Benefits of cause-related marketing for companies and nonprofits: focusing on the roles of self-corporate congruity and issue involvement

This experimental study aims to examine how cause-related marketing (CRM) can bring a win-win outcome to a company and its nonprofit partner. Specifically, this study investigates the extent to which consumers perceive image-congruity between self and corporation (self-corporate congruity) plays a key role in achieving business and social gains in the domain of CRM. The finding demonstrates that self-corporate congruity positively affects consumer intentions to not only buy the cause-related products, but also support the cause-related issues. Further, it shows that issue-supporting intentions partially mediate the effect of self-corporate congruity on product-buying intentions, and this mediating role is also moderated by the degree of issue involvement. That is, when consumers have low involvement in cause-related issues, self-corporate congruity positively influences product-buying intentions through a psychological mediator of issue-supporting intentions. However, this event disappears when consumers have high involvement in the issues. Theoretical and practical implications for companies, nonprofits, and consumer researchers are discussed with specific reference to CRM.