Abstract

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, many corporations have employed a new form of corporate social responsibility (CSR) advertising that incorporates COVID-19-related health behavior recommendations. This type of CSR advertising seeks to increase both business-oriented responses and health-oriented responses. As such, these ads are thought to benefit three audiences from inclusion of such messages: (1) society at large when individuals comply with the health messages; (2) individual consumers through increased sense of well-being and safety; and (3) the company through positive effects on the brand. Given the impact on all three audiences, we developed a comprehensive model that incorporates both the health belief model (HBM) and traditional advertising variables. We tested the model in the United States and Germany, surveying a total of 2,302 subjects. The model was largely confirmed in both countries. Importantly, COVID-19-related CSR ads increased the individual consumer’s sense of well-being, which then had a positive effect on brand outcomes but a detrimental effect on message compliance. This effect was stronger in Germany than in the United States. Thus, our findings are indicative of some undesirable effects on society of CSR ads that include COVID-19-related health behavior recommendations.

摘要

自 COVID-19 大流行开始以来，许多公司采用了一种新形式的企业社会责任 (CSR) 广告，其中包含与 COVID-19 相关的健康行为建议。这种类型的 CSR 广告旨在增加面向业务的响应和面向健康的响应。因此，这些广告被认为通过包含此类信息使三个受众受益：（1）当个人遵守健康信息时，整个社会；(2) 个人消费者通过增加幸福感和安全感；(3) 公司通过对品牌的积极影响。鉴于对所有三种受众的影响，我们开发了一个综合模型，该模型结合了健康信念模型 (HBM) 和传统广告变量。我们在美国和德国测试了模型，共调查了2个，302个科目。该模式在这两个国家都得到了基本证实。重要的是，与 COVID-19 相关的 CSR 广告增加了个人消费者的幸福感，这对品牌成果产生了积极影响，但对信息合规性产生了不利影响。这种影响在德国比在美国更强。因此，我们的研究结果表明 CSR 广告对社会产生了一些不良影响，其中包括与 COVID-19 相关的健康行为建议。