Abstract

Effective corporate social responsibility (CSR) advertising depends on the nature of the partnership and how it is communicated in messages about CSR initiatives. Guided by the Symbolic Sustainability Model (SSM), this study investigates the effects of communication about CSR initiatives comparing differing CSR approaches through a 2 × 2 between-subjects factorial experiment. After viewing a hypothetical CSR-based advertisement, participants (N = 433) rated their perceptions of initiative effectiveness and attitudes toward the initiative. Compared to a donation-based initiative, a CSR partnership had an indirect, positive effect on audience evaluations, which was mediated by perceptions of the likelihood of the corporation’s sustained commitment to the partnership. The advertising that emphasized a partnership outperformed a donation-focused CSR initiative because participants perceived that the sponsoring corporation was invested in helping the cause for an extended period. The findings indicate that audiences are likely to perceive partnerships and donations positively; however, partnership initiatives may have stronger positive, indirect effects because they may be more likely to signal sustained commitment. The findings support the Symbiotic Sustainability Model (SSM) and demonstrate the efficacy of the SSM for CSR advertising. For practitioners, the findings point to strategies that may be helpful amidst the proliferation of CSR advertising.

摘要

有效的企业社会责任 (CSR) 广告取决于合作伙伴关系的性质以及如何在有关 CSR 倡议的信息中进行沟通。在符号可持续性模型 (SSM) 的指导下，本研究通过 2 × 2 的主体间因子实验比较不同的 CSR 方法，研究了关于 CSR 倡议的沟通效果。在观看了假设的基于 CSR 的广告后，参与者 ( N = 433) 评估了他们对倡议有效性的看法和对倡议的态度。与基于捐赠的倡议相比，企业社会责任合作伙伴关系对受众评价产生了间接的积极影响，这种影响是通过对公司对合作伙伴关系持续承诺的可能性的看法来调节的。强调伙伴关系的广告优于以捐赠为重点的企业社会责任倡议，因为参与者认为赞助公司长期投资于帮助该事业。调查结果表明，观众可能对合作伙伴关系和捐赠持积极态度；然而，伙伴关系倡议可能会产生更积极的间接影响，因为它们可能更有可能表明持续的承诺。研究结果支持共生可持续性模型 (SSM)，并证明了 SSM 对企业社会责任广告的有效性。对于从业者来说，调查结果指出了在企业社会责任广告激增的情况下可能会有所帮助的策略。