The effect of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives on consumersʹ identification with companies

This study focuses on the relative influences of three types of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives, sponsorship, cause-related marketing, and philanthropy, on consumersʹ identification with consumer-company (C-C identification). Two hundred and forty-six subjects participated in a between-subjects factorial design experiment. The test results revealed that philanthropy had a stronger effect on C-C identification than did sponsorship or cause-related marketing. In addition, C-C identification was found to have a significant and positive influence on consumersʹ use of citizenship behaviors (in-role and extra-role). This finding provides further support for the argument that corporations must be concerned with the employment of CSR initiatives because different types of CSR initiatives trigger different perceptions of the corporation and different behavioral intentions.