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Cause Related Marketing among Millennial Consumers: The Role of Trust and Loyalty in the Food Industry

Author

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  • Marco Lerro

    (Department of Law, Economics, Management and Quantitative Methods, University of Sannio, via delle Puglie 82, 82100 Benevento (BN), Italy)

  • Maria Raimondo

    (Department of Law, Economics, Management and Quantitative Methods, University of Sannio, via delle Puglie 82, 82100 Benevento (BN), Italy)

  • Marcello Stanco

    (Department of Law, Economics, Management and Quantitative Methods, University of Sannio, via delle Puglie 82, 82100 Benevento (BN), Italy)

  • Concetta Nazzaro

    (Department of Law, Economics, Management and Quantitative Methods, University of Sannio, via delle Puglie 82, 82100 Benevento (BN), Italy)

  • Giuseppe Marotta

    (Department of Law, Economics, Management and Quantitative Methods, University of Sannio, via delle Puglie 82, 82100 Benevento (BN), Italy)

Abstract

The current study investigates the willingness of Millennial consumers towards several corporate social responsibility initiatives carried out by food companies. More specifically, it explores four cause related marketing campaigns implemented by food companies to spread corporate social responsibility. The analysis was carried out in Italy by administering a structured questionnaire to 308 consumers. The willingness of participants to switch a chocolate snack of their favourite brand to another with similar characteristics but produced by a company supporting different social and environmental causes was assessed in four different scenarios. The study uncovered the effects of both loyalty towards the brand and trust in cause related marketing on consumers’ willingness to support different corporate social responsibility initiatives. The findings unveiled the willingness of Millennials to support companies’ social and environmental initiatives. Both trust and loyalty played a key role in affecting consumers’ willingness to support corporate social responsibility initiatives of food companies. Social and environmental concerns as well as socio-demographics aspects are also significant in supporting cause related marketing campaigns. The study has shed light on the preference of consumers towards corporate social responsibility and cause related marketing. Specifically, it provides marketing insights on the initiatives most preferred by consumers to which companies should address their efforts.

Suggested Citation

  • Marco Lerro & Maria Raimondo & Marcello Stanco & Concetta Nazzaro & Giuseppe Marotta, 2019. "Cause Related Marketing among Millennial Consumers: The Role of Trust and Loyalty in the Food Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-16, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:2:p:535-:d:199344
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Andrée Marie López-Fernández, 2020. "Price sensitivity versus ethical consumption: a study of Millennial utilitarian consumer behavior," Journal of Marketing Analytics, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 8(2), pages 57-68, June.
    2. Maria Raimondo & Francesco Caracciolo & Concetta Nazzaro & Giuseppe Marotta, 2021. "Organic Farming Increases the Technical Efficiency of Olive Farms in Italy," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-15, March.
    3. Marcello Stanco & Concetta Nazzaro & Marco Lerro & Giuseppe Marotta, 2020. "Sustainable Collective Innovation in the Agri-Food Value Chain: The Case of the “Aureo” Wheat Supply Chain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-14, July.
    4. Marco Lerro & Giuseppe Marotta & Concetta Nazzaro, 2020. "Measuring consumers’ preferences for craft beer attributes through Best-Worst Scaling," Agricultural and Food Economics, Springer;Italian Society of Agricultural Economics (SIDEA), vol. 8(1), pages 1-13, December.
    5. Jianming Wang & Ayong Li, 2022. "The Impact of Green Advertising Information Quality Perception on Consumers’ Response: An Empirical Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-21, October.
    6. Egle Jakunskiene & Egle Kazlauskiene, 2022. "The Evaluation of Business Tools for Encouraging Social Responsibility in Older Consumers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-23, March.
    7. Marcello Stanco & Marco Lerro & Giuseppe Marotta, 2020. "Consumers’ Preferences for Wine Attributes: A Best-Worst Scaling Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-11, April.
    8. Andrée Marie López-Fernández, 0. "Price sensitivity versus ethical consumption: a study of Millennial utilitarian consumer behavior," Journal of Marketing Analytics, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 0, pages 1-12.
    9. Šontaitė-Petkevičienė Miglė & Grigaliūnaitė Rūta, 2020. "The Use of Cause-Related Marketing to Build Good Corporate Reputation," Management of Organizations: Systematic Research, Sciendo, vol. 83(1), pages 127-141, June.
    10. Yongzhi Qi & Yuchen Chai & Yifan Jiang, 2021. "Threshold effect of government subsidy, corporate social responsibility and brand value using the data of China’s top 500 most valuable brands," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(5), pages 1-15, May.
    11. Tsungjen Shih & Shaojung Sharon Wang, 2021. "Cause-Related Marketing in the Telecom Sector: Understanding the Dynamics among Environmental Values, Cause-Brand Fit, and Product Type," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-16, May.
    12. Chen Ma & Changjiang Yu & Yasir Latif, 2023. "CSR and Sustainable Growth in China’s Technology Firms between 2010 and 2021," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-24, January.
    13. Fernando Rey Castillo-Villar & Judith Cavazos-Arroyo, 2020. "Social Representations of “Rounding Up” as a Cause-Related Marketing Practice: A Study of Mexican Millennials," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-12, June.
    14. Barkha Agrawal & Neha Sahu, 2020. "Cause-related Marketing: A Trade-off between Marketers and Consumers," Shanlax International Journal of Management, Shanlax Journals, vol. 8(2), pages 7-12, October.
    15. Mubariz Mammadli, 2022. "Environmentally Responsible Business Approaches in Azerbaijan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-25, May.
    16. Thomas, Sujo & Jadeja, Ashwin, 2021. "Psychological antecedents of consumer trust in CRM campaigns and donation intentions: The moderating role of creativity," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    17. Carlo Russo & Mariarosaria Simeone & Maria Angela Perito, 2020. "Educated Millennials and Credence Attributes of Food Products with Genetically Modified Organisms: Knowledge, Trust and Social Media," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-20, October.
    18. Šontaitė-Petkevičienė Miglė & Grigaliūnaitė Rūta, 2021. "The View of Customers Towards the Usage of Cause-Related Marketing to Build Good Corporate Reputation," Management of Organizations: Systematic Research, Sciendo, vol. 85(1), pages 107-126, June.
    19. Anran Zhang & Alex Scodellaro & Bo Pang & Hui-Yi Lo & Zhengliang Xu, 2020. "Attribution and Effectiveness of Cause-Related Marketing: The Interplay between Cause–Brand Fit and Corporate Reputation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-17, October.
    20. Taemin Kim & Jeesun Kim, 2021. "How Spatial Distance and Message Strategy in Cause-Related Marketing Ads Influence Consumers’ Ad Believability and Attitudes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-15, June.
    21. Susana Costa e Silva & Paulo Duarte & Joana César Machado & Carla Martins, 2020. "Cause-related marketing in online environment: the role of brand-cause fit, perceived value, and trust," International Review on Public and Nonprofit Marketing, Springer;International Association of Public and Non-Profit Marketing, vol. 17(2), pages 135-157, June.
    22. Concetta Nazzaro & Marcello Stanco & Giuseppe Marotta, 2020. "The Life Cycle of Corporate Social Responsibility in Agri-Food: Value Creation Models," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-18, February.
    23. Marcello Stanco & Marco Lerro, 2020. "Consumers’ Preferences for and Perception of CSR Initiatives in the Wine Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-13, June.
    24. Sebastian Molinillo & Pere Mercadé-Melé & Teresa De Noronha, 2020. "Cause-Related Marketing Influence on Consumer Loyalty in a Medium-Sized City," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-16, May.

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