Exploring the consumption of charity-linked products

João F. Proença1, Inês V. Pereira2
1Faculty of Economics, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
2Porto Polytechnical Institute-ISCAP, S.M. Infesta, Portugal

Tóm tắt

This paper explores the motivations to consume charity-linked products. We consider charity-linked products as all the consumer goods that may help a social cause or a nonprofit organization. The research was done in Portugal and used focus groups. We find three types of charity-linked product consumers: the proactive consumers which look and buy products that help nonprofit organizations, the reactive consumers which only buy charity-linked products when are asked or see those products when they are shopping, and finally, the nonbuyers that rarely buy charity-linked products. We conclude that the use of salespersons, the availability of the charity-linked product, the impulsive behavior, and the individual perception of the consumer compensation are important factors to be managed by for-profit and nonprofit organizations. The influence of family and other referents and the possibility to give the charity-linked product as a gift to someone else are important motives to buy those products. The research also shows that the credibility of the organizations involved in the cause-related marketing programs, the feedback information about the programs, and finally, the consumer expectations about his contribution to solve social problems also influence the charity-linked products buying decisions.

Tài liệu tham khảo

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