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How permeable to cause-related marketing are millennials?

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Abstract

This study aims to explore millennial consumers’ intention to participate in cause-related marketing (CrM) campaigns. Building upon the previous literature on CrM, the authors outline six determinants of consumers’ intention to purchase products involved with CrM campaigns. Taking into consideration these determinants, the conceptual model was tested using SPSS and SmartPLS software. This study's findings based on the 229 millennials reveal that the company’s perceived motivation, brand–cause fit, consumer-cause identification, type of product, and frame of donation were relevant when it came to purchasing intention of products under CrM campaigns. These results reinforce the findings from previous literature and provide more specific information on the millennial generation. The current findings are useful for companies to develop better cause-related marketing campaigns targeted at this specific group of consumers. To reach the consumer more successfully, it was proved that absolute values provided to the cause are impactful in donators/clients’ perception of the campaign and purchase intention of the products associated.

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  • 07 March 2021

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank to NECE–Research Unit in Business Sciences funded by the Multiannual Funding Programme of R&D Centres of FCT–Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, under the project UIDB/04630/2020 and to CEGE–Research Centre in Management and Economics, funded by the Multiannual Funding Programme of R&D Centres of FCT–Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, under the project UIDB/00731/2020.

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  1. Católica Porto Business School, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Rua Diogo Botelho, 1327, 4169-005, Porto, Portugal

    Susana Costa e Silva

  2. Department of Management and Economics, NECE—Research Unit in Business Sciences, Universidade da Beira Interior, Covilhã, Portugal

    Paulo Duarte

  3. Católica Porto Business School, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Lisbon, Portugal

    Ana Filipa Lopes Marinho

  4. Católica Porto Business School and CEGE, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Lisbon, Portugal

    Božidar Vlačić

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  1. Susana Costa e Silva
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  2. Paulo Duarte
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  4. Božidar Vlačić
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Correspondence to Susana Costa e Silva.

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Silva, S.C., Duarte, P., Marinho, A.F.L. et al. How permeable to cause-related marketing are millennials?. Int Rev Public Nonprofit Mark 18, 335–360 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12208-021-00276-5

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