PCA ,89 4,58 1,06 1 7 PI ,86 4,16 1,31 1 7 AFTB ,9 3,99 1,42 1 7 Nobility of the cause ,87 5,65 1,17 2 7 Credibility of the scenario ,89 4,7 1,35 1 7
Table 6 depicts a Pearson correlation matrix for every constructed scale, with all respondents included (N=113). The scale for fit was not included, but replaced with the condition
respondents saw. As explained before, the high fit version was coded one, while the low fit version was coded zero. The scale measuring fit has not been included in the matrix, since the present study is not aimed at establishing correlations between high scores of fit on motives, warmth and competence, perceived corporate abilities, purchase intent and admiration for the
brand. Instead, the present study focusses on differences between the high and low fit conditions on the aforementioned constructs.
Table 6: Pearson Correlation Matrix
Fit Values Strategic Ego Stake Warmth Competence PCA PI AFTB Nobility Fit Condition 1 -,04 -,06 -,03 0,07 0,04 -,11 -,06 -,08 -,06 -,12 Values motives 1 ,56* -2,6 * ,43* ,69* ,63* ,57* ,51* ,73* ,38* Strategic motives 1 ,11 ,47* ,53* ,51* ,55* ,38* ,56* ,36* Egoistic motives 1 ,27* -,27* -,16 -,16 -,29* -,26* -,17 Stakeholder motives 1 ,36* ,38* ,4* ,15 ,35* ,29* Warmth 1 ,84* ,78* ,56* ,67* ,41* Competence 1 ,82* ,56* ,57* ,43* PCA 1 ,56* ,58* ,29* PI 1 ,57* ,31* AFTB 1 ,45* Nobility 1 *P<0,01
The Pearson correlation matrix (table 6) provides an initial overview of the correlation between the constructed scales. Furthermore, it provides an initial overview of notable correlations that signal whether certain hypotheses might be confirmed or discarded later on. A very notable finding from the matrix is that the fit condition does not correlate significantly with any of the other constructs. This indicates that the hypotheses and the hypothesized model will probably not be confirmed by the subsequent analyses. Having seen the high or low fit condition does not seem to affect perceived motivations behind the charitable support, feelings of warmth and competence nor perceived corporate abilities, purchase intent and admiration for the brand. Therefore the mediation by the motives and feelings of warmth and competence on the outcomes is also very unlikely. However part of the model might still be confirmed, as values driven motivation correlates strongly with feelings of warmth towards the brand and the outcomes (PCA, PI, AFTB). Furthermore, strategic motivations also
correlate strongly with feelings of competence and the outcomes. Another interesting notion is that feelings of both warmth and competence correlate strongly with the outcomes. These correlations indicate that the hypotheses and the hypothesized model might still partly be supported. A final interesting notion from the matrix is that perceived egoistic motives
correlate negatively with warmth, competence and the outcomes, while perceived stakeholder motives behind the charitable support correlate positively with the aforementioned constructs.
5. Results
5.1 Manipulation Check
Before establishing whether or not the hypotheses were confirmed, it has to be checked whether or not the stimulus has the desired effect. Did respondents in the high fit condition indeed indicate a high fit between the brand and the cause and did the low fit condition indicate no connection between the brand and the supported cause? In order to test whether perceived fit in the high fit condition was significantly higher than in the low fit condition, an independent samples T-test was carried out. People in the low fit condition reported an average perceived fit of 4,07 (SD= 1,42), people in the high fit condition reported a perceived fit of 6,07 (SD=1,24). This difference is significant, t (111) = -7,94 , p < 0,05 , 95% CI = [-2,49 ; -1,50]. Equal variances were assumed, since the F-test was not significant. From this analysis it can be concluded that respondents in the high fit condition reported perceived fit between the brand and the supported cause to be significantly higher than people in the low fit condition. This significant result indicates that manipulation through the stimuli was successful.
Furthermore, as stated before the questionnaire contained questions regarding the credibility of the scenario presented in the stimulus. Both the high fit scenario featuring Arabica coffee and Progression and the low fit scenario featuring Arabica coffee and Healthy living were
deemed approximately evenly credible by the respondents. The low fit condition had a mean credibility of 4,57 (SD = 1,53), while the high fit condition scored 4,82 (SD = 1,42) on mean credibility. This difference was tested via an independent samples T-test and proved to be insignificant, t (111) = -,98 , p = n.s., 95% CI = [-,75 ; ,26]. From this analysis it can be concluded that the respondents believed both scenarios were equally likely to happen in real life.
5.2 Analyses
In order to analyze the collected data, the software program SPSS Statistics was used in order to find out whether the posed hypotheses are confirmed or not. For the first and second hypotheses, one-way MANOVA analyses were used. This type of analysis was chosen since it is tested in those two hypotheses whether there are differences between independent groups of respondents on two continuous dependent variables. Furthermore, in the present study the function Process in SPSS is used in order to determine whether mediation effects were in place. Process uses a regression based analytical framework to establish direct and indirect effects. Process is also able to analyze indirect double mediation effects (Hayes, 2012). Since the present study focusses on two mediators, Process proved to be a very handy statistical tool. The output if the Process SPSS analyses can be found in the appendix.
Analysis H1
H1: Respondents in the high fit condition will score higher on values-driven and strategic motives behind the charitable support, than consumers in the low fit condition.
It must be noted that the Pearson correlation matrix, shown in table 6, indicates that there is no correlation between fit and values-driven or strategic motives. It is therefore unlikely that the means for the low and high fit condition will differ significantly. However, a one-way MANOVA analysis was carried out in order to see whether respondents in the high fit condition score significantly higher on values-driven and strategic motivations behind the charitable support than respondents in the low fit condition. Respondents in the low fit condition reported mean perceived values-driven motives to be 4,68 (SD =1,39), while respondents in the high fit condition reported mean perceived values-driven motives to be 4,59 (SD = 1,1). For perceived strategic motivations behind the charitable support,
respondent in the low fit condition reported a mean score of 5,06 (SD = 1,18). On the other hand, respondents in the high fit condition reported a mean score of 4,93 (SD = ,88). The results of the one-way MANOVA analysis were insignificant, F (2, 110) = ,19 , p = n.s. , Wilk's Λ = ,99 , partial η² = ,004. It can be concluded that scores for perceived strategic and values-driven motives do not depend on which condition respondents were in. It can also be concluded from the insignificant result that respondents in the high fit condition did not score significantly higher on perceived values-driven and strategic motivation behind the charitable support than respondents in the low fit condition. The first hypothesis is therefore not
confirmed.
Controls were performed at the analyses for further hypothesis, since controlling in Process for age, gender and values-driven motives in the analysis for H8, H10 and H12 also show whether the control variables affect the effects studies in the previous analysis.
Analysis H2
H2: Respondents in the low fit condition will score higher on egoistic and stakeholder-driven motives behind the charitable support.
In order to test the second hypothesis, a one-way MANOVA was carried out too. In order for the hypothesis to be confirmed a significant negative connection should emerge from the analysis between the independent and dependent variables. Again, based on the previously depicted correlation matrix in table 6, it is unlikely that the second hypothesis will be confirmed, since fit does not correlate significantly with either of the two perceived
motivations. The one-way MANOVA yielded the following results. Respondents in the low fit condition reported a mean score for perceived egoistic motivations of 4,6 (SD = 1,04), while respondents in the high fit condition reported a mean score of 4,54 (SD = ,92). The mean scores on perceived stakeholder-driven motives for the low fit condition were 4,45 (SD = 1,160, while the mean score for the high fit condition was 4,61 (SD = 1,08). The results of the analysis were not significant, F (2, 110) = ,43 , p = n.s. , Wilk's Λ = ,99 , partial η² = ,008. Scores on egoistic and stakeholder-driven motives did not depend on the condition
respondents were in. Based on this analysis, the second hypothesis has to be discarded too. From the insignificant results it can be concluded that respondents in the low fit condition did not score significantly higher on perceived egoistic and stakeholder-driven motives behind the charitable support than respondents in the high fit condition.
Controls for the previous analysis are performed in the analysis for the sixth hypothesis, as Process will also show the effects of the control variables age, gender and educational level relevant to this analysis.
