Brand identification, cause-brand alliances and perceived cause controversy
| Pages | 880-892 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-01-2018-1729 |
| Date | 18 November 2019 |
| Published date | 18 November 2019 |
| Author | Yasamin Vahdati,Kevin E. Voss |
Brand identification, cause-brand alliances
and perceived cause controversy
Yasamin Vahdati and Kevin E. Voss
Spears School of Business, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which a cause-brand alliance (CBA) leads to improved attitude toward cause-brand
alliance, which in turn leads to improved brand identification.
Design/methodology/approach –The approach uses a 2 22 between-subjects experimental design to examine the interaction effect of the
brand ally, the non-profit ally, and the perception of cause controversy on a customer’s attitude toward the CBA, whichin turn affects identification
with the brand ally.
Findings –On average, customers’perception of cause controversy influences attitude toward the CBA and subsequently the level of identification
with the brand ally. When a non-profit organization is connected to a controversial issue, managerial options for building a successful CBA are more
limited than when the non-profit is noncontroversial.
Research limitations/implications –We contribute to consumer learning theory in the context of CBA research by identifying an important
boundary condition –perceived cause controversy. Perceived cause controversy impedes the customer’s learning about partners inCBA. Moreover,
fit and cue consistency are separate constructs.
Practical implications –CBAs help build customer brand identification. Brand managers must include the customer’s perceived cause controver sy,
the ally’s unique information, and the customer’s attitude toward the nonprofit in the decision calculus. Brands have an opportunity to demonstrate
corporate social responsibility and build identification by helping a less well-established nonprofit to build positive customer attitudes. If the non-
profit is linked to controversy, this opportunity is constrained.
Originality/value –A boundary condition-perceived cause controversy influences how the partners in a CBA differentially in fluence the customer’s
attitude toward the CBA and, ultimately, brand identification.
Keywords Brand identification, Non-profit, Customer brand identification, Cause-brand alliance, Perceived cause controversy
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
In the published research, scholars show that consumers are
more favorable toward companies perceived to be socially
responsible (Brownand Dacin, 1997). Associating a brandor a
company with a non-profit organization communicates
corporate social responsibility (CSR) to consumers (Davidson,
1997). This association is referred to as a cause-brand alliance
(CBA) (Lafferty and Goldsmith, 2005)[1]. Companies have
used CBAsas a means of competitive differentiation (Davidson,
1997). CBAs have been found to increase the customer’s
attitudes towardboth the company and the non-profit(Lafferty
and Goldsmith, 2005). Simultaneously, brand managers are
strongly motivated to build brand identification among their
customer base. Brand identification is important because it
influences consumer buying-related decisions (Ahearne et al.,
2005), brand preference (Tildesley and Coote, 2009),
consumer loyalty (Bhattacharya et al.,1995) and positive word
of mouth (del Río et al.,2001), among other important
outcomes.
We contribute to the CBA literature in four key ways. First,
we show that cause controversy, whichis the degree to which a
non-profit’s issue is the subject of public disagreement, can be
an important influence on consumers’attitude toward the
CBA. When consumers perceive the supported issue is subject
to public disagreement, a combination of a high attitude brand
and a high attitude non-profit produce significantly higher
relative customer attitude toward the CBA; while when
consumers do not perceivethe supported issue as controversial,
any combinationinvolving at least one high attitude partner will
produce significantly higher relative customer attitude toward
the CBA. Second, the customer’s attitude towardthe CBA has
a significant positive relationship to the customer’s brand
identification. This is important because it provides another
link between CBAs and brand building in addition to CBA’s
positive spillover effects (Lafferty et al., 2004), influence on
brand equity (Becker-Olsen and Hill, 2006) and improvement
in brand credibility (Bigné et al.,2012). Third, we examine
CBA from a consumer learning perspective. This perspective
allows us to highlight the importance of the information that
each partner in a CBA brings to the table and how this unique
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on
Emerald Insight at: www.emeraldinsight.com/1061-0421.htm
Journal of Product & Brand Management
28/7 (2019) 880–892
© Emerald Publishing Limited [ISSN 1061-0421]
[DOI 10.1108/JPBM-01-2018-1729]
Received 13 January 2018
Revised 11 June 2018
14 October 2018
21 February 2019
5 April 2019
Accepted 5 April 2019
880
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