Associations between congruence, attributed egoism and corporate social responsibility

Abstract

Corporate social responsibility (CSR hereafter) initiatives are becoming progressively more prevalent in corporate marketing strategy. With academic research failing to advance in similar pace, this study aims to enhance our understanding of cause sponsorship and its ability to communicate CSR by testing the influence of the perceived relevancy and expectancy of the sponsorship, as well as the motivations attributed. Results show that a relevant/expected sponsorship leads to a more positive perceived motivation for the sponsorship, and in turn higher CSR, compared to an irrelevant/unexpected sponsorship. Interestingly, however, a relevant/unexpected sponsorship produces similar ratings of CSR to that of a relevant/expected sponsorship, while eliciting lower levels of egoistic motivation for the company's engagement in the sponsorship compared to the relevant/expected sponsorship.