A framework for cause-related marketing campaigns with customer choice in a collectivistic cultural context

This research is an exploration of how customer engagement, through the possibility of choosing the structural elements of a Cause-Related Marketing (CRM) campaign, could influence a) CRM success, in terms of coverage, customization and reduced consumer skepticism and b) to cultivate positive Word-of-Mouth (WOM) persuasion behavior. A conceptual framework is developed which comprises three main components. These are (1) choice of cause, (2) choice of cause proximity and (3) choice of donation type. The empirical stage of the study applied a case study methodology and was developed through a cross-sectional study of twenty key informants, Cypriot customers of the retail banking industry in Cyprus. The qualitative data collected through semi-structured interviews and were compared and contrasted with the initial conceptual framework and the relevant literature. The emergent patterns within this analysis showed that both three components of the framework positively affected CRM success in terms of coverage, customization, reduced skepticism and positive WOM persuasion behavior. However, the results also showed that in some cases, choice of cause type and choice of cause proximity could create feelings of guilt to the customers, and the solution in avoiding such feelings was to provide the customers with the ability to choose multiple cause types or to change their cause proximity choice over time. Also, in terms of the underlying mechanisms that trigger consumers to choose the various structural elements of the CRM campaign, the results showed evidence of the existence of fit between the cause type and the donation type, a type of fit that its introduced for the first time in the CRM literature. Finally, this study 1) links, for the first time, procedural justice theory with reduced consumer skepticism and perceived transparency for the CRM campaign and 2) uncovers various consumers' attitudes as regards to the type of donation. In conclusion, this dissertation discusses the contributions to the CRM field and the implications for both academics and practitioners