FACTORS AFFECTING CONSUMERS’ PURCHASE DECISION WITH REGARDS TO CAUSE-RELATED MARKETING

Abstract

This study looks to identify factors that affect the purchase intention of consumers with regards to Cause-Related Marketing.

The study was designed to look at the effects of warm glow, consumer-cause affinity, company-cause fit and perceived company motives on purchase intention. As well as to look at the overall purchase intention and see if this is affected at all by donation amount of the company to the cause and if using a Cause-Related Marketing campaign can affect customer loyalty and encourage brand switching. The study evaluated the current literature surrounding the subject.

The research used a quantitative data collection method in the form of a selfcompleted online questionnaire to collect data from a large sample population, to enable the researcher to see causal relationships and patterns in the collected data. A total of 140 participants were used in the study.

The researcher found from the study that a product having a link to a charity encourages consumers to purchase it. Consumer-cause affinity and perceived company motives were found to have the largest effect on purchase intention out of the factors investigated in the study. The researcher used graphical and statistical methods to display and analyse the data and use previous literature to support the findings.

In summary, products being linked to charities in Cause-Related Marketing campaigns does have an effect on consumer purchase decisions and is a strategy that can be used by companies in order to encourage consumer spending.